Four Portuguese-Americans from California in Congress
Jim Costa (D)
James Manuel (Jim) Costa has represented the San Joaquin Valley in the United States House of Representatives since 2005. Costa proudly represents California’s 21st Congressional District, which includes parts of Fresno and Tulare counties.
His grandparents, who were descendants of Portuguese immigrants, immigrated from the Azores Islands of Portugal to the United States to build a better life for themselves and their families. They started as dairy workers and worked hard to establish their family dairy in Fresno’s Kearney Park.
David Valadão (R)
Congressman David G. Valadao was born and raised in Hanford, California, in the center of the agriculturally rich Twenty-Second Congressional District. A lifelong resident of the Central Valley, he has been active in agriculture and dairy industry groups and many local charities.
The Valadao family emigrated from the Azores Islands of Portugal to the United States in 1969. After settling in the Central Valley, Valadao’s father started a small dairy farm there in 1973. Valadao was born on April 14, 1977.
Intimately involved in the dairy industry, Valadao has taken on leadership roles within the California Milk Advisory Board, and Western States Dairy Trade Association. In addition, he was elected as Regional Leadership Council Chairman for Land O’ Lakes, Inc.
Valadão attended local schools, graduating from Hanford High School in 1995, and later attended the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. Valadão married his high school sweetheart, Terra, in 1999. Together, they have three beautiful children.
Eric Swawell (D)
Growing up in California taught Eric Swalwell a lot about hard work, strong principles, and planning for a brighter future. He has roots in the Azores and Madeira.
Swalwell was the oldest of four boys and the son of Eric Sr., a retired police officer, and Vicky, an administrative assistant. Swalwell was raised and attended public schools in the East Bay.
After earning undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Maryland, he returned to the East Bay for seven years to serve as a Alameda County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor. He also served as chair of the Dublin Heritage & Cultural Arts Commission, on the Dublin Planning Commission and was elected to the Dublin City Council.
Eric Swalwell, in 2012, was elected to represent California in the U.S. House.
Sam Liccardo (D)
Sam Liccardo served as mayor of San José; he recently confirmed that he has Portuguese ancestry.
Before his service in elected office, Liccardo prosecuted felony crimes of sexual assault and child exploitation in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, and also served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of California. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Georgetown University. His published works have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other national publications. He and his wife, Jessica García-Kohl, live in San José.
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