Gerald Robert "Jerry" Sanders (born July 14, 1950) is an American former politician and law enforcement officer from San Diego, California.

[3] Sanders also re-organized the department, making it more responsive to the community, reaching out to neighborhoods, and utilizing more than 1,000 volunteers to address San Diego's public safety needs.

In July 2002, Sanders was appointed to the board of the American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter after the previous CEO was fired in the aftermath of controversy concerning a wildfire in Alpine, California.

Sanders helped recruit retired Navy Rear Admiral Ronne Froman to be CEO, and supported the turnaround of the local chapter, which resulted in support for victims of the Cedar wildfire, praise from former critics for the transparency of fund raising efforts, and a staff re-organization that substantially reduced overhead costs.

[5] Sanders had also been active in the private sector, serving as founding partner and consultant for local high-tech start-ups involved with homeland security and infrastructure assessment.

He is currently board chair of the San Diego Police Foundation, established to raise private funds for SDPD equipment and programs.

He gave a tearful speech in which he explained that he could not tell his daughter Lisa, who is gay, that her relationship with a partner is not as important as that of a straight couple and that he had "decided to lead with my heart...to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice.