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. As a result of the 2022 elections, members of the Democratic Party hold all seats on the board though it is officially nonpartisan.

Governance and duties

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.

Committees

Children, Seniors and Families Committee
Finance and Government Operations Committee
Health and Hospital Committee
Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee
Public Safety and Justice Committee
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

Incumbent supervisors Cindy Chavez and Joe Simitian were term-limited. Betty Duong and Margaret Abe-Koga were elected in their respective seats.

2022

Incumbent District 1 supervisor Mike 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. Following the 2024 elections, the board was majority Asian-American for the first time and majority women for the second time.

Previous membership

Notable previous Supervisors include:

Cindy Chavez
Dave Cortese
Ken Yeager 2006–2018)
Liz Kniss
Blanca Alvarado
Jim Beall
Mike Honda
Ron Gonzales
Zoe Lofgren
Becky Morgan
Rod Diridon Sr.
Dan McCorquodale
Victor Calvo
Dominic L. Cortese
5 members elected by district (2010–present)

Districts

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

District	Supervisor	Cities and areas represented	Party
	Sylvia Arenas	Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose	Democratic
	Betty Duong	San Jose	Democratic
	Otto Lee	Milpitas, Sunnyvale, San Jose	Democratic
	Susan Ellenberg	Campbell, San Jose, Santa Clara	Democratic
	Margaret Abe-Koga	Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Saratoga	Democratic