Biography of Supervisor Dave Rosenberg

Dave Rosenberg, Serving the People, Preserving the Land

Supervisor Dave Rosenberg

Dave Rosenberg's adult life has been dedicated to public service. He was born on November 20, 1946 and grew up in Bavaria, New York and New Jersey. Rosenberg first came to California in 1964 to attend college. After graduating in 1968 from California Polytechnic State University with a B.S. in Journalism, Rosenberg served his country overseas for two years in the Adjutant General's Corps of the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant, Special Services Officer. Upon his return from active military duty, he simultaneously attended law school at the University of California, Davis (Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Law) from 1971 to 1974, and served as a Training Officer for the 91st Division of the Ready Reserve. Upon graduation from law school with a Juris Doctor degree in 1974, Rosenberg went to work as Law Clerk to Tom MacBride, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. In 1976, Rosenberg went to work as an assistant to Governor Jerry Brown of California. He worked for the Governor of California from 1976 to 1981, first as Deputy Appointments Assistant, then as Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff. Rosenberg practiced law in private practice from 1981 to 2000. Dave Rosenberg's public service has also included appointments by the Lieutenant Governor of California as Legislative Counsel, the Speaker of the California Assembly as a member of the California Council on Criminal Justice, the Governor as a member (and Chairman) of the California Law Revision Commission, and the Treasurer of California as Chairman of the District Securities Advisory Commission. In March of 1999, Governor Gray Davis appointed Rosenberg to be a Commissioner on the California Lottery Commission. The California Lottery has distributed over $15 billion to California schools and educational institutions since its inception. As a Lottery Commissioner, Rosenberg is responsible for a $3 billion annual budget. At the first meeting of the Lottery Commission, Rosenberg was selected to be Vice Chairman and assumed the Chairmanship of the California State Lottery in February 2000. He has been re-elected as Chairman a total of four times. In April of 2000, Governor Gray Davis announced that Rosenberg would be joining the Governor's Senior Staff. Currently, Rosenberg serves as Director of Community and Intergovernmental Relations and Senior Advisor to the Governor as well as Director of Operations. In these positions, Dave Rosenberg serves as Governor Gray Davis' chief advisor on local government issues, as the Governor's liaison to California's nearly 500 cities and 58 counties, and as coordinator of operations in the office of the Governor. In February 2001, Governor Gray Davis appointed Rosenberg to be one of the three members of the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (formerly known as the Board of Control). This Board is charged with providing compensation to victims of crime and with resolving disputes with and claims against the State of California. Rosenberg has been chairing the Board for the past two years. Rosenberg also advises the Governor on Indian Tribal issues and assists the Governor in a myriad of duties relating to development of the California State Budget, legislation, and legal issues. Governor Gray Davis also appointed Supervisor Rosenberg as a member of the Commission on State Mandates in July 2003

First elected to the Davis City Council in 1984, Rosenberg was re-elected to the Council in 1988 and again in 1992, serving a total of 12 years. During his three terms in office, Rosenberg never missed a meeting or a vote of the City Council. Rosenberg served as Mayor of Davis twice, 1987-88 and 1994-96. During his tenure on the City Council, Rosenberg was a slow-growth advocate, developed the 1987 General Plan, is considered the father of a dynamic and active downtown, and was instrumental in the development of neighborhood parks and greenbelts, the Teen Center, the Senior Center expansion, the skate park, the Fifth & G Project, the downtown movie theaters/parking garage, and saving and restoring the Varsity Theater. In his election to a rare third consecutive term in 1992, Rosenberg was the top vote getter in a crowded field.

In 1996, Dave Rosenberg ran for and was elected to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, representing the Fourth Supervisorial District, encompassing North Davis, East Davis, South Davis, El Macero, Willowbank, The Royal Oaks Mobile Home Park, and a large stretch of agricultural land from Solano County to the South, UCD to the West, the Yolo Bypass to the East, and County Road 27 to the North. Sworn in as a County Supervisor on January 6, 1997, during a ceremony attended by then Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis, Rosenberg was immediately chosen by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors for 1997. In 2001, Rosenberg was elected Vice Chair of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. In 2002, Rosenberg was selected to serve his second term as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. An expert on parliamentary procedure, Rosenberg as Chairman reorganized the agenda format, focused the County on goal setting, and ran efficient, fair meetings. As on the City Council, Rosenberg has never missed a meeting of the Board.

As a County Supervisor, Rosenberg serves as a member of and liaison to the Yolo County Diversity Committee, 2x2 liaison to the City of Davis, UCD, the Judiciary, the Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Advisory Commission, the Yolo County Commission on Aging, the Area IV Council on Aging, and also as alternate member to the Woodland 2x2. He serves as liaison to the El Macero Service Area Advisory Committee, the Willowbank Service Area Advisory Committee, and the East Davis County Fire Protection District. He serves as the County's liaison to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Rosenberg is Co-Chair of the Yolo County Criminal Justice Cabinet and is Chair of the Yolo County Economic Development Council. He also served as liaison to the Health Council in 1997 and 1998. In 2001, he served as Chairman of the Yolo-Solano Air Quality District Board of Directors. Rosenberg ran unopposed for re-election to the Board of Supervisors and was re-elected in March of 2000 with 100% of the vote for a term running from 2001 to 2005. In October 2000, Rosenberg received the Outstanding Elected Official Award from the Yolo County Mexican American Concilio.

Dave Rosenberg's major initiatives/accomplishments while in office as a County Supervisor include:

2003 "Peace Begins At Home" Award by the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center
Recipient of the "2003 Golden Lung Award" of the American Lung Association
Convening a Yolo County Economic Summit, leading to the creation of the Yolo County Economic Development Council.
Working with Yolo County Judges to create a Yolo County Criminal Justice Cabinet.
Sponsoring initiatives to preserve and protect Yolo county's prime agricultural lands and to foster agriculture.
Working with fellow supervisors to make Yolo County government more efficient, flattening the organization, improving pay and working conditions for county employees and initiating major reorganizations and mergers of departments.
Increasing Yolo county's focus on and use of technology.
Making Yolo County more accessible to the public by the use of the web, newsletters, television, cable coverage and community meetings.
Implementing welfare reform in Yolo County.
Developing a Class 1 Bike Path between Davis and Woodland.
Supporting the construction of a new building for the District Attorney and staff.
Reforming the County's investment policies.
Taking the County's reserve from $100,000 to over $15 million.
Focused the County's attention on Long-Term-Care issues affecting the Elderly and Disabled

Dave Rosenberg married the former Lea Pepper on June 30, 1968, has two adult children and one grandson. Lea Rosenberg was chosen as Davis Citizen of the year in 1991, as Volunteer of the Year in 2002 and has been an active community volunteer in Yolo County for over 20 years.

Paid for by Friends of Dave Rosenberg, ID# 950270
Mariko Yamada, Campaign Manager. Vic Bucher, Treasurer
Please send contributions to "Friends of Dave Rosenberg," Post Office Box One,
Davis, CA 95617