Candidate for
United States Senator

José Luis "Joe" Camahort was born in an American territory; Manila, the Philippine Islands; on November 4, 1937. Raised a Catholic from Hispanic background, Joe survived the Japanese occupation and World War II; went to San Beda, a private Benedictine school, and graduated as High School Class Valedictorian in 1954. He maintained a 5-year full scholarship at Mapua, the premier engineering school in Manila; where he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with Highest Honors in 1959.

Joe pursued his dream of having a Ph.D. after his name and came to California to attend UC Berkeley. He received his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Berkeley in 1965 and still proudly displays his "diploma" on his automobile license plate; "UC65PHD." Joe joined the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory right after graduation and retired from Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space in 1997 after a 32-year career in Materials Engineering and Environmental Science. He directed the Company's Pollution Prevention Program from 1990-1997, receiving fifteen Environmental Excellence Awards for the program.

Not surprisingly; Joe plays chess, contract bridge, and enjoys crossword puzzles. He has also suffered through a myriad of injuries from indulging in "resource consumptive" competitive sports such as soccer and tennis. Joe sang amateur opera in Palo Alto in 1966 and amateur Flamenco in Los Gatos in 1983; and still enjoys belting out an aria for friends and family.

Joe now lives with his wife Bente in San Jose, California, dreaming of one day having "Sen." before his name and winning the Nobel Prize in Economics for his Plan to Sustain the Environment and End Poverty.