Joe Simitian

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American politician (born 1953)

title: "Joe Simitian" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1953-births", "american-businesspeople", "american-diplomats", "american-people-of-armenian-descent", "california-city-council-members", "california-lawyers", "colorado-college-alumni", "county-supervisors-in-california", "democratic-party-california-state-senators", "democratic-party-members-of-the-california-state-assembly", "ethnic-armenian-politicians", "living-people", "mayors-of-palo-alto,-california", "palo-alto-high-school-alumni", "school-board-members-in-california", "stanford-university-alumni", "uc-berkeley-school-of-law-alumni", "university-of-california,-berkeley-alumni", "candidates-in-the-2024-united-states-house-of-representatives-elections", "21st-century-members-of-the-california-state-legislature"] description: "American politician (born 1953)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Simitian" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (born 1953) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Joe Simitian
image	Joesimitian.jpg
caption	Simitian in 2020
office	Member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
from the 5th district
term_start	January 7, 2013
term_end	January 6, 2025
predecessor	Liz Kniss
successor	Margaret Abe-Koga
term_start1	December 2, 1996
term_end1	December 4, 2000
predecessor1	Dianne McKenna
successor1	Liz Kniss
state_senate2	California
district2	11th
term_start2	December 6, 2004
term_end2	November 30, 2012
predecessor2	Byron Sher
successor2	Mark Leno (redistricted)
state_assembly3	California
district3	21st
term_start3	December 4, 2000
term_end3	November 30, 2004
predecessor3	Ted Lempert
successor3	Ira Ruskin
birth_name	Saren Joseph Smitian
birth_date
birth_place	Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.
party	Democratic
spouse	Mary Hughes
education	Colorado College (BA)
Stanford University (MA)
University of California, Berkeley (MUP, JD)
::

|name = Joe Simitian |image = Joesimitian.jpg |caption = Simitian in 2020 |office = Member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from the 5th district |term_start = January 7, 2013 |term_end = January 6, 2025 |predecessor = Liz Kniss |successor = Margaret Abe-Koga |term_start1 = December 2, 1996 |term_end1 = December 4, 2000 |predecessor1 = Dianne McKenna |successor1 = Liz Kniss |state_senate2 = California |district2 = 11th |term_start2 = December 6, 2004 |term_end2 = November 30, 2012 |predecessor2 = Byron Sher |successor2 = Mark Leno (redistricted) |state_assembly3 = California |district3 = 21st |term_start3 = December 4, 2000 |term_end3 = November 30, 2004 |predecessor3 = Ted Lempert |successor3 = Ira Ruskin |birth_name = Saren Joseph Smitian |birth_date = |birth_place = Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |party = Democratic |spouse = Mary Hughes |education = Colorado College (BA) Stanford University (MA) University of California, Berkeley (MUP, JD) Saren Joseph Simitian (born February 1, 1953) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, 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, from 2004 to 2012. Approaching his term limit at the end of 2012, he ran for and was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. He was re-elected to the same seat in 2016 and again in 2020.

Education

Simitian graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1970. He attended Colorado College and earned a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in political science. He earned a Master of Arts in international policy studies from Stanford University, a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Early political career

Simitian was President of the Palo Alto School Board, and served as a member from 1983 to 1991. He was on the Palo Alto City Council from 1992 to 1996 and served as Mayor for part of that time. He was represented District 5 on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from 1996–2000.

California state legislature

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Joe_Simitian.jpg" caption="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.

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.

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

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 and ran unopposed for re-election in 2020.

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.

As Supervisor, Simitian is credited with saving the 400 units of affordable housing at the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, and he has proposed the building of affordable teacher housing in Palo Alto for teachers across the county. 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.

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. 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.

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

2024 U.S. House of Representatives election

Main article: 2024 California's 16th congressional district election

In 2024, Simitian ran to represent California's 16th congressional district to replace the retiring Anna Eshoo, earning her endorsement in the primary. His candidacy prompted an unusual occurrence; despite announcing on election night that he was in the top two candidates, and would consequently advance to the November run-off, as votes were counted in the following weeks, Simitian constantly traded places with another candidate, Evan Low, for second and third place. The final results saw the two tie, and as a result both – alongside first-placed Sam Liccardo – were expected to be on the ballot for the general election, in only the second three-way election since California adopted the top-two primary system in 2012. Given the close result, the possibility of a recount has been raised, but SFist reported that neither campaign had the funds available to support one. Both campaigns released statements indicating that they intend to compete in the general election.

However, after a poll believed to be conducted on behalf of supporters of first-placed Sam Liccardo testing two-way match-ups was fielded, two residents of the district, including former Liccardo campaign finance director and current donor Jonathan Padilla, requested a recount; Liccardo himself is ineligible to because he does not live in the district. Liccardo's campaign denied responsibility, though they agreed the recount was necessary, saying "every vote should be counted."

At the conclusion of the recount, Simitian was ultimately eliminated and Low advanced to the general election by a 5-vote margin.

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.

Electoral history

California State Assembly

California State Senate

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

U.S. House of Representatives

References

(2001). "[S. Joseph Simitian]".
[http://www.senatorsimitian.com/entry/joes_biography/ Biography]
[http://www.sccgov.org/sites/d5/AboutJoe/Pages/About-Joe.aspx About Joe] {{webarchive. link. (January 22, 2013)
(November 29, 2023). "Simitian announces he's running for Congress – Palo Alto Daily Post".
[http://santacruz.www.ucforcalifornia.org/bio/id/43562 Sen. Joe Simitian – Friends of UC Santa Cruz]
[https://abc30.com/archive/6237027/ New California Hands Free Law]
[https://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold25-2008sep25,0,6433956.story Schwarzenegger outlaws text-messaging while driving – Los Angeles Times]
[http://www.easternpartnership.org/ru/daily-news/2011-10-04/california-senator-declared-persona-non-grata-azerbaijan California senator declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan] {{webarchive. link. (April 14, 2013)
[http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/60535/173168/Web01/en/summary.html Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, June 2016 Presidential Primary Election Results]
[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/101316/web.245375/#/summary Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, March 2020 Presidential Primary Election Results]
[https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/06/22/mercury-news-editorial-saving-buena-vista-in-palo-alto-still-is-worth-doing/ Mercury News editorial: Saving Buena Vista in Palo Alto still is worth doing]
[http://abc7news.com/education/silicon-valley-seeks-solutions-for-affordable-teacher-housing-/2990354/ Silicon Valley Seeks Solutions for Affordable Housing] ABC 7
[https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/25/palo-alto-board-considers-building-teacher-housing-near-courthouse/ Palo Alto Board Considers Building Teacher Housing Near Courthouse]
[https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/31/santa-clara-county-puts-10-million-toward-inclusive-playgrounds/ Santa Clara County Puts $10 Million Toward Inclusive Playground] Mercury News
[https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/santa-clara-county-hires-first-chief-privacy-officer Santa Clara County Hires First Chief Privacy Officer] Next City
[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/05/silicon-valley-surveillance-technology-joe-simitian-santa-clara Meet Joe Simitian, Silicon Valley's surveillance technology watchdog] The Guardian
[https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/20/santa-clara-county-approves-civilian-oversight-for-sheriffs-office-jails/ Santa Clara County Approves Civilian Oversight for Sheriff's Office Jails] Mercury News
[https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/25/santa-clara-co-body-cams-approved-for-deputies-jail-officers/ Santa Clara County Body Cams Approved for Deputies and Jail Officers] Mercury News
(2024-01-10). "Congresswoman Anna Eshoo endorses Joe Simitian in competitive race to succeed her".
(5 March 2024). "Liccardo Leads South Bay House Primary, Simitian Confident He'll Make General Election".
(3 April 2024). "Evan Low, Joe Simitian tied for 2nd place in 16th District congressional race".
(3 April 2024). "In Extraordinary Tie, Evan Low and Joe Simitian Both Advance in Race for Silicon Valley House Seat".
(3 April 2024). "The Race for Second for South Bay Congressional Seat Has Ended In a Tie?".
Sheyner, Gennady. (2024-04-03). "Three to go to Congressional general election in November".
(April 8, 2024). "Mysterious Silicon Valley poll in congressional race could signal recount". [[San José Spotlight]].
(April 9, 2024). "Requests for Recount Could Upend Silicon Valley Race for Congress". KQED.
(April 9, 2024). "Tied California House race heading to a recount". [[Politico]].
(May 1, 2024). "Congressional Recount: Evan Low heads to November election as Joe Simitian is knocked off the ballot". The Mercury News.
[http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/news/1996_Nov_8.SIMITIAN.html Palo Alto Online]
"March 7, 2000, Primary Elections - Member of the State Assembly".
"November 7, 2000, General Election - Member of the State Assembly".
"March 5, 2002, Primary Election - Member of the State Assembly".
"November 5, 2002, General Election - Member of the State Assembly".
"March 2, 2004, Presidential Primary Election - State Senator".
"November 2, 2004, Presidential General Election - State Senator".
"June 3, 2008, Statewide Direct Primary Election - State Senator".
"November 4, 2008, General Election - State Senator".
(June 30, 2016). "June 5, 2012, Presidential Primary Election - Official Final Results".
(July 3, 2012). "June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election - Official Final Results".
(April 21, 2020). "March 3, 2020, Presidential Primary Election - Official Final Results".
"Final Recount Results (4/30/24)". Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
"Final Recount Election Summary Report". County of San Mateo - Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder's-Elections Office.

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