Dave Cortese

David Dominic Cortese (born June 3, 1956)[2] is an elected official from San Jose, California. He is currently serving in the California State Senate, representing District 15, which encompasses a majority of Santa Clara County. Before being elected to the California State Senate, Cortese served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for 12 years, as a Councilman and Vice Mayor for the City of San Jose[3] for eight years, and for eight years as a trustee for the East Side Union High School District[4] in San Jose. Cortese ran for mayor of San Jose and won the primary, losing the general election to District 3 councilmember Sam Liccardo.[5]

Dave Cortese
Member of the California State Senate from the 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 7, 2020
Preceded by	Jim Beall
Member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from the 3rd district
In office 2009–2020
Succeeded by	Otto Lee
Personal details
Born	David Dominic Cortese[1] (1956-06-03) June 3, 1956 Monterey County, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	4
Father	Dominic L. Cortese

Dave Cortese won a seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2008 with 56,845 votes, or 54.87%. He was reelected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2012 with 40,360 votes, or 100%.[6]

In his term on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, his accomplishments include securing funding for more school crossing guards and an evaluation of "hot spots" of pedestrian and bicycle accidents and fatalities in order to improve conditions.[7] He helped form an anti-Human Trafficking task force by sponsoring an $850,000 budget item. The money is evenly divided between the Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's office, which make up the task force with multiple other local agencies. As of October 1, 2014 the task force showed measurable results according to Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith.[8]

In his first term on the Board of Supervisors, his accomplishments included: securing funding for transportation projects, including the BART to San Jose extension, upgrades to the County's expressway system, extending VTA Light Rail to Eastridge Mall, and improvements to HWY 101 and the Tully Road, Capitol Expressway, and Yerba Buena interchanges; approving a new ambulance service and protecting farmland and open space, as well as introducing new Sunshine Laws.

Cortese attended Bellarmine College Preparatory high school (1970–1974). He received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of California, Davis and his Juris Doctorate from Lincoln Law School (1991–1995).[9]

He is the son of former Santa Clara County Supervisor and California Assembly member Dominic L. Cortese and Suzanne Cortese. Cortese's paternal grandfather, Vince Cortese, Sr. was an immigrant farmer from Sicily[10] who found success in agriculture and commercial development. His maternal grandfather Ed Donovan was a civic leader and executive of General Motors Credit Corp. who served as a Santa Clara city councilman in 1949 and 1950.[11] Dave Cortese has a wife, Pattie, who serves on the East Side Union High School District Board, and four children.