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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
    33

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  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.

  In addition to our speaker, we will be discussing planned updates to the County's Urban Limit Line (which restricts development in unincorporated areas) and El Cerrito's forthcoming library parcel tax measure.

  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 May 23 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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• CoCoTax Lunch, June 27 with Oakland Mayoral Recall Leader Seneca Scott

  • When
    27 Jun 2025
  •  
    11:45 AM - 1:10 PM
  • Location
    DENNY'S, 1313 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA
  • Spaces left
    49

  Register

  COCOTAX INVITATION TO ATTEND A BOARD/MEMBERS LINCH MEETING FRIDAY June 27, 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 June 27, 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: SENECA SCOTT

  Seneca Scott moved to Oakland in 2012 to work as the East Bay Director for SEIU Local 1021, representing and negotiating improvements to wages and working conditions for thousands of workers in East Bay cities, most notably Oakland. He also co-founded community groups Bottoms Up Community Gardens and Oakhella.

  In 2020, Seneca ran for City Council to bring a voice to his neighbors that he felt was being ignored. His Neighbors Together movement has since exploded across the city, demanding accountability from its Mayor and City Council.

  He later led the successful effort to recall Mayor Sheng Thao and started the YouTube channel Gotham Oakland. He also frequently posts on X about the failures of Oakland's progressive leadership.

  Seneca has worked as a Labor leader and community organizer for over 20 years. He earned his B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

  
  

  Oakland’s Crisis and Its Implications for Other Cities and Counties

  Despite levying high taxes, Oakland suffers from high crime, business closures, blight, and uncontrolled homeless encampments. The City has also faced repeated fiscal crises in recent years.

  As Seneca will discuss, the explanations for Oakland's problems include public corruption and the dominance of a progressive ideology which sounds noble but does a disservice to most residents.

  We'll also learn what lessons Oakland's troubles might hold for neighboring cities, and whether we in Contra Costa County have anything to worry about.

  
  

  
  

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• Special CoCoTax Meeting, July 25 to Discuss School District Finances

  • When
    25 Jul 2025
  •  
    11:45 AM - 1:10 PM
  • Location
    Chicken Pie Shop, 1251 Arroyo Way, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
  • Spaces left
    45

  Register

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

  The Contra Costa Taxpayers Association (CoCoTax) invites you to attend a special Board /Members Meeting on Friday July 25, 2025 at 11:45 am. Please note that we are using a different location and have different payment procedures for this meeting.

  We'll be meeting at the Chicken Pie Shop, 1251 Arroyo Way, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (near Civic Drive). Free parking is available behind the restaurant which is also within walking distance of Walnut Creek BART.

  Attendees will receive separate bills from the restaurant for lunch depending on what they order.  We are charging a nominal registration fee of $2 for members and $10 for guests to cover our organizing costs and so that we can get a good advance count of attendees.  So please register in advance and, if possible, pay online.

   HEAR FROM ACALANES UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT

  Superintendent John Nickerson, Ed.D., will present information about Acalanes Union High School District's fiscal position in light of its proposed parcel tax not reaching the 2/3rds threshold at the May 6th special election. Dr. Nickerson will also take questions from the audience. 

  Dr. Nickerson is in his fifteenth year as Acalanes Union High School District Superintendent.  The Acalanes Union High School District, a relatively small district of four comprehensive high schools and an alternative school, is considered one of the highest performing districts in California.  Dr. Nickerson has 36 years of experience working in schools, including teaching in Kenya and Brooklyn and 31 years in the California public education system as a teacher and administrator.  Dr. Nickerson earned a B.A. from Harvard College, M.A. from University of California, Berkeley, and his doctorate from the University of La Verne in organizational development.

  Dr. Nickerson serves on the board of the California High School Coalition, North Coast Section Board of Managers, and the Contra Costa County SELPA Governance Council. Dr. Nickerson and his wife, a school psychologist, have a daughter and son who recently attended public K-12 school in the area.

  UPDATE ON CALIFORNIA EDUCATION POLICY WITH GUS MATTAMMAL

  We will then hear from an independent education expert, who works regularly with high school students.

  Gus Mattammal has been a full-time educator for 22 years, including 18 years in the Bay Area. He is the author of the forthcoming book "A is For Average: Why Our Public Schools Underperform, And How You Can Help."

  His tutoring business, Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley, works with both paying and pro bono students across the Bay Area and in several states. Gus earned his B.A. in Physics and Mathematics from Pomona College and his M.B.A in International Strategy and Finance from the Yale School of Management.

  Politically, Gus serves in an elected role on the Midcoast Community Council, and also serves on the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, and on the Citizen’s Oversight Committee for Measure W tax revenue.

  
  

  
  

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