John Vasconcellos
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John B. Vasconcellos (May 11, 1932 in San Jose, California) is an American politician from California and member of the Democratic Party. He represented the Silicon Valley as a member of the California State Assembly for 30 years and a California State Senator for 8 years. His lifelong interest in psychology led to his advocacy of the self-esteem movement in California politics.
Vasconcellos comes from Portuguese (paternal) and German (maternal) roots. He graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory and Santa Clara University. After graduating magna cum laude and valedictorian of his class from Santa Clara, Vasconcellos spent two years as a lieutenant in the United States Army, serving in West Germany. Upon his return, he reenrolled in SCU, obtaining a law degree in 1959. He joined the law firm of Ruffo & Chadwick; after a year, he joined the staff of Governor Pat Brown for one year before returning to the firm.
In 1966, Vasconcellos ran for a seat in the California State Assembly; he took office in 1967. By 1980 he was one of the longest serving members of the Assembly, second only to Speaker Willie Brown. Due to the Assembly's policy of awarding leadership positions based on seniority, he became the chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, one of the most powerful assignments in the California Legislature. In 1989, Brown appointed Vasconcellos to chair the Select Assembly Committee on Ethics. Vasconcellos held the positions until he was forced out of the Assembly in 1996 by term limits.
He then ran for, and won, a seat in the California State Senate, again representing Silicon Valley. In the State Senate, he chaired the Public Safety, Education, and Economic Development committies. Vasconcellos served two terms in the State Senate, again limited by term limits.
After representing the Silicon Valley for 38 years in the California Legislature, Vasconcellos retired on November 30, 2004. In order to carry forward the vision and leadership of Vasconcellos' politics, friends and colleagues created The Vasconcellos Project. As its first initiative, The Vasconcellos Project launched the Politics of Trust Network (PTN), a civic engagement enterprise that seeks to become a prime mover in advancing this new vision and practice of politics.
