Pam Foley is one of San José's most seasoned elected officials, bringing over two decades of public service — first on a school board, then on the City Council — to the southwest corner of the city she has called home for more than forty years. She was appointed Vice Mayor of San José on January 28, 2025, while continuing to serve as the elected Councilmember for District 9.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Foley moved to San José in 1981. A product of public schools, she graduated from high school in 1977 and attended the University of San Francisco. She earned her real estate broker's license in 1989, beginning what would become a long career in the mortgage industry. She met and married Mike Foley in 1983, and in 1987 they purchased their first home in the Cambrian Park area of San José. After a brief move to the Santa Cruz Mountains, they settled into their current home in District 9, where they have lived for over 30 years. They have one daughter, Katelin, who graduated from DePaul University.
Together, Pam and Mike own and operate a small family mortgage business, Foley Mortgage, founded by Mike's father Gene in 1957. Pam has worked there for 34 years, and in 1993, she and Mike purchased the business. Running a small business in San José has given Foley direct insight into the challenges of permitting, regulation, and economic viability that she regularly applies to her work on the council.
Her path to City Hall ran through the San José Unified School District, where she became one of its most enduring advocates. Elected to the SJUSD Board of Trustees in 2004, she served until her election to the City Council in 2018. As a trustee, she oversaw the education of 31,000 students with a budget of $400 million, and in December 2017 completed her third term as SJUSD Board President. Her entry into school governance began in the most grassroots way possible — as a classroom volunteer in her daughter's kindergarten class at Hacienda Elementary Science Magnet, eventually growing into parent leadership roles throughout the school system.
Foley was first elected to the City Council in 2018, defeating three other candidates to replace termed-out Councilmember Don Rocha. During her reelection campaign, she ran unopposed and was sworn in to serve her second term in January 2023. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026. District 9 covers the southwest corner of San José, nestled between Willow Glen and Almaden Valley and bordering the cities of Campbell and Los Gatos.
In office, Foley has focused consistently on public safety, housing, homelessness, and quality of life for seniors and people with disabilities. During her first term, she developed a camera rebate program for residents who installed home security cameras, voted on several occasions to expand SJPD staffing, advocated for 900 units of new affordable housing in District 9, created the ADU Ally program to help homeowners build backyard homes, and championed the city's ban on flavored tobacco products.
Beyond elected office, Foley has been a prolific civic volunteer. She served as chairman of WATCH (Women and Their Children's Housing), a transitional housing program for domestic violence survivors; she has volunteered for 15 years with the Rotary Club of San José as a mentor to high school juniors through the Enterprise Leadership Conference; and she has been involved with the YMCA, Willow Glen Education Foundation, Project Cornerstone, and the Girl Scouts. She has received numerous honors for her community service, including the Boy Scouts' Character Award in 2017, the City's District 9 Star Commendation, the BAYMEC Stan Hajduk Ally of the Year Award in 2019, and the 2021 Youth Champion Award from the San José Conservation Corps.
In a remarkable act of personal transparency, Foley has publicly shared her journey with sobriety, celebrating seven years of continuous sobriety and describing it as making her a better elected official and, more importantly, a better human being. Her candor has earned her deep respect among colleagues and constituents alike.
