Saren Joseph Simitian (born February 1, 1953) is a California Democratic politician. From 2004 to 2012, he was the State Senator representing California's 11th State Senate district, which encompasses all or part of 13 cities in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. Approaching his term limit at the end of 2012, he ran for and was elected as a Santa Clara County Supervisor. He was re-elected to the same seat in 2016 and again in 2020. Education Palo Alto High School Class of 1970 Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, cum laude (with academic honors), Colorado College Master of Arts, International Policy Studies, Stanford University Master of City Planning, University of California, Berkeley Juris Doctor, University of California, Berkeley School of Law Early political career Simitian was President of the Palo Alto School Board, and served as a member from 1983 to 1991. He was on the Palo Alto City Council from 1992 to 1996 and served as Mayor for part of that time. California state legislature State Assembly Simitian was elected to the California State Assembly's 21st District in November 2000, and re-elected to a second term in November 2002. State Senate Simitian was elected to the California State Senate in November 2004 for District 11. He defeated former Assemblyman and San Mateo County Supervisor Ted Lempert in the Democratic primary election, also prevailing in the general election. Simitian was re-elected to a second term in 2008. His second term ended in 2012. Simitian was one of only four Democratic Senators to vote against California's ambitious High Speed Rail plan. Simitian authored California's hands-free cell phone bill. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has put Simitian on a list of individuals banned from entering the country. The decision was made after Simitian travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh without Baku's permission. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Simitian served as President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2018 and 2019, and after winning reelection in 2020, continues to represent District 5 (Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, Saratoga, and Stanford, as well as portions of San Jose). He was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in November 1996, serving from 1997 to 2000. In 2022, redistricting adjusted the cities Simitian represents to include Los Gatos and Monte Sereno. Simitian was elected again to the District 5 seat of the Board of Supervisors in 2012, after