Joe Simitian
From Ballotpedia
| Joe Simitian | ||
 | ||
| California State Senate District 11 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2004-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| December 2012 | ||
| Years in position | 8 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $95,290.56/year | |
| Per diem | $141.86/day for each day in session | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | 2008 | |
| First elected | 2004 | |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 | |
| Term limits | 2 terms | |
| Prior offices | ||
| California State Assembly | ||
| Mayor, City of Palo Alto | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Colorado College | |
| Master's | University of California, Berkeley | |
| J.D. | University of California, Berkeley | |
| Personal | ||
| Place of birth | Palo Alto, CA | |
| Profession | Attorney | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Personal website | ||
Contents |
Due to California's term limits, Simitian cannot run again for the state senate when his current term expires in 2012.
Simitian previously served on the California State Assembly for the 21st Assembly District, winning election to that seat in 2000 and 2002. He has also served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, as president of the Palo Alto School Board and as mayor of Palo Alto.
Simitian has a BA from Colorado College, an MA in International Policy Studies from Stanford, an MA in City Planning from UC-Berkeley, and a JD from UC-Berkeley.
Issues
Legislative scorecards
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score. [1],[2]
On the 2009 legislative scorecard, Simitian ranked as a 100. He was one of eight state senators the publication identified as voting in what they defined as a "liberal" way in every vote they ranked.[3]
Policy positions
- Simitian is a sponsor of Senate Constitutional Amendment 6. He believes that it should only take a 55% vote to pass a parcel tax measure, rather than a two-thirds majority vote. Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 would bring about that change. To get SCA 6 on the ballot will require a 2/3rds vote of the members of both chambers of the California State Legislature.[4]
- Simitian is a critic of how California's High-Speed Rail Authority is managed. He said, in 2011, "We're rapidly approaching a time when I'm going to have to ask myself, 'Is (the rail authority) capable of delivering?' That remains a question mark in my mind." Simitian made these remarks after several state oversight agencies produced analyses that asserted that the High-Speed Rail Authority had made "contract payments made without verifying that work was actually performed, [issued] payments for services or equipment not covered in consulting contracts, and [suffered from] a lack of policies and procedures to review invoices and payments."[5]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Simitian has been appointed to these committees:
- Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation, Chair
- Subcommittee on Sustainable School Facilities
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, California Senate
- Environmental Quality Committee, California Senate, Chair
- Natural Resources and Water Committee, California Senate
- Transportation and Housing Committee, California Senate
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Simitian served on these committees:
- Budget and Fiscal Review[6]
- Education[7]
- Energy, Utilities and Communications[8]
- Environmental Quality[9]
- Natural Resources and Water[10]
- Transportation and Housing[11]
Elections
2012
Simitian was unable to run for re-election in 2012 due to term limits.
2008
In 2008 Simitian was re-elected to the California State Senate, District 11. He finished with 272,154 votes while his opponent Blair Austin Nathan finished with 91,592 votes.[12] Simitian raised $969,297 for his campaign fund.
| California State Senate, District 11 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Joe Simitian (D)
| 272,154 | |||
| Blair Austin Nathan (R) | 91,592 | |||
Campaign donors
2010 (Off-cycle)
| California State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Joe Simitian's campaign in 2010 | |
| California State Association Of Electrical Workers | $7,900 |
| California Refuse Recycling Council | $5,900 |
| Plumbers Steamfitters & Refrigeration Fitters Local 393 | $5,000 |
| California Professional Fire Fighters | $5,000 |
| Western States Council Of Sheet Metal Workers | $5,000 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $212,656 |
2008
Senator Simitian discusses state budget |
In 2008 Simitian raised $969,297 in campaign donations. His top four donors are listed below.[13]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| AFSCME California | $14,400 |
| California State Council of Service Employees | $14,400 |
| California Teachers Association | $14,400 |
| California Association of Realtors | $14,400 |
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Joe + Simitian + California + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
11th district profile
The 11th senate district that Simitian represents contains parts of Silicon Valley and areas along the Pacific coastline from south of Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz. The 11th covers parts of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.
Municipalities in the district include Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, Emerald Lake, North Fair Oaks and West Menlo Park in San Mateo County; Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Loyola, Stanford and parts of San Jose and Fruitdale in Santa Clara County; and Capitola, Santa Cruz, Aptos, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Live Oak, Opal Cliffs, Soquel and Twin Lakes in Santa Cruz County.[14]
See also
External links
- Joe Simitian's personal website
- Official website of State Senator Joe Simitian
- Biographical profile of Joe Simitian on Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile of Joe Simitian on Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
- Joe Simitian on Facebook
References
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard", December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene", December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly", Downloadable 2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard
- ↑ Mercury News, "State budget deal should include parcel tax reform", July 13, 2009
- ↑ California Watch, "Rail authority spends hundreds of millions with little oversight", July 10, 2011
- ↑ California Budget and Fiscal Review committee membership
- ↑ Senate Education committee membership list
- ↑ Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications committee membership
- ↑ Senate Environmental Quality committee membership list
- ↑ Senate Natural Resources and Water committee membership
- ↑ Members of the Senate Transportation and Housing committee
- ↑ California State Senate official election results
- ↑ Campaign donations
- ↑ Overview of Senate District 11
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - | California State Senate District 11 2004–present | Succeeded by NA |
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