By Robert Haugh

Rod Diridon Sr., a Santa Clara resident and former County Supervisor who represented the Mission City has died at 87. 

He was the father of Rod Diridon Jr., the former Santa Clara City Councilmember and elected City Clerk.

Diridon died last Friday after suffering from sepsis and an underlying cancer of the thorax. 

Diridon became one of the most important public figures in the County’s transportation history.

Born in 1939, he grew up near Mt. Shasta and worked on the railroad while putting himself through Shasta College, Chico State, and San Jose State.

He later served two combat tours in Vietnam and worked as an analyst at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale before entering politics.

In 1973, he became Saratoga’s youngest-ever councilmember. A year later, he won an election to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

At the County, Diridon became a transportation expert and advocate. 

He pushed California’s first sales tax dedicated to public transit, helping lay the groundwork for what became the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. He also played a major role in advancing light rail in Santa Clara County and later backed funding for California high-speed rail.

Diridon left the Board of Supervisors in 1995 after terming out, but his public career did not stop there.

He went on to lead the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State. He also chaired the Transit Cooperative Research Program and served on major regional and state agencies, including the California High Speed Rail Authority Board and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

His name remains attached to one of the region’s biggest transit hubs: San Jose’s Diridon Station. For decades, his work shaped how Santa Clara County planned, funded, and built public transportation.