Candidate for
Member, Democratic Party County Central Committee; County of Santa Clara; State Assembly District 25

Civic involvement and good government are important to me. I have been very involved in education issues in Santa Clara County and have worked with California legislators to minimize the impacts of budget cuts on our students. I am serving my second term as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Berryessa Union School District. I have twice been elected by my fellow board members to serve as President of the Board.

Prior to the the school board position, I served 5 years on the San Jose Library Commission, including 2 terms as Chair. In that role, I worked with the San Jose City Council to preserve funding during tough budgetary times so that our libraries can remain open full time. I also served on the bond oversight committee that ensures that new library construction is managed properly.

All the while, I have been a leader in the local Democratic Party. I have been a member of the Democratic Central Committee in Santa Clara County since moving to San Jose in 1998. Prior to that, I was a member of the Alameda County Central Committee and Vice President of the Tri-Valley Democratic Club. I was the final chair of the 24th Assembly District committee before the state party reorganized.

I have been working on political campaigns since I was old enough to vote. I have worked on Democratic Campaigns in Cincinnati, Ohio and in Oakland, Livermore, Fremont, Palo Alto, and San Jose. In 1992, I was assistant office manager for the United Democratic Campaign in Oakland and a precinct leader for Clinton-Gore in Berkeley. I helped open campaign offices in Livermore and Dublin in 1996 and 1998.

Communicating with voters and constituents is very important to me. I was one of the creators of the first Call to Action for Democratic volunteers in Santa Clara County back in 2003. I upgraded the Santa Clara County Democratic Party website and still manage that site (sccdp.org). I currently serve on the Executive Board of the County Party as Communications Director. Under my leadership, we have added key interactive features to sccdp.org, including a letter-writing tool, interactive calendar, and a blog (sccdp.org/blog.php). I also led the team that developed a full-featured volunteer management system that allows easy communication with our grassroots volunteers. I am currently the editor of our online newsletter that is emailed to thousands of activists in Santa Clara County. I also coordinate our media outreach program.

As a member of the Berryessa School Board, I have reached out to residents of the community through my education blog (busdpresident.blogspot.com). It is extremely important that residents of Santa Clara County are engaged with their local government, whether it be their local school district, their city council, or the Democratic Party.

My campaign website from my 2010 campaign for reelection to the school board is still online at electdavidcohen.com. On it, I highlight my performance during my first term as a school board member. I have broad support in the community.

During the day, I manage the computational modeling group at Novellus Systems, a manufacturer of semiconductor equipment in San Jose. (By the June election day, I will officially be a manager at Lam Research as a result of our company merger.) I have been with the company for 12 years. I have a PhD in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley. My wife is a physician practicing family medicine in Fremont. Our daughter Mia is 9 years old and our son Reed is almost 6.

I appreciate your support as I seek election to my 8th term on the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee.