Click to expand. Left to right: LAFCO Board of Directors, on the scene, teaching fire safety at Palomar College

Experience counts when you are helping lead a city

As a 13-year member of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors, I helped earn a AAA bond rating, championed the Carlsbad desalination plant to reduce dependence on imported water, grew recycled water use from near zero to 15%, and lobbied successfully in Washington, D.C. for $20 million to the North County Recycled Water Coalition.

With a 26-year career at the Carlsbad Fire Department — rising to Battalion Chief — and three additional years as Deputy Fire Chief with North County Fire Protection District, I served on the front lines of major emergencies including the Harmony Grove, Cedar, and Witch Fires. As a chief officer, I managed budgets, directed human resources, negotiated contracts, built and maintained fire stations, implemented solar energy across facilities and led teams through both crisis and calm.

I served three years as a Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) commissioner, focusing on regional land use and government efficiency.

For seven years I was a full-time professor of Emergency Management and Fire Technology at Palomar College, mentoring hundreds of diverse future emergency responders and serving as Department Chair of Public Safety.

I hold a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Public Administration from SDSU (go Aztecs!) — both earned while working full time and raising three kids with my wife. Service, leadership, and integrity is in my DNA. 

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More about Ed – watch the videos:

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