Water Authority Board of Directors welcomes new officers
January 26, 2007
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors welcomed the in the New Year today with a new set…
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors welcomed the in the New Year today with a new set of officers that will lead the board for the next two years. Elected at the board’s final meeting in 2006, Fern Steiner of San Diego will chair the board, with Claude “Bud” Lewis of Carlsbad serving as vice chair and Mark Watton of Spring Valley as secretary. They began their two-year terms January 1.
Steiner represents the City of San Diego on the Water Authority board. A member of the board since 2003, she serves on the board’s Imported Water Committee; Legislation, Conservation and Outreach Committee; Colorado River Programs Ad Hoc Committee and Conservation Ad Hoc Committee. She is also a former chair of the board’s Ad Hoc Conservation Committee; Committee on Committees and the Legislation, Conservation and Outreach Committee.
Steiner is nationally recognized for her expertise in labor law and is a partner in the law firm Tosdal, Levine, Smith, Steiner and Wax. She also serves on the board of directors for San Diego Youth and Community Services.
Lewis represents the City of Carlsbad and has served on the board since 1995. He currently serves as the Water Authority’s representative to the U.S. Desalination Commission and on the board’s Administration and Finance and Water Planning committees. He also has served as a delegate to the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) board, a representative to the San Diego Association of Governments and to the San Diego Area Wastewater Management District and on many other Water Authority committees during his tenure on the board.
Lewis has been the mayor of Carlsbad since 1986. For 34 years Lewis taught U.S. history and government at Carlsbad High School, twice earning “Teacher of the Year” honors. He served as head coach for the varsity football and baseball teams at Carlsbad and retired from the school system in 1992.
Watton is the general manager of the Otay Water District and represents the district on the Water Authority board. His current term on the board began in 2003. His current assignments include chairman of the board’s Colorado River Programs Ad Hoc committee and serving on the Water Planning and Legislation, Conservation and Outreach committees.
Watton was chair and vice chair of the Water Authority board of directors in the mid-1990s. He also has served as chair of the Quantification Settlement Agreement Ad Hoc Committee, vice chair of the Water Planning and Public Affairs committees, a delegate to MWD, a member of the Colorado River Board and many other posts on behalf of the Water Authority.
The officers also will preside over a slightly larger board in 2007. The Water Authority added a 24th member agency, the Lakeside Water District, to its roster in late 2006 and a 35th board member to represent that agency. Frank Hilliker was appointed by the Lakeside Water District to be the district’s first representative to the Water Authority board on January 4. He joined the Water Authority board January 8.
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