Sig Sanchez has considered retiring from his career as a public
servant numerous times in the past 55 years, and even followed
through with it once
– after four terms on the county’s Board of Supervisors.
Sig Sanchez has considered retiring from his career as a public servant numerous times in the past 55 years, and even followed through with it once – after four terms on the county’s Board of Supervisors. Exiting at 89 years old and chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Sanchez vowed this year was his last. At that news, hundreds of people came to Sanchez’s final water district meeting Dec. 15 to celebrate his retirement.
Based on his colleagues’ accounts and the public record, Sanchez has cast scores of votes as an elected official that determined the direction of growth in the Santa Clara Valley. He has been recognized by a list of local, state and national organizations and served on a number of regional public resource boards.
But he makes sure to share credit with former and current colleagues.
“One thing you have to remember is you don’t do anything by yourself. You’ve got to have other people to help you,” Sanchez said recently at his colonial-style home in west Gilroy, where he and his late wife, Jane, raised five children.
But even his detractors would have a hard time doubting his influence, which is so poignant that in 1994 the state legislature named a 10-mile section of U.S. 101 after him.
Sanchez’s background since childhood is in agriculture. He grew up on a farm in Hollister, where his father produced row crops such as tomatoes, sugar beets and garlic.
When he grew up, Sanchez followed in his father’s footsteps and at the age of 21 began operating a farm in east Gilroy, where the Gilroy Premium Outlets are now located.
At a time when crops were king in the South Valley, Sanchez was successful as a co-founder of Gilroy Foods, which is now owned by ConAgra, and he progressively expanded into warehousing and more growing operations in the Los Banos area. In addition to that, as the valley grew, he branched off into real estate development.
Meanwhile Sanchez was elected in 1954 to fill a seat on the Gilroy City Council at the suggestion of a tractor mechanic who was already a councilman. Sanchez continued winning re-election for three more terms – two as mayor of Gilroy, whose population was about 3,500 at the time.
“Things were really informal in those days,” Sanchez recalled. “It was a lot more fun. (Gilroy) was a small town, and everybody knew each other.”
Throughout most of the 1960s and 1970s, Sanchez sat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
That’s when he cast what he called one of the most controversial votes of his career – to approve the San Martin airport project. Sanchez said he was recently looking through a “suitcase full” of newspaper clippings and letters when he came across a letter to the Gilroy Dispatch shortly after the vote, about 40 years ago. The letter writer wished Sanchez’s plane would crash if he ever flew into the “new” airport.
And since then, as a water district director, Sanchez has been no stranger to negative criticism. But he doesn’t let it bother him.
“I’ve always had a motto on controversial decisions, that the first thing is to be honest with yourself, and call the shots when you see them,” he said.
In 1978, Sanchez completed his final term as a supervisor and retired. But that retirement didn’t last long, as the new board appointed him as a director of the water district in 1980 and he has sat on that agency’s board ever since.
The word “mentor” comes up when Sanchez’s colleagues are asked to describe him.
Gilroyan Don Gage described Sanchez as a “political icon.” Gage’s career has mirrored Sanchez’s, as he started as a Gilroy councilman, now serves on the board of supervisors, and plans to run for a seat on the water district’s board of directors next year.
“Sig is an example of what a politician should be. He’s honest, fair, forthright. He’s not scheming or conniving,” Gage said. “He works for the people, he’s always approachable and he’s going to be missed by a lot of people.”
He noted that about 300 to 400 people showed up to Sanchez’s Dec. 15 retirement party, which included slideshows and line dancing performed by close to a dozen water district staff members. The festive atmosphere also included several slides with Sanchez’s face superimposed on other people’s bodies, including one of President George H. W. Bush skydiving on his 85th birthday.
Fellow water district director Rosemary Kamei, who served with Sanchez since her first election to the board in 1990, said earlier this month that she wished Sanchez would reconsider retirement.
Her daughter and Sanchez’s granddaughter became friends when they attended San Jose’s Presentation High School together. She said Sanchez has consistently shown an ability to identify necessary solutions when big changes happen.
“I think Sig has a way of looking at issues and trying to be innovative. You could see that throughout his career,” Kamei said. “I’m going to miss him tremendously.”
Sanchez’s initial appointment to the “water board” happened at a crucial juncture in the history of the county’s growth. The county’s water importation responsibilities became burdensome, and the supervisors relinquished the job to the water district, which was only in charge of conservation at the time, Sanchez said. Now, the district imports about half its total supply, which serves 1.8 million people every year.
He said he is most proud of being part of two key projects – the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project – both of which bring water into Santa Clara County from the north and the south. But he reserves credit for “the pioneers” who saw the need for more water before he got involved.
“The old timers recognized the water needs to accommodate our goals,” Sanchez said. “If we didn’t have those two (imported water) supplies, Santa Clara Valley would not be Silicon Valley, in my opinion.”
Although the district has been harshly criticized for its management of finances, and recently was on the losing end of what could be a resounding lawsuit, Sanchez said the local water district is one of the “premiere” agencies of its kind in the state.
“We’ve made some mistakes, but I’m very happy to have had the privilege of serving on it the last 30 years,” Sanchez said.
He laughed earlier this month when asked what he plans to do with his time in retirement.
“I’m almost 90 years of age – what is there left to do?” Sanchez joked. “I’ve just updated my TV service and I’ve got 24-hour cartoons coming.”
