Biography
Gerardo Sandoval received his Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School in New York, whose alumni include six U.S. Supreme Court Justices and two U.S. Presidents. Gerardo’s passion for the law as a tool for social change was kindled by mentors like Professor Andrezej Rapacznski, widely regarded as the author of Poland’s post-communist constitution, Professor Jack Greenberg who with Thurgood Marshall wrote the legal briefs in Brown vs. Board of Education, and from notable corporate law and ethics expert Professor John C. Coffee. Gerardo was admitted to practice law in California in 1995 and was sworn in by Federal District Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr. Gerardo Sandoval also received his B.A. and Master’s Degree from U.C. Berkeley.
After graduation from law school, Gerardo was an associate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, one of the country’s premier law firms. Gerardo then served as a San Francisco Public Defender trying numerous cases and appearing in countless legal proceedings. He ran successfully for the Democratic County Central Committee in 2000, and then achieved a life-long dream in 2001 by being elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the Outer Mission, the Excelsior, the Ingleside, and the great neighborhoods of District 11.
As a Supervisor, Gerardo’s proudest accomplishment has been to bring economic equity and fairness to City spending. District 11, a largely working-class community, boasts two new libraries and another currently under construction, and every park within the district has been renovated in whole or in part. There is a new senior center, a new youth center, and a new economic development agency. In addition to his work for the community, as one of only two attorneys on the Board of Supervisors, Gerardo also has brought his singular perspective to the many legal issues facing the City. From the proceedings against Supervisor Ed Jew to the litigation over same-sex marriage to the lawsuits over the City’s Health Plan, Gerardo’s legal background has been an asset. Every single week an issue of immense importance to San Francisco residents is litigated by the courts and Gerardo has played a role.
Gerardo also served as an assistant for finance and budget for San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos in the early 1990’s. Gerardo was part of a finance team that closed the City’s largest budget deficit two years in a row while waging a heroic fight to preserve public health spending as the AIDS crisis first hit San Francisco. Gerardo also had direct fiscal and policy oversight for the San Francisco Fire Department, and he worked with Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel to implement a court order to hire women and minorities. The Reagan Administration aggressively opposed the plan in federal court, appealing its case to the Federal Court of Appeals and ultimately losing.
Gerardo Sandoval’s parents are both from the small town of Bella Vista, Mexico in the state of Nayarit. His parents emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1950’s. Gerardo’s three older brothers and sisters were born in Mexico. Gerardo and his sister were born in the U.S. Gerardo’s father was a City gardener and his mother worked as a seamstress. Gerardo’s siblings all graduated from university. Gerardo was in the first Head Start class of 1966 and proudly considers himself a product of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs.
In 2002, Gerardo married the former Ms. Amy Harrington. They own a home in the Excelsior where they are raising their two daughters, Natalie and Julia.
