Joe Simitian

Seren Joseph Simitian (born February 1 1953) is a Democratic California State Senator, who was elected to replace the term-limited Byron Sher in the 2004 elections. The 11th Senate District encompasses all or part of 13 cities in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties, including Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park , Redwood City, California, San Carlos, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, San Jose, Capitola, and Santa Cruz, as well as unincorporated areas of those three counties. Senator Simitian is also the author of California bill SB 1613, which bans the use of cellphones while operating a motor vehicle in non-emergency situations. He is also the author of a similar bill, SB 28, which bans texting (both reading and writing) while operating a motor vehicle. [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold25-2008sep25,0,6433956.story]

Family

Joe Simitian is married to Mary Hughes, a Bay Area political consultant. Simitian proposed to Mary Hughes on election night on November 14th 1996 upon being elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors representing District 5. [http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/news/1996_Nov_8.SIMITIAN.html]

Education

*High School Diploma, Palo Alto High School Class of 1970
*Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, cum laude (with academic honors), The Colorado College
*Master of Arts, International Policy Studies, Stanford University
*Master of City Planning, University of California, Berkeley
*Juris Doctor, Boalt Hall School of Law at University of California, Berkeley

Assemblyman

Assemblymember Joe Simitian was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2000, and re-elected in November 2002, to represent the 21st Assembly District, which includes all or part of 13 cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

tate Senate

Joe Simitian was elected to the California State Senate in November 2004 and is currently serving as State Senator for District 11. He ran in the Democratic primary against former Assemblyman and San Mateo County Supervisor Ted Lempert and won, and prevailed in the general election.

Boards/Commissions

*Regional leadership as President of the Santa Clara County School Boards’ Association, President of the League of California Cities Peninsula Division and Chairperson of the Santa Clara County Intergovernmental Council (IGC)
*Representative of the President of the United States, 1994 U.S. Delegation to Observe Elections in El Salvador
*Elections Supervisor, 1997 and 1998 Bosnian Elections, Seconded by the U.S. Department of State, serving with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
*Volunteer, International Rescue Committee (IRC), 1999 refugee relief and resettlement efforts in Albania and Kosovo
* Senator Simitian sits on numerous committees, including the Senate Environmental Quality.
* President, Palo Alto School Board
* Mayor, City of Palo Alto
* Joe Simitian was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in November 1996, to represent District 5, which includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, Saratoga, and Stanford, as well as portions of Sunnyvale and San Jose.

Awards

*Californians Against Waste, Legislator of the Year
*Palo Alto Educators Association, Friend of Education Award
*Sierra Club, In Recognition of a Lifetime of Commitment
*Palo Alto Stanford Heritage Award, Preservationist of the Year
*Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, Friend of BAYMEC Award
*Junior Statesman Foundation, Distinguished Leader Award
*Housing Action Coalition, Housing Leadership Award
*Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center, Friend of the DeFrank Center Award

Community Service

Previous

*Board of Directors, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network
*Steering Committee, Bay Area Council
*Member, California UN 50 Committee
*Explorer Scouts Advisor, Law Explorer Post #804
*North County Allocations Committee, United Way of Santa Clara County
*President, Friends of the Children's Theatre

Current

*Co-Chair, Housing Leadership Council, Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group
*Board of Directors, American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley
*Board of Advisors, Adolescent Counseling Services
*Board of Advisors, Clara-Mateo Alliance, Inc.
*Board of Advisors, O'Neill Sea Odyssey
*Honorary Council Member, Leadership Mountain View
*Advisory Team, San Mateo County Service Learning Project
*Trustee Emeritus, Junior Statesmen Foundation

External links

* [http://www.senatorsimitian.com/index.php/about/entry/joes_biography/ Joe Simitian Biography]
* [http://www.joesimitian.com/about.php] Joe Simitian, About Joe
* [http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/6094 Joe Simitian Political History]
* [http://www.smartvoter.org/2000/11/07/ca/state/vote/simitian_j/bio.html] Smart Voter.org
* [http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/news/1996_Nov_8.SIMITIAN.html] SUPERVISOR: Simitian gets 'yes' from voters, fiancee
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold25-2008sep25,0,6433956.story] Schwarzenegger outlaws text-messaging while driving - Los Angeles Times