Candidate for
United States Representative; District 17; Republican Party

Connor Vlakancic was born in Batavia, IL and raised in DeKalb, "Corn County" Illinois. He was raised in a conservative farming family environment where productive work was encouraged and appreciated.

His paternal Grandfather was of Croatian heritage from the Dalmatian Coast in the north Adriatic Sea, as a citizen during the end of Austro-Hungarian rule. Immigrating to America in 1917, he became a machinist at a heavy equipment company in Aurora, IL.

His maternal Grandfather was of German heritage from the Alsace-Lorraine region. Immigrating to the United States in 1916, he built a substantial dairy farm in Hinckley, IL, the heart of northern Illinois' "Corn Belt" which is the center of the 14th Congressional District of Rep. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Connor Vlakancic started his career in Silicon Valley, California, as an electronic engineer with Fairchild Semiconductor, Timex, Inc., Intel Corporation, National Semiconductor and Siemens Opto-electronics, developing semiconductor technologies. He also spent many years at Honeywell Instruments and Raychem Industries developing digital control systems in paper and plastics manufacturing, and traveling worldwide to install multi-million dollar control systems.

During the mid-1980's, he was an early entrepreneur in the personal computer systems revolution by founding one of the most successful computer retail sales company's in Silicon Valley. He followed this success with several years at Apple Computer as a competitive, computer-marketing annalist.

In 1990 he was a technologist in computer network standards at Networld+Interop, which, by 1995, had become the world's largest open computer standards, tradeshow and exposition. He then joined a division of Alcoa Company responsible for a new business unit to produce desktop computer network technology products aimed at the Fortune 1,000,000 companies that were losing market-share to their networked competitors.

During the late 1990's, he created a family reunion, live videoconference service to provide "Familia Visitas" from San Jose, California to Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico. He captured business videoconference service contracts with Western-Union, the State of California and Sprint International. Additionally, as the millennium changed, he was a business consultant and due-diligence investigator for the international venture capital investors headquartered in Silicon Valley, and a business development executive at Netscape Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

His education includes undergraduate and graduate studies in Chicago, IL and California Universities. These include DeVry University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he earned his under-graduate degrees in electronics, and an aircraft pilot's license with over 5,000 PIC hours. He has continued his business professional and leadership education, attending Stanford University and extension programs from Harvard University and Yale University.

He has published technology articles in several computer magazines and was a featured lecturer at Internet communications conferences. His most recent communications business development expertise is focused in wireless messaging application solutions. He was awarded three US and international technology patents. His past and current membership in professional organizations includes The Commonwealth Club of California, The Churchill Club of Silicon Valley and The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of several corporations.

He is a published political author with a major dissertation registered in the U.S. Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov (TXU-677-205), "The 1996 Federal Paradigm" on 16 Feb 1995, which defines a 10-point "contract" to be championed and advanced by the President of the United States. He presented his visionary "contract" to Rep. Newt Gingrich, Sep 12th, 1994, which become the cornerstone of the GOP "The Contract with America" in 1995. The visionary concepts of The 1996 Federal Paradigm forecast future national issues, which have become of paramount importance since September 2001.

He has been a candidate for US Congress, the 15th Congressional District of California in 1995, 1998. He was recommended by US Ambassador to Croatia, William D. Montgomery, and selected by the US Department of State to support international elections monitoring, with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), during the year 2000 federal elections, in the Republic of Croatia. He is currently listed with the US Department of State PAE-REACT Program for additional OSCE assignments.

His wife, Mrs. Vlasta Vlakancic is renowned as Croatia's foremost classical concert pianist with current teaching credentials at the Music Academy, University of Zagreb, Croatia. She has performed in California including the New Year's Eve 2002 and 2003 "first night" in Monterey. She will perform at Cabrillo College, Aptos, in February and April of this year.