Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	3 terms (12 years)
Leadership
President	Susan Ellenberg
Structure
Seats	5
Political groups	Officially nonpartisan   Democratic (5)
Length of term	4 years
Salary	$192,686 (2023)
Elections
Voting system	Two-round system in Single-member districts
Last election	November 8, 2022
Next election	November 5, 2024
Meeting place
Santa Clara County Government Center San Jose, California
Website
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors governing Santa Clara County, California. It is made of elected representatives from each of the county's five districts. ^[1] As a result of the 2022 elections, members of the Democratic Party hold all seats on the board though it is officially nonpartisan. ^[2]

Governance and duties

The Members of the Board of Supervisors celebrate the opening of BART's Berryessa/North San José station in 2020.

The Board of Supervisors is responsible for overseeing the operation of government and laws concerning Santa Clara County.

Salaries

Members of the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors are paid a total salary of $192,686 per year as of 2023. ^[3]

Committees

• Children, Seniors and Families Committee (CSFC)
• Finance and Government Operations Committee (FGOC)
• Health and Hospital Committee (HHC)
• Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee (HLUET)
• Public Safety and Justice Committee (PSJC)
• Federal Affairs Advocacy Task Force

Elections

Members of the Board of Supervisors are elected to four year terms from one of the five single member districts using a Two-round system. Candidates are officially listed on the ballot as nonpartisan, but are usually affiliated with a political party.

2024

Main article: 2024 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors election

Incumbent supervisors Cindy Chavez and Joe Simitian were term-limited. Betty Duong and Margaret Abe-Koga were elected in their respective seats. ^{[4] [5]}

2022

Main article: 2022 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors election

Incumbent District 1 supervisor Greg Wasserman was term-limited and Incumbent District 4 supervisor Susan Ellenberg was eligibile to seek re-election.

History

Santa Clara County received media attention in the 1980s as the "feminist capital of the nation" because of significant amounts of women in elected positions, including a majority of the Board of Supervisors from 1980 to 1985. ^[6] Following the 2024 elections, the board was majority Asian-American for the first time and majority women for the second time. ^[7]

Previous membership

Notable previous Supervisors include: ^[8]

• Cindy Chavez (2013–2024)
• Dave Cortese (2008–2020)
• Ken Yeager 2006–2018)
• Liz Kniss (2001–2012)
• Blanca Alvarado (1994–2008)
• Jim Beall (1994–2006)
• Mike Honda (1991–1996)
• Ron Gonzales (1989–1996)
• Zoe Lofgren (1981–1994
• Becky Morgan (1981–1984)
• Rod Diridon Sr. (1975–1994)
• Dan McCorquodale (1973–1982)
• Victor Calvo (1969–1974)
• Dominic L. Cortese (1969–1980)

5 members elected by district (2010–present)

Year	District
	1	2	3	4	5
2010	Mike Wasserman	George Shirakawa	Dave Cortese	Ken Yeager	Liz Kniss
2011
2012
2013					Joe Simitian
2014		Cindy Chavez
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019				Susan Ellenberg
2020
2021			Otto Lee
2022
2023	Sylvia Arenas
2024
2025		Betty Duong			Margaret Abe-Koga

Districts

Members of the Board of Supervisors are elected from 5 single-member districts every four years, with a limit of three consecutive terms.

Board of Supervisors districts following 2020 redistricting.

District	Supervisor	Cities and areas represented	Party (officially nonpartisan)
District 1	Sylvia Arenas	Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose (East San Jose, South San Jose)	Democratic
District 2	Betty Duong	San Jose (Downtown San Jose, East San Jose)	Democratic
District 3	Otto Lee	Milpitas, San Jose (North San Jose)	Democratic
District 4	Susan Ellenberg	Campbell, San Jose (West San Jose), Santa Clara	Democratic
District 5	Margaret Abe-Koga	Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose ( Almaden), Saratoga	Democratic

References

1. "Santa Clara County Supervisor District Maps". www.sccgov.org. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
2. "Arenas Wins Supervisor District 1". www.sanjoseinside.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
3. "Employee Detail: Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors". Government Compensation in California . August 2, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
4. Freimarck, Annalise (2024-11-06). "Betty Duong leads competitive Santa Clara County race". San José Spotlight. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
5. Freimarck, Annalise (2024-11-06). "Abe-Koga will be next Santa Clara County supervisor in District 5". San José Spotlight. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
6. Flammang, Janet (March 1985). "Female Officials in the Feminist Capital: The Case of Santa Clara County" . The Western Political Quarterly . 38 (1): 94–118. doi:10.2307/448286. JSTOR   448286.
7. Freimarck, Annalise (November 13, 2024). "Santa Clara County elections may bring historic changes to leadership". San Jose Spotlight. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
8. "Archive: Members of the Board of Supervisors". Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Archive. Retrieved November 16, 2024.