Manolo J. Diaz (born July 4, 1953, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

) is an American engineer and politician who served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2000 to 2004, representing the 23rd District. He left his seat in 2004 to make an unsuccessful run for the California State Senate. Diaz served as a member of the a

San Jose City Council The San Jose City Council, officially San José City Council, is the legislature of the government of the City of San Jose, California. As the Mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo casts the 11th vote on matters before the council and acts as chair ...

from 1995 to 2000 prior to joining the Assembly.

Early life and education

Diaz was one of four children, raised in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

. His first job, at age nine, was delivering newspapers. Diaz graduated from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.

Career

Diaz worked as an engineer for 17 years prior to entering politics, including at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He served on the San Jose Planning Commission from 1986 to 1993 before joining the

in the 1994 elections. Diaz ran for the 13th Senate District seat in 2004, as incumbent

John Vasconcellos John Bernard Vasconcellos Jr. (May 11, 1932 – May 24, 2014) was an American politician from California and member of the Democratic Party. He represented Silicon Valley as a member of the California State Assembly for 30 years and a Californ ...

was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Diaz ran against Elaine Alquist, the wife of Vasconcellos' predecessor in the Senate,

Al Alquist Alfred E. Alquist (August 2, 1908 – March 27, 2006) was a California politician. Biography Born in 1908 in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a Swedish immigrant who worked for the railroads, Alquist was barely a teenager when he started carrying ...

. He lost by a margin of 50% to 46%. Diaz attempted to regain his seat on the City Council in 2006. He was defeated by

Sam Liccardo Samuel Theodore Liccardo (born April 16, 1970) is an American attorney and politician from California and mayor of San José, California, a position he has held since January 1, 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Liccardo was elected mayor ...

by a margin of 61% to 39%. Since leaving the Assembly, Diaz has operated Diaz & Associates, a government relations firm based in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

Personal life

Diaz is married to Sandra Diaz, who works in crime prevention for the city of San Jose. They have one child.

Election history

2006, San Jose City Council District 3 * Sam T. Liccardo 7,883 61.3% * Manny Diaz 4,977 38.7% 2004, California State Senate District 13 (Democratic Primary) * Elaine Alquist 34,982 50.1% * Manny Diaz 32,094 45.9% * Jose Medeiros 2,864 4.0%

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Manny 1953 births Living people Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from San Jose, California Politicians from San Francisco 21st-century American politicians