Sam Aanestad

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Sam Aanestad (born July 16, 1946 in Bismarck, North Dakota) is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who was elected to the California State Legislature in 1998 to represent the 3rd Assembly District. In 2002, Aanestad was elected to the California State Senate. Dr. Aanestad and his wife, Susan, have lived in the 4th Senate District since 1980 and have three adult children.

Dr. Aanestad has practiced oral and maxillofacial surgery full-time in Grass Valley, and has served as the Vice-Chief of Surgery at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. He served three terms on the California Dental Association Council on Legislation, including three years as chairman, and he served two terms as president of the Butte-Sierra District Dental Society. He is also a member of the California and American Dental Associations.

Dr. Aanestad served 11 years on the Grass Valley School District Board of Trustees, where he fought for greater local control and smaller class sizes. He has been very involved within his community as a member of the Rotary Club of Grass Valley, a youth soccer, football, and baseball coach, and as a member of the KNCO radio broadcast team for Nevada Union High School football.

Senator Aanestad received both his Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Dental Surgery degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles. He then did a four-year Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Dr. Aanestad received a Master in Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University in 1991. He was honored by the UCLA School of Dentistry as their "Alumnus of the Year" in November 1998.

In the California State Senate, Dr. Aanestad's top priorities are preserving rural health care, protecting North State water, and serving the needs of the citizens of the 4th Senate District, which includes Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba counties.