By Khalida Sarwari
Newly appointed Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith outlined his plans for the county at a news conference this morning, emphasizing that he will focus on improving services for county residents.
“The message is that service is an integral part of accomplishing the mission of the county,” Smith said.
Smith said he will follow the “golden compass” of the “Hoshin Kanri” management system made famous by Toyota, in which every aspect of an organization’s performance relates to its mission.
The Board of Supervisors appointed Smith to his new role, which he assumed on Sept. 1. Board President Liz Kniss said Smith was chosen for his range of experience in the medical, legal and public policy fields. He most recently served as executive director of the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and has accumulated more than 29 years of pubic service experience.
Smith served on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors from 1992 to 1996 and another four years as a councilman in Martinez.
He said Santa Clara County is in a position to be a model for local government reform.
Smith acknowledged that cutbacks in recent years have caused hardship, but said that by improving practices and giving county employees the resources they require, the county will be able to meet residents’ needs.
“My job is to send a different message. As a Buddhist monk said, ‘pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional,'” he said. “We can make it out of these difficult times … we can accomplish what citizens expect of us.”
Smith earned a juris doctor degree from the University of California at Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law and has been a member of the California State Bar since 1989. Prior to that, he graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Medicine as a medical doctor and has been certified by the American Board of Family Medicine since 1985. Smith received his undergraduate degree in 1976 from Loyola Marymount University where he majored in biology.
He is married and has four children.