John Gioia is an American politician. He has served on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in Contra Costa County, California since 1998 and was re-elected three times. He served as chair in 2002, 2006 and 2010. John Gioia is a Democrat. Contra Costa supervisorial seats are non-partisan.
John Gioia was first elected to the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors in 1998, after successfully challenging incumbent Jim Rogers, and has been re-elected six times. He served as chair due to the regular rotation of the role amongst the Supervisors, most recently in 2023.
Gioia advocates on behalf of county government, sitting on the Board of Directors of the California State Association of Counties and serving as president of that organization in 2014. He chairs the Bay Area Joint Policy Committee (which coordinates the planning for the four regional government agencies), and serves as vice-chair of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and previously served on the Doctors Medical Center governing board before its demise. Gioia also serves on the California Cities Counties Schools Partnership Board, Association of Bay Area Governments executive board, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Bay Area Regional Airport Planning Committee, RYSE Youth Center Board, El Sobrante Boys and Girls Club Advisory Board, and the Bay Area Social Equity Caucus Steering Committee.
Gioia was first elected to public office in 1988 as a Director of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) serving for 10 years and was EBMUD's youngest ever President in 1995.[citation needed]
In 2016 he opposed development in landslide prone areas of rural and unincorporated El Sobrante Valley.[3]
In 2017 he was involved in a feud with the county sheriff over expansion of West County Detention Center in Richmond, which he opposed, in the end he ended up creating a re-entry program for justice-involved people that the sheriff also opposed.[4] He also supported more affordable housing supported by 15 bills signed into law by Jerry Brown in 2017.[5]
In 2018 he helped launch a deportation defense hotline for illegal aliens living in the area to help them with available resources.[6]
Similar to the issue in 2010 in 2019 alongside congressman Mark DeSaulnier he urged a retirement home in San Pablo and its landlord to extend the stay for its many elderly residents.[7]
Also in 2019 he criticized the NuStar refinery in Crockett for taking 48-minutes to call 911 emergency for a major out of control fire at its facility.[8] He also supports Kensington remaining unincorporated citing its minor tax base but supporting its limited self-governance.[9]
In 1999 he voiced criticism of four refineries in the county particularly the Chevron Richmond Refinery for not having written policies on disaster response including the accidental release of contaminants.[11]
In 2003 Gioia joined Loni Hancock, Irma Anderson, and other area residents and politicians to protest and oppose the entry of Walmart into Hilltop Mall, however this was eventually unsuccessful.[12]
In 2005 he proposed banning new Indian Reservations and gambling institutions in the county and[13] also approved a measure to fine each supervisor $1 for every instance of bureaucratic mumbo jumbo.[14]
In 2017, the California Fair Political Practices Commission recommended a $14,000 fine for Gioia, levied for missed deadlines in filing multiple documents related to campaign contributions and expenditures.[15]
In 2018, Gioia traveled out of the country on a refinery junket to visit petroleum tar sands as a guest of oil companies.[16]
Personal life
He is an alumnus of El Cerrito High School and U.C. Berkeley where he received a bachelor's degree in political science. This was followed by a J.D. degree from Boalt Hall and a working career in business and land use law in his hometown and San Francisco. In 2002, Gioia married Jennifer Peck, who served as his treasurer before their legal separation in 2013 and divorce in 2016. Gioia lives in Richmond and is the parent of Christopher and Emilia, both of whom attended local public schools.[17]
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a city council. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region, Richmond borders San Pablo, Albany, El Cerrito and Pinole in addition to the unincorporated communities of North Richmond, Hasford Heights, Kensington, El Sobrante, Bayview-Montalvin Manor, Tara Hills, and East Richmond Heights, and for a short distance San Francisco on Red Rock Island in the San Francisco Bay.
Contra Costa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,165,927. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is primarily suburban. The county's name refers to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
El Sobrante is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 12,669 at the 2010 census.
San Pablo is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. The current Mayor is Abel Pineda. Currently, the City Council consists of Abel Pineda, Patricia Ponce, Arturo Cruz, Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, and Rita Xavier. Ponce is the Vice Mayor, and Cruz, Pabon-Alvarado, and Xavier are Council Members. Dorothy Gantt is the city Clerk. Viviana Toledo is the city Treasurer.
WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County. It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority.
The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) is a community/political group in Richmond, western Contra Costa County, California, United States. Its mission is to unite the left regardless of political party and was founded by Gayle McLaughlin and Marilyn Langlois.
North Richmond is an unincorporated area in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city of Richmond.
The West Contra Costa Unified School District is the school district for western Contra Costa County, California. It is based in Richmond, California. In addition to Richmond, the district covers the cities of El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, and Hercules and the unincorporated areas of Bayview-Montalvin Manor, East Richmond Heights, El Sobrante, Kensington, North Richmond, and Tara Hills.
Jim Rogers is an American politician. He served on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in the 1990s, and was a city council member for the city of Richmond, California for three terms. He was first elected to the city council in 2002, and his final term expired in January 2015. He is a Democrat, considered a moderate, and has also been referred to as a progressive. He was called the San Francisco Bay Area's most famous lawyer because of television ads in which he dubbed himself as "The People's Lawyer".
Parchester Village is a planned majority African-American village in northwestern Richmond, California that was the first in the state to sell to blacks.
Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area (KGRRA), also known simply as Kennedy Grove, is located in Richmond, Contra Costa County, California at the base of San Pablo Dam. Created in 1967, it contains a three-mile hiking trail with an elevation of 760 feet (230 m). The Grove features many large eucalyptus trees, picnic areas, volleyball nets, playgrounds, and horseshoe pits. Bird watching is popular here because hawks are almost always spotted. Some hikers have reported seeing golden and bald eagles around the reservoir. There is no camping allowed. Parking is $5 with an extra $2 fee for a dog. Dogs have to be on the leash around the lawn but they are allowed off the leash in remote parts of the park. The park is open from 8 a.m. to dusk.
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is a 2,789-acre (1,129 ha) East Bay Regional Parks District park bordering the city of Richmond in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. It includes a portion of Wildcat Canyon as well as a portion of the adjoining San Pablo Ridge, and is directly connected to the more heavily used Tilden Regional Park.
The Richmond City Council is the governing body for the city of Richmond, California. The council consists of the Mayor of Richmond and six other city council members, one designated Vice Mayor. The council members are all elected from the whole city; no members are elected by district or ward. The council members are elected to four-year terms, as opposed to the previous six-year terms. They are not all elected at once. The council members meet every first and third Tuesday of the month and, if necessary, hold special meetings on the remaining Tuesdays. Presently the entire city council is Democratic.
John E. Márquez is an American politician and activist who has held various positions in Richmond, California city government. For eighteen years, Márquez served as a city councilman. He was the first Latino to serve on the Richmond City Council. Originally he was an appointee to the council in 1985 and won an election to that seat in 1987; he subsequently lost his second bid in 1991. He was elected again in 1993 and twice more in 1997 and 2004. In 1990 and 1998, he served as vice mayor. Márquez was defeated for re-election in 2008, and lost a mayoral bid in 2001 to Gayle McLaughlin. In addition to his elected offices in the city of Richmond, he has held various other positions in Contra Costa County, California on various commissions.
The San Pablo Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). It is located in the valley of San Pablo Creek, north of Orinda, California, United States, and south of El Sobrante and Richmond, east of the Berkeley Hills between San Pablo Ridge and Sobrante Ridge.
San Pablo Creek is an 18.7-mile-long (30.1 km) creek in Contra Costa County, California, United States, which drains the canyon or valley between the San Pablo Ridge and the Sobrante Ridge, parts of the Pacific Coast Ranges east of San Francisco Bay.
Don Víctor Ramón Castro was a Californio ranchero, politician, and businessman. He was one of the largest landowners in Contra Costa and served as a Contra Costa County Supervisor. He operated one of the first ferries in the Bay Area.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is the governing body for Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region. Members of the Board of supervisors are elected from districts, based on their residence.
The Mokelumne Aqueduct is a 95-mile (153 km) water conveyance system in central California, United States. The aqueduct is supplied by the Mokelumne River and provides water to 35 municipalities in the East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area. The aqueduct and the associated dams, pipelines, treatment plants and hydroelectric system are owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and provide over 90 percent of the water used by the agency.
Doctors Medical Center was an eight-story, 120-bed public hospital in San Pablo, California which served 250,000 residents in western Contra Costa County from 1954 to 2015.
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