James Thomas Beall Jr. (born December 7, 1951) is an American politician who served in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

from 2012–2020. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he represents the 15th Senate District, which encompasses the South Bay and Silicon Valley. Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2012, Beall served as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

representing the 24th Assembly District. Before his time in the Legislature, he served as a member of the Santa Clara County

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

, as well as a member of the

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 ...

Early life and education

James Thomas Beall Jr. was born on December 7, 1952 in San Jose, California. He graduated from

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. In 2020, Niche ...

and San Jose State University.

Political career

Santa Clara County roles

Beall served on the Santa Clara County

from 1994 until 2006, prior to which he served 14 years on the

. As a councilman and county supervisor, Beall served two decades on the California Metropolitan Transportation Commission, where he lobbied commissioners to select the extension of the

Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...

system to San Jose as a top priority project, enabling it to eventually receive $900 million in federal funding. In the spring of 2012, Valley Transportation Authority and BART officials broke ground on the extension.

District 15 of California Senate

In 2011, Beall announced his candidacy for the new District 15 seat of the

. He won the June 2012 primary election, finishing more than 11 percent ahead of his opponent, fellow Democrat and former Assemblyman

Joe Coto Joe Coto (September 4, 1939) is an American educator and politician. Coto served three terms as a member of the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010, representing the 23rd district. Early life and education Coto was born in Miami, Ariz ...

, and again in the general election in November 2012, defeating Coto 57% to 42%. He officially took the position on December 3, 2012, taking the role from his predecessor

Elaine Alquist Elaine Kontominas Alquist (born August 21, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former Democratic state senator from California's 13th Senate District. Prior to serving in the Senate, she served in the California State Assembly for six years. The ...

(after rezoning). In 2016, Beall was challenged by

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

state Assemblywoman

Nora Campos Nora Campos (born June 15, 1965) is an American politician from California. Campos formerly served as a California State Assemblymember and was the President pro tempore during her tenure. In 2020, she was unsuccessful in her campaign for the C ...

, who was prevented from seeking reelection by term limits. Beall won the election by a wide margin. He served in the

as a

representing the 15th Senate District, which encompasses the South Bay and Silicon Valley. He was not eligible to seek reelection in 2020 due to term limits. In 2022, Beall ran for the Santa Clara Valley Water District board. Seeing no other candidates filed for District 4, he won unopposed. https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/election-2022-embattled-water-district-board-member-trails-in-re-election-bid/

Notes

External links

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Campaign Website
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Join California Jim Beall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beall, Jim 1952 births Living people County supervisors in California Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly San Jose State University alumni San Jose City Council members Politicians from San Jose, California 21st-century American politicians