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• CoCoTax Lunch, April 25 with Anita Enander, President of Our Neighborhood Voices

  • When
    25 Apr 2025
  •  
    11:45 AM - 1:10 PM
  • Location
    DENNY'S, 1313 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA
  • Spaces left
    41

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  COCOTAX INVITATION TO ATTEND A BOARD/MEMBERS LINCH MEETING FRIDAY April 25, 2025 at 11:45am

  The Contra Costa Taxpayers Association (CoCoTax) invites you to attend a LUNCHEON Board /Members Meeting at Denny’s Restaurant 1313 Willow Pass Road, Concord, on Friday April 25, 2025 at 11:45 am. Please register in advance on the CoCoTax website where you can pay ONLINE, or bring cash or check on Friday and pay at the door-$25 for members, $30 for guests.

  MEET OUR SPEAKER: Anita Enander, President of Our Neighborhood Voices and former Mayor of Los Altos

  Anita Enander is President of Our Neighborhood Voices (ONV), a statewide effort to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that will return land-use and zoning authority to local government.

  She also serves on the board of SHIFT-Bay Area where she concentrates on the housing portfolio. She previously served as Mayor, Council Member, and Planning Commissioner for the city of Los Altos. Prior to “retiring” to this public service, she was a serial entrepreneur. Anita was founder and principal of a management consulting firm for 25 years, then owned and served as CEO of an international corporation devoted to the Arabian horse, with clients in 32 countries. She is a published author of books and articles as an expert on the history and current population structure of the world-wide breed. Anita is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, receiving her undergraduate education at Santa Clara University and graduate degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco.

  Our Neighborhood Voices was formed in 2021 under the leadership of Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand. He recognized that the state legislature had embarked on a strategy to usurp local democracy by silencing local voices and limiting the ability of city and county elected officials to decide what gets built and where in their communities. Anita was honored to join the founding board of directors and work with Mayor Brand prior to his passing. More than 250 bills have now been signed into law that have radically remade land-use and zoning in California – and more are on the current legislative calendar in Sacramento. Further, these laws have placed profound financial burdens on cities by imposing unfunded mandates and by restricting the ability of cities to recoup direct infrastructure costs compelled by new development.  Anita will bring us up to date on the impacts of this legislation and what we can do, both in this legislative session and to get ONV on the ballot, to reclaim local authority and stop unfunded mandates and adverse financial impacts. 

  
  

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• CoCoTax Lunch, May 23 with Contra Costa Water District Board President Ernie Avila

  • When
    23 May 2025
  •  
    11:45 AM - 1:10 PM
  • Location
    DENNY'S, 1313 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA
  • Spaces left
    50

  Register

  COCOTAX INVITATION TO ATTEND A BOARD/MEMBERS LINCH MEETING FRIDAY May 23, 2025 at 11:45am

  The Contra Costa Taxpayers Association (CoCoTax) invites you to attend a LUNCHEON Board /Members Meeting at Denny’s Restaurant 1313 Willow Pass Road, Concord, on Friday May 23, 2025 at 11:45 am. Please register in advance on the CoCoTax website where you can pay ONLINE, or bring cash or check on Friday and pay at the door-$25 for members, $30 for guests.

  SPEAKER TOPIC

  Contra Costa Water District 2025 Update

  With recent fires in Southern California and ongoing discussions about California's public water systems and supply, Contra Costa Water District continues to serve as a leader among water agencies throughout the state. CCWD Board President Ernesto "Ernie" Avila will join us April 25 to give updates about ongoing capital improvement projects, how customer rates are used to provide a stable, long-term water supply, what resources and rebates are available to customers, and other initiatives underway to improve the reliability of our local water system.

  Speaker Bio

  Ernesto A. Avila, P.E., was appointed to CCWD's board in March 2016 to represent Division 3, which includes eastern Concord, Clayton, and part of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill, and began serving as Board President in May 2022. He has over 40 years of professional experience in planning, environmental compliance, regulation, design, and construction of water, wastewater and recycled water works and municipal facilities. He is currently Principal/Vice-President of a private engineering firm.

  As a member of the Board, he brings his dedication to the community, passion for water issues, and his experience in the private and public sectors. For the community, he has volunteered for many citizen-based committees/organizations including the Walnut Creek Transportation Commission, the Concord Planning Commission, the John Muir/Mount Diablo Community Health Fund, the Knights of Columbus, the East Bay Leadership Council, and the St. Francis of Assisi School Board. While working full time, he has made volunteering in the community a priority, representing his neighbors and family on important issues that affect their everyday life.

  He is passionate about water issues in his professional life, working on a variety of issues statewide during his career. Among several relevant positions, he served as Director of Engineering at Contra Costa Water District before moving on to become General Manager of Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. He also served as Executive Director for the California Urban Water Agencies, Program Director for the Multi-State Salinity Coalition, and was elected as Vice President of the Association of California Water Agencies for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2024. He has experience on water projects of all shapes and sizes, including water treatment plant improvements, dam retrofits, and watershed management and habitat conservation projects.

  He lives in Clayton with his family and is a licensed civil engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Santa Clara University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from St. Mary’s College of California.

  
  

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