Warren Furutani is a former American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 2008 to 2012. He is a Democrat and a fourth-generation Japanese American. Furutani was elected in a special election in 2008 to replace Laura Richardson.
Prior to his political career, Furutani was a student at the College of San Mateo in 1968, where his expulsion during a student uprising launched his later career in politics.
After his time in the State Assembly, Furutani ran unsuccessfully for the California State Senate in 2016.
He currently owns a consulting firm called Warren Furutani and Associates that specializes in public policy, particularly in the areas of public education.
He is included in a collection of wiki entries referenced in the canonical Gen X Nikkei thought-piece 101 Ways to Tell You’re Japanese American by Tony Osumi and Jenni Kuida, published in 1996.