Richard Santos

Director Richard P. Santos, District 3, is a native of Alviso, California, and he served in Korea with the 1st Calvary Armored Division until receiving an honorable U.S. Army Discharge in 1965. In 1968 he was hired as a San Jose Firefighter, promoted to Fire Engineer, Fire and Arson Inspector and retired with 33 years of Service as a Fire Captain in 2001. During his tenure at the San Jose Fire Department he served as the elected Fire Representative on the San Jose Police/Fire Pension system for 12 years, and was a labor representative of the San Jose Firefighters Local 230 union. Director Santos is currently elected and appointed by the Mayor and San Jose City Council as the Retiree Representative on the San Jose Police/Fire Retirement Pension System.

While working full time Director Santos attended educational classes and earned an AA in Police Science and AS in Fire Science. He also has a lifetime teaching Fire Science credential from the California Community College system, where he taught Fire Science at Mission College. Director Santos earned his BS Degree in Public Administration from Farelston and Nova Colleges.

Director Santos has volunteered in the Alviso Community and Santa Clara County for the last 60 years. He was instrumental with the development of Alviso Library Project Fundraising Committee where he served as Chairman and received recognition from the San Jose Public Library in 1999. He has received a number of awards over the years, including: City of San Jose Fire Department, Special Recognition Award in 1985; Santa Clara County Black Firefighters Association 1995 Award of Excellence for Fire Employees; the Northern California Los Bomberos of San Jose Award in 1995 for his 12 year tenure as Vice Chair on the Police/Fire Retirement System; City of San Jose Commendation in 1998 for serving as a member of the Alviso Task Force Committee. In 2004 Director Santos received the Distinguished Service Award for his 20 years of active volunteer services with the Santa Visits Alviso Foundation which provides numerous services and educational scholarships for low-income students, and where he continues his 42 year tenure as Chair with this non-profit organization. Director Santos was recognized by the Berryessa Citizen Advisory Council as "Citizen of the Year" for 2007. Also in 2006 he received the City of San Jose Commendation for Community Service Award; in 2007 the City of San Jose awarded him a City Commendation for providing college scholarships for youth. In 2011 the Santa Visits Alviso Foundation awarded Director Santos with the Board of Directors Award for outstanding service for the community. In 2014 Director Santos was recognized by the volunteers of the 9th Annual Santos Family Free Car Show, for his efforts in raising funds for youth scholarships. In 2015 the NAACP awarded Director Santos with the Dorothy Irene Height Community Service Award. Director Santos was honored by the American GI Forum with a certificate of appreciation in 2021. To commemorate his efforts to support the local agricultural industry, Director Santos received the Linda L. Lester Friend of Agriculture Award from the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau in 2022.

Director Santos serves by appointment on the 28 member South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Committee. He also serves on the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan 37 member task force as San Jose Mayor and City Council appointee. Director Santos was also appointed the Chair of the La Raza Roundtable Advisory Committee, reporting to the Board of Directors of La Raza Roundtable, a prominent Silicon Valley-based coalition and community-active organization advocating for Latino and Mexican-American rights.

Director Santos was elected in 2000 to represent District 3 - Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Alviso community, Milpitas, and Berryessa/Alum Rock communities. Director Santos has served on the Board of Directors as Vice Chair in 2004, 2017, 2024 and 2025, and 2026 and as Chair in 2005, 2010 and 2018. His current term is through December 2028. He recently celebrated his 25-year anniversary on the Valley Water Board of Directors.