Candidate for
Mayor; City of San Jose

Dave Cortese (pronounced Cor-TEH-zy) is a city councilman who grew up in San Jose as part of a family that has been active in civic, cultural and business affairs for generations. He places high priority on transportation issues, housing, education, neighborhood, business and traffic improvements, and has been a leader in promoting tougher ethical standards at City Hall.

Dave was first elected to the San Jose City Council in the fall of 2000, and was the only councilmember re-elected without opposition to a second four-year term in 2004. He lives with his wife Pattie and four children, David, Jr., Gina, Angela, and Matthew in the Evergreen area of San Jose.

School Board Leadership

Prior to the city council, Dave served on the East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees where he was elected to two terms from 1992-2000. He served as President of the Board on two occasions.

While there, Cortese chaired the Evergreen Valley High School "new school committee" and co-chaired a successful $80 million bond campaign which led to the completion of the first new high school in Silicon Valley in more than 25 years. He was also a leader on school safety issues, new partnerships with parents, and innovative programs that required more rigorous curriculum and reduced the dropout rate.

Business Leadership

After spending several years as a professional financial manager for a large corporation in 1986, Dave became the general manager of several family-owned ranching and real estate businesses first established in the Valley in 1917. His diverse business experiences include selling agricultural crops, overseeing a multimillion dollar real estate portfolio, building a 300-unit apartment complex, owning a restaurant and opening up a private law practice.

These experiences taught him much more than the basics of reading and understanding a balance sheet. He also learned what it takes to create jobs, to generate profit and to establish a healthy business culture. He learned how to manage people, to work in teams, and to develop consensus among partners. He gained a great deal of empathy for what business people go through: from worrying about meeting payroll to dealing with government regulations such as worker's compensation and city permit requirements. He was the guy fighting City Hall, not the political insider.

City Council Leadership

Soon after joining the City Council, Dave began establishing himself as a leader on the council with his open and collaborative style of leadership. He listens to the needs of the people and then works with various groups to come up with win-win solutions. In spring 2002 he mediated a compromise of one of the thorniest issues ever to face the City of San Jose, a dispute between landlords and tenants rights advocates triggered by a proposed "Just Cause Eviction" ordinance. In the end, tenants received an innovative program and landlords walked away with an ordinance they could live with.

Of the compromise, the San Jose Mercury News wrote, "Perhaps Jimmy Carter should share this year's Nobel Peace Prize with Dave Cortese. The San Jose city councilman's shuttle diplomacy has helped end a year-long conflict between tenant activists and landlords over protections from eviction."

Dave has also led in other ways. He has been a leader on ethics reform at City Hall. He has authored new ordinances clarifying the city's requirements for street trees and protecting local businesses from the impacts of construction activities caused by local agencies.

He has risen to leadership positions in every organization in which he has served. As a councilman and a Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) board member, he has chaired and co-chaired key transportation committees and has been a strong, vocal advocate for bringing BART to the South Bay and for freeway interchange improvements along Highway 101 at Tully, Capitol Expressway, Yerba Buena Road and Hellyer Avenue.

Regional Leadership

As a regional leader, Dave's strength in leadership is marked not only by good ideas, but by good questions: What is needed? Where are we going? What will it look like when we are done?

He was unanimously selected by 15 mayors from the entire county to serve as the president of the Santa Clara County Cities Association (SCCCA) in 2005. In addition, he is the current president of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), a 101-member city/county regional planning body for the entire Bay Area.

As a strong proponent of economic development and job creation, he successfully spearheaded creation of a Joint Policy Collaborative, a new regional body consisting of representatives of the 15 cities in the county, 15 business leaders in the county, and the CEOs of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

He also led the effort to bring professional baseball to San Jose and has been a strong advocate for keeping the Earthquakes professional soccer franchise in town.

Education

Dave was educated at Bellarmine College Prep, Santa Clara University, the University of California, Davis, and Lincoln University Law School. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a Juris Doctorate in law with certifications in environmental law and mediation.

Professional Affiliations

In his current role on the San Jose City Council, Dave serves on a number of boards and committees. He is vice-chair of the city's Transportation Committee and serves on other standing committees dealing with finance and economic development. He has also served on the now expired Traffic Calming Committee, helping to rewrite that policy to make our streets safer for families and neighborhood associations.

Dave is or has also been a member of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors, Santa Clara County Expressway Policy Advisory Board, and the VTA Transit Planning and Operations Committee. He has served on both the VTA Downtown/East Valley Light Rail Policy Advisory Board and the VTA Tasman East/Capitol Light Rail Policy Advisory Board, and he was Chair of the VTA Transit, Planning and Operations Committee. Dave's leadership as co-chair of the VTA's Financial Stability Committee was instrumental in ensuring that VTA maintain current service levels.

Dave is the liaison to the San Jose Sports Authority, the San Jose Development Corporation Loan Board, and the San Jose Housing Advisory Commission. He also is a member of the San Jose Police and Fire Retirement Board, the Federated Employees Retirement Board, and the City's Revolving Loan Fund, and is past president of the Santa Clara County Cities Association and president of the Association of Bay Area Governments. He also serves as a board member of the Bay Area Economic Forum.

Dave has been involved in a variety of civic/community activities, including the Police Activities League (PAL) board of directors, the East Valley YMCA board of directors, the Italian American Heritage Foundation, past president of the Sons of Sicily Club, member of the O'Conner Hospital Community Advisory Council, several PTAs, and the Board of Directors of "Rotacare."

He is or has been a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Santa Clara County School Boards Association, the San Jose Real Estate Board, the Tri-County Apartment Association, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the Cal Aggi Alumni Association, the Most Holy Trinity Church Development Committee and St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

He has been directly involved with the Evergreen, East Hills, Alum Rock and Berryessa Little Leagues. He was one of the founders of East Valley Girls Softball (PAL) and formerly president of the San Jose (East-Evergreen) Rotary Club, and also a member of the Evergreen Business and Professional Association. He has also had the opportunity to work with his father, former Assemblyman Dominic L. Cortese over a political career that began in 1968.