Joe Coto

Joe Coto
Member of the California State Assembly from the 23rd district
In office 2 December 2004 – 30 November 2010
Preceded by	Manny Diaz
Succeeded by	Nora Campos
Personal details
Born	Miami, Arizona
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Camille Coto
Profession	Politician

Joe Coto (born Miami, Arizona, United States) is an American educator, city councilmember, and a Democratic politician. He most recently served three terms as a member of the California State Assembly, leaving office late in 2010. He served as Chair of the Assembly's Insurance committee, and held positions on the Elections and Redistricting committee, Governmental Organization committee, and the Revenue and Taxation committee. He also served on the Special committee on Urban Education.

Coto began his career as a Social Studies teacher in the Oakland Unified School District. He worked in a variety of administrative positions and left the school district to serve as a City Councilmember for the City of Oakland. After his four-year term on the city council, he ran for Mayor of Oakland and almost beat a longtime incumbent. He returned to the school district and ultimately became Superintendent of the Oakland Public Schools in 1984. In 1988, he was recruited to serve as Superintendent of the East Side Union High School District in San Jose, and served in that position for the next 14 years. In recognition of his contributions as superintendent of East Side Union High School District, the Association of California School Administrators named him the 2003 Superintendent of the Year.

One of his major successes as Superintendent in San Jose was Senate Bill 1051, an $80 million increase in funding promoting diversity in San Jose's school system. The legislation has since brought close to a billion dollars to school districts in East San Jose over the years. Coto was also able to bring nearly half a billion dollars in grant monies and improvement bonds to the East Side Union High School District.

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