Joe Simitian

CA State Senate

Date	Party	Office	Votes	Result
11-07-2000	Democratic	AD-21	82466	Win
11-05-2002	Democratic	AD-21	72104	Win
11-02-2004	Democratic	SD-11	230484	Win
11-04-2008	Democratic	SD-11	272154	Win
11-05-2024	Democratic	CD-16	0

Candidate Biography:

Saren Joseph Simitian
Born: February 1, 1953 in Hackensack, New Jersey
Married: Mary Hughes

1983-1991: Member, Palo Alto School District Board
1992-1996: Mayor, City of Palo Alto
1994: U.S. Election Observer/Supervisor (El Salvador)
1998: U.S. Election Observer/Supervisor (Serbia)
1996-2000: Member, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
2013-Present: Member, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

• International Incident: In 2011, the Government of Azerbaijan announced that Simitian has been banned from their country. Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said that "Azerbaijan holds a firm stance in this issue: those who show disrespect to Azerbaijan and its laws will further be blacklisted. It is a rude violation of country’s laws." 
• Legislation: Senator Simitian has introduced a series of bills related to distracted driving; SB 33 (2007) [Prohibiting Teens from using cellphones while driving], SB 28 (2008) [Prohibiting Texting while Driving].
• Legislation: Author of SB 1411 (2010) which made it illegal to impersonate a person on the Internet in order to injure, defraud or deceive.
• Legislation: Author of SB 1381 (2010), the Kindergarten Readiness Act, which created a "Pre-Kindergarten" grade for students who are still 4 when they enter kindergarten. According to EdSource; this "will mark the first time that a new grade has been introduced into California schools since 1891." 
• NOT AN API: This elected official was excluded from the "History of Asian Americans in the California Legislature" by the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, although this person is Armenian-American and Armenia is in Asia (Source).
• CLOSE CONTEST: In the 2024, Primary Simitian initially led Evan Low by around 2,000 votes (1.98%) on election night. This margin eventually closed (1.1% on March 8th, 0.5% on March 11th, and 0.1% on March 12th) before Low took a narrow lead on March 13th. On March 14th, Simitian trained Low by 63 votes. On March 15th, Simitian regained second place with a 0.03% margin over Low. As of March 20th, Low led by 3 votes. As of March 22nd, Simitian led by Low by 6 votes. On April 2nd, Low retook the second-place from Simitian by a single vote. On April 3rd, the latest vote count left Simitian and Low tied again. The election results were certified with a tie between Low and Simitian with each having received 30,249 votes. During a recount, on April 22nd, Simitian gained a one vote lead over Low. On April 24th, they were again tied.

Source: California Legislature Handbook (2001-02)
Source: "California Gears Up for Extra Year of Kindergarten" by Erin Brownfield, EdSource (9/26/2011)
Source: "Azerbaijan includes California Senator in "black list" by S.Agayeva, Trend (10/3/2011)