Dominic L. Cortese (born September 27, 1932) is a former California State Assemblyman who served from 1980 until 1996. For most of his career, Cortese was a moderate Democrat, but in 1995 he gained national attention when he became a member of Ross Perot's Reform Party. He was the highest ranking elected official of the newly formed party at the time. There were international media reports of this event, including the fact that Cortese was being considered by Perot to be his Vice Presidential running mate in the 1996 election. Early life and career Cortese was born in San Jose, California, one of five children of Rose Carnova, an American of Sicilian descent, and Vincent Cortese, a native of the Sicilian town of Trabia who immigrated to the United States around 1917 and eventually acquired farm land in and near the Santa Clara Valley, growing tomatoes, prunes, cherries, apricots and wheat. As they grew up, he and his siblings worked on the family farms and continued to farm as adults. Though Vincent Cortese never held public office, he was involved in civic affairs in the 1950s and 1960s, visiting property owners outside of San Jose to promote the expansion of the city limits to the north, east, and south. Cortese served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from 1969 until 1980. It was his first election attempt during a period of heavy social unrest, and involved an extremely active campaign which led to his defeat of an entrenched sixteen-year incumbent. He was the youngest ever elected to Board. Within a few days of his election, the local newspaper publisher asked him to co-chair the Annual Santa Clara Couty Scout-O-Rama under a group of local civic leaders. It was a post he held for six consecutive years. Cortese won two subsequent re-elections and during his tenure chaired the Board three times. He also chaired the Local Agency Formation Commission twice (during which the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District was authorized), the Santa Clara Valley Transportation District (which he was instrumental in creating as chair of the Board of Supervisors and co-chair of the campaign to create the district) twice, and the Local Criminal Justice Planning Board created by Governor Ronald Reagan. He served as the Board's representative on the Regional Air Quality Board, the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission, and ABAG. He was the Board's delegate to the