Joe Simitian

Saren Joseph Simitian (born February 1, 1953) is a California Democratic politician. From 2004 to 2012, he was the State Senator representing California's 11th State Senate district, which encompasses all or part of 13 cities in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.[1] Approaching his term limit at the end of 2012, he ran for and was elected as a Santa Clara County Supervisor.[2] He was re-elected to the same seat in 2016 and again in 2020.

Joe Simitian
Simitian in 2020
Member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
from the 5th district
Assumed office
January 7, 2013
In office
December 2, 1996 – December 4, 2000
Preceded byDianne McKenna
Succeeded byLiz Kniss
Member of the California Senate
from the 11th district
In office
December 6, 2004 – November 30, 2012
Preceded byByron Sher
Succeeded byMark Leno (redistricted)
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 21st district
In office
December 4, 2000 – November 30, 2004
Preceded byTed Lempert
Succeeded byIra Ruskin
Personal details
Born (1953-02-01) February 1, 1953
Hackensack, New Jersey, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMary Hughes
EducationColorado College (BA)
Stanford University (MA)
University of California, Berkeley (MUP, JD)
WebsiteGovernment website

Education

Early political career

Simitian was President of the Palo Alto School Board, and served as a member from 1983 to 1991.[3] He was on the Palo Alto City Council from 1992 to 1996 and served as Mayor for part of that time.

California state legislature
Simitian in 2010

State Assembly

Simitian was elected to the California State Assembly's 21st District in November 2000, and re-elected to a second term in November 2002.

State Senate

Simitian was elected to the California State Senate in November 2004 for District 11. He defeated former Assemblyman and San Mateo County Supervisor Ted Lempert in the Democratic primary election, also prevailing in the general election. Simitian was re-elected to a second term in 2008. His second term ended in 2012. Simitian was one of only four Democratic Senators to vote against California's ambitious High Speed Rail plan.

Simitian authored California's hands-free cell phone bill.[4][5]

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has put Simitian on a list of individuals banned from entering the country. The decision was made after Simitian travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh without Baku's permission.[6]

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Simitian served as President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2018 and 2019, and after winning reelection in 2020, continues to represent District 5 (Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, Saratoga, and Stanford, as well as portions of San Jose). He was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in November 1996, serving from 1997 to 2000. In 2022, redistricting adjusted the cities Simitian represents to include Los Gatos and Monte Sereno.

Simitian was elected again to the District 5 seat of the Board of Supervisors in 2012, after reaching his term limit in the State Senate. He was re-elected in 2016 with 89 percent of the vote[7] and ran unopposed for re-election in 2020.[8]

As Supervisor, Simitian is credited with saving the 400 units of affordable housing at the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park,[9] and he has proposed the building of affordable teacher housing in Palo Alto for teachers across the county.[10][11] He also successfully pushed the County to fund multiple new playgrounds accessible to special needs children, following the creation of Palo Alto's Magical Bridge Playground.[12]

Simitian has advanced multiple privacy-related initiatives at the county level. Under his guidance, Santa Clara County became "one of the first in the country" to hire a privacy specialist in a designated role to oversee its data-driven programs.[13] He also secured passage of a surveillance ordinance, the first of its kind in the United States, requiring that police forces get explicit permission for new surveillance technology.[14]

Simitian pushed for more civilian oversight for Sheriff and county jails[15] and secured approval for body-worn cameras for Sheriff's Deputies and jail guards.[16]

Personal life

Joe Simitian is married to Mary Hughes, a Bay Area political consultant. Simitian proposed to Hughes on election night in 1996 upon being elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.[17]

References
  1. Biography
  2. About Joe Archived January 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Sen. Joe Simitian – Friends of UC Santa Cruz
  4. New California Hands Free Law
  5. Schwarzenegger outlaws text-messaging while driving – Los Angeles Times
  6. California senator declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan Archived April 14, 2013, at archive.today
  7. Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, June 2016 Presidential Primary Election Results
  8. Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, March 2020 Presidential Primary Election Results
  9. Mercury News editorial: Saving Buena Vista in Palo Alto still is worth doing
  10. Silicon Valley Seeks Solutions for Affordable Housing ABC 7
  11. Palo Alto Board Considers Building Teacher Housing Near Courthouse
  12. Santa Clara County Puts $10 Million Toward Inclusive Playground Mercury News
  13. Santa Clara County Hires First Chief Privacy Officer Next City
  14. Meet Joe Simitian, Silicon Valley's surveillance technology watchdog The Guardian
  15. Santa Clara County Approves Civilian Oversight for Sheriff's Office Jails Mercury News
  16. Santa Clara County Body Cams Approved for Deputies and Jail Officers Mercury News
  17. Palo Alto Online
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