Candidate for
Mayor; City of Gilroy

Don Gage is a lifelong Gilroy resident. Professionally, he worked as a Program Manager at IBM for 30 years. He began his public service in 1981 when he was elected to the Gilroy City Council, where he was well known for his support of law enforcement and youth programs. He served on the Council until 1991 when he was elected Gilroy's Mayor. In 1993, Don was honored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for his exceptional community service and also was the recipient of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year Award. In recognition of his leadership role in creating the Gilroy Youth Center, Don accepted the Helen Putnam Award from former Governor Pete Wilson at a ceremony in Sacramento.

Don Gage has served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors where he was elected to the Board on March 18, 1997 to represent District One, which has a population of over 330,000 and encompasses 70 percent of the County's land area. It includes Almaden Valley, Santa Teresa, Blossom Valley, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, San Martin, as well as the Mt. Hamilton Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains. He was later elected to serve on the Santa Clara Valley Water District where he has championed transparency and restoring the public's trust in the agency.

While serving on the Board of Supervisors, Don served as Chairperson of the Board's Housing, Land Use, Environment, and Transportation Committee (HLUET), where he reviewed all land use issues as well as large road projects such as the Measure B Transportation Project. He also served on the Valley Transportation Authority, Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority, Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, Habitat Conservation Plan, and the Santa Clara County Valley Water Commission. Don was the Vice Chair of the Public Safety and Justice Committee and has also served on the Caltrain Joint Powers Board, and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).

Born April 18, 1945, Don's family owned a small farm where he worked growing up. He attended local schools and earned his degree in Law Enforcement. Don and his wife Jeanne live in Gilroy and have three children and 6 grandchildren.