Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 21; Democratic Party

Yoriko Kishimoto immigrated to the United States from Japan with her family as a young child. She was an avid reader and student, and went on to earn her bachelors degree from Wesleyan and an MBA from Stanford University. After school, Yoriko served as a management consultant for technology entrepreneurs on both sides of the Pacific for twenty years, helping new businesses launch global partnerships. She also co-authored The Third Century: America's Resurgence in the Asian Era, a groundbreaking book on America's strength as an open economy and diverse society during a time of great change.

Yoriko started her life as a community activist when she received a postcard from the City of Palo Alto saying they planned to raise the speed limit on her family's residential street. As the mother of two toddlers at the time, she decided to stand up and do something about it. She worked with friends and neighbors to shed light on the issue and ensure the City Council preserved their safe streets. They were successful.

Now, after serving as Mayor and on the Palo Alto City Council for eight years, Yoriko is running for State Assembly in District 21 for the same reason she first got involved: she knows that where there's a problem - there's always a solution.

In Yoriko's time serving the city of Palo Alto, she remained faithful to her mission of building a green economy through innovation and she has improved city services while preserving a balanced budget. She successfully forged coalitions for positive change with neighborhood groups, schools, environmentalists, business leaders and regional agencies. She has promoted cleantech and clean energy businesses, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, zero waste programs, green building ordinances, community buses, farmers markets, and other measures to grow our creative economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating traffic and minimizing the impact on our natural environment.

Until this year, Yoriko served on the Board of Directors for Santa Clara County's Valley Transportation Authority and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which oversees clean air regulations for the region's nine counties. She was chair of BAAQMD's Climate Protection Committee and a member of its Joint Policy Committee. Yoriko knows we need a new vision to address the economic, educational, and environmental challenges facing California. That is why she is focusing on making green jobs a priority and working to make the Bay Area and California the global leader in the clean technology revolution through education and environmental leadership.

Awards:

• 2009 Palo Alto Weekly's Coalition Builder of the Year
• 2007 Ben Lefkowitz Award for Bicycle Advocacy, Western Wheelers Bicycle Club
• 2007 Women's Leadership Award, Cardea Center for Women