Supervisor Don Gage and a San Jose resident honored with Helping
Hands Healing Heart award
By Sheila Sanchez Special to The Times
Morgan Hill – From his 10th-floor office in the Santa Clara County Building, Don Gage gets but a miniscule view of South County.
But as he turns from the two giant glass windows that afford him that panorama, he stares right at a map of the Mushroom City and its surrounding communities included in the district he represents on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Pictures of Ronald Reagan, George Bush and his favorite, John Wayne, adorn his office shelves.
He laughs at the stigmas placed on him because of his political affiliation.
“From the day I got elected everyone has been asking how can a Republican work with a Democratic board,” he says.
The secret to overcoming partisanship is respecting other’s viewpoints, working with them to get the job done and finding the common denominator, he says.
Gage’s ability to work with others and his compassion won him the Healing Heart and Hands award from Morgan Hill-based Community Solutions with San Jose resident and young mother Melissa Mendoza. Mendoza, a former Community Solutions client, was chosen for the award for overcoming adversity in her life after becoming pregnant at the age of 16.
The polite 60-year-old Gage, who’s known for his secret acts of kindness, has a smile on his face as he speaks about his humble beginnings.
Born and raised in Gilroy to an Italian mother and an American military father who was killed during World War II, he grew up on a 200-acre prune ranch three miles south of Gilroy, close to the Hollister turn off.
His mother and his Italian uncles, who immigrated from Italy in 1921, bought the ranch in 1940 and sold it 1975.
By the time Gage was 8 years old he was picking cherries, peaches and prunes. Only 2,500 people lived in his community.
He attended local schools and graduated from Gilroy High School. He earned a degree in law enforcement from Gavilan College.
He began his career at IBM as a stock clerk, but the company sent him to school and he became a programmer. He worked at IBM from 1967 until 1992.
He sought political office in Gilroy when he “saw things he didn’t like” at City Hall. He wanted to build a patio cover on the back of his house, but when he tried to obtain the necessary permits for the project, he was stalled by a myriad of rules and regulations.
“It was just three posts on the ground with a roof on it,” he recalls. “I just felt that something was missing. That more customer service was necessary.”
When he first ran for mayor in 1979, he lost, but then served on the city’s personnel commission from 1980-81.
In 1981, he ran again and won. It took him several years to understand the machinations of local governments, but began to really enjoy public service.
In 1991 he was elected mayor, and soon after the first drive-by shooting in the city occurred. He worked with the police chief to start the Gilroy Gang Task Force. Without any funding from the city, he worked to create the Gilroy Youth Center by purchasing the old PG&E building on Railroad Street with $200,000 in community donations.
“I started driving hard … I wouldn’t take no for an answer,” he said about the center.
Gage’s work with society’s most vulnerable, earned him this year’s Helping Hands Award from the nonprofit human service South County agency Community Solutions, based in Morgan Hill.
“I don’t like a lot of recognition. I would rather just go do the job. It’s kind of embarrassing to me to get people saying how wonderful I am,” he says about the recognition, which he received yesterday during a luncheon at the Coyote Creek Golf Club.
Gage has ties to the agency where be volunteered and served on its board of directors for many years when it was the Bridge Counseling Center.
“I’ve always felt that if society wants to solve a problem it needs to start with the youth,” he says. “That’s where we need to do most of our preventative work.”
Gage was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors during a special election in March of 1997. He resigned as mayor of Gilroy and replaced Mike Honda who was elected to the State Assembly.
He said he ran for the board of supervisors because South County was being ignored.
Gage approaches his supervisorial assignments on housing, land use, environmental and transportation issues with a positive attitude “getting the ducks lined up” to make his colleagues understand how important his projects are.
When his fellow supervisors embrace his ideas he works with them. When they don’t, he finds a way to do the work himself.
Gage will finish his second four-year term on the board at the end of the year. He’s up for re-election this June. No candidates have challenged him, but whoever steps up to the plate can encounter a fight for the representation of District 1.
He says when he finishes his 12 years with the county he will retire. He has no other political aspirations other than maybe running for mayor of Gilroy again.
Gage currently serves on the Valley Transportation Authority and as vice chairperson of the county’s Children’s, Seniors and Families Committee. He represents the county on the Library District Joint Powers Authority and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). Gage is also chairperson of the Housing and Community Development Committee and chairman of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County for the past six years.
Taylor Dial, executive director of the San Jose-based Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, said Gage has been an affordable housing visionary and champion.
“He’s a great asset to the county,” Dial said, adding that Gage has rallied to get the agency funding necessary to help build affordable housing for all income levels.
Chris Block, executive director of the Charities Housing Development Corporation, based in San Jose, echoed Dial’s comments about Gage.
“Don is one of the strongest advocates for affordable housing in the county,” he said. “He’s reasonable to work with and very supportive but at the same time doesn’t mind asking the tough questions. He wants to make sure people are focused, efficient and effective.”
Gage and his wife Jeanne have four children and five grandchildren. He enjoys the camping, belongs to a hunting club where he hunts for pigs, deer, doves and quail and he loves to fish at Alpine Lake.
