John Gioia was elected to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in 1998 and overwhelmingly re-elected three times. He served as chair in 2002, 2006 and 2010. John represents 210,000 residents in the western most urban and diverse area of the county including the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, and Pinole, and the unincorporated communities of El Sobrante, Kensington, North Richmond, Montalvin Manor, East Richmond Heights, Rollingwood and Tara Hills.
John is a recognized leader in Bay Area regional government and on air quality issues. He was recently appointed by Governor Brown to serve on the California Air Resources Board and has served on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board since 2006 (serving as Chair in 2012). John advocates on behalf of county government as the 1st Vice President of the California State Association of Counties. He chairs the Bay Area Joint Policy Committee (which coordinates planning for the four regional government agencies), and serves as Vice-Chair of both the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and the Doctors Medical Center Governing Board.
John also serves on the California Cities Counties Schools Partnership Board, Association of Bay Area Governments Executive Board, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Bay Area Regional Airport Planning Committee, RYSE Youth Center Board, El Sobrante Boys and Girls Club Advisory Board, and the Bay Area Social Equity Caucus Steering Committee.
John grew up in West Contra Costa and graduated from El Cerrito High School and the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. with highest honors in Political Science. He also earned his law degree at U.C. Berkeley. He completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. John practiced law until his election to the Board of Supervisors.
He was first elected to public office in 1988 as a Director of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) serving for 10 years and was EBMUD’s youngest ever President in 1995 and 1996.
John’s public service was inspired by his father, who was a civics and history teacher for 20 years at Kennedy High School in Richmond. He has successfully built coalitions to address issues such as affordable housing, homelessness, violence prevention, environmental justice, access to public transportation and quality health care, air and water quality, San Francisco Bay restoration, and expanding afterschool and summer activities for youth. John also helped found the RYSE Center, an innovative and popular youth center in Richmond which is grounded on principles of social justice and youth development.
John lives in Richmond and is the proud parent of Christopher, a U.C Berkeley student, and Emilia, a 3rd grader in local public school. John's wife, Jennifer Peck, is the Executive Director of the Partnership for Children and Youth.
Copy of Supervisor Gioia's Bio