Santa Clara County CEO Dr. Jeffrey Smith announces retirement

Smith’s retirement as a public official will be effective July 1

By Staff Reports

Jeffrey V. Smith

The County of Santa Clara’s second longest serving county executive, Jeffrey V. Smith, announced his retirement, effective July 1, which will bring to a close a 42-year career in public service.

“I have great faith in the team we’ve built and I am very proud of our organization,” said Smith, who has served in the county’s top post for the past 13 years, making him the longest-serving executive since the 1970s.

Appointed county executive in September 2009 during the recession, Smith led the county through difficult challenges, including the highly visible purchase of two struggling hospitals to internal leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his tenure, Smith guided the county through economic growth and increases to mandated services — factors that grew the annual budget from $4.5 billion in 2009 to $11.5 billion in 2022 and increased the number of employees from 14,000 to 23,000.

“I believe Santa Clara is the only county whose CEO is a doctor, lawyer and former elected official,” said Supervisor Mike Wasserman, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “We have benefited greatly from his expertise, leadership and vision.”

Smith’s career began as a family practice doctor working for Contra Costa County’s health system, where he later became the Family Practice Residency Director and Chief Medical Officer. His leadership and expertise in healthcare has been widely credited with the county’s successful purchase of O’Connor Hospital, Saint Louise Regional Hospital, and the DePaul Health Center. When the struggling hospitals declared bankruptcy in 2018, Smith led the acquisition effort.

Despite the pandemic, wildfires, budget reductions and national social upheaval, the county under Smith’s leadership, tackled challenges such as the implementation of the American Care Act and expansion of care to a much larger swatch of the community; and the dramatic expansion of county-investment in housing for extremely low-income community members, Supervisor Cindy Chavez said.

“Dr. Smith understands working families and the challenges they face,” she said. “I appreciate his work to address real and immediate human needs including housing and homelessness.”