By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors today elected Supervisor Ken Yeager as its new president, replacing Liz Kniss.
Yeager will discuss his ideas for the year at his State of the County address Jan. 26.
In a statement, Yeager said, “Given the recession, the county faces huge problems, but I believe we are up to the challenge.”
He chairs the finance and government operations committee and acts as vice chair of the health and hospital committee.
Yeager was elected to the board in June 2006 and was vice president last year. Previously he served six years on the San Jose City Council and two terms as a trustee of the San Jose Evergreen Community College District.
The first openly gay elected official in the county, Yeager received a bachelor’s degree in political science from San Jose State University and a master’s degree in sociology and a doctorate in education from Stanford University.