Raised in the City of Fresno, Mike graduated from McLane High School and has lived in Fresno all his life.

Having served in the United States Navy, including one year spent in Vietnam, Mike received an honorable discharge in 1971.

Upon his return to civilian life, Mike found employment as a delivery truck driver with a local company. In 1974, he earned his real estate license and obtained an A.S. degree in real estate from Fresno City College in 1976.

From 1976 to the present, Mike Dages has been a active real estate broker in Fresno and has dealt with agriculture, residential, and commercial properties. In 1981, Mike opened an antique store for a hobby that soon turned into a nine-year profitable business. Simultaneously, he started a Vocational School where economically disadvantaged students were taught skills to enter the job market. The school had an 88 percent placement rate.

In 1983, Mike co-founded the California Leaders Association, an organization created to provide business leads to various business executives in the community.

Mike Dages was appointed by Councilmember Sal Quintero as council assistant to District 5 in January, 1995. As assistant to the Councilmember and assistant to the first president of the Fresno City Council, his duties included handling district concerns in an efficient and expeditious manner. This included resolving neighborhood concerns, overseeing public works, parks and recreation projects, channeling police complaints, eliminating slum landlords from southeast Fresno, removing unwanted autos and debris, as well as other problems that needed resolving.

In 2002 Mike was elected by the voters of District 5 as their representative to the City Council.