East Orange County Water District
Board of Directors
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Douglass S. Davert
President - Division 5
Term 2021 - 2024
* Current seat is at-large until end of term
Doug Davert has served the community in many capacities, as a member of the Tustin City Council (2002-2010) and as Mayor (2006 & 2009), as well as Tustin’s representative to the Orange County Sanitation District (served as Chairman from 2008-2010) and at the Orange County Fire Authority (served as Chair in 2009). He has also served on the Orange County Vector Control Board, the Orange County Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee, the successor agency oversight board for Tustin’s and Orange’s Redevelopment Agencies and the Southern California Association of Governments. He represents Orange County’s Special Districts as a Commisioner of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and also serves as Chairman of the Orange County Fire Authority Foundation.
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CONTACT
Phone: 714-538-5815
George A. Murdoch
Vice President - Division 3
Term Dec 2022 - Dec 2026
George A. Murdoch retired after 38 years from the City of Newport Beach where he served as the Municipal Operations Director overseeing the city’s operations of water, sewer, storm drains, streetlights and oil wells. In 2018, he was presented with the Randy Scheerer Lifetime Service Award for 37 years of dedicated and selfless public service. George possesses the highest level of water distribution certification from the State Water Resources Control Board as well as being state certified in water treatment. Currently, George serves on the Region 10 (San Diego & Orange County) Board of Directors as well as Business Development, Water Quality and Membership Committees for the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA). He was born and raised in Orange County California and lives in unincorporated North Tustin.
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CONTACT
Phone: 714-538-5815
John Sears
Director - Division 1
Term 2021 - 2024
*Current seat is at-large until end of term
John's career was in the food business, an executive with Safeway Stores, Inc., now retired after 35 years. He is a community leader/activist, five year Director of a Brain Tumor Foundation, a twelve year board member and past President of Hillcrest Bay, Inc. HOA. He chaired the UCSA, an Under Ground Utility Conversion Project and participated setting up an Underground Utility District. On behalf of the project, he appeared before the Arizona Corporation Commission four times. John is a board member of the Foothill Communities Association, being concerned about water rates, has appeared before the CPUC on behalf of ratepayers. John is active as a tennis player, belonging over time to three local tennis clubs, an art collector, enjoys boating at Lake Havasu, and an investor, owner and manager of real property.
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CONTACT
Phone: 714-538-5815
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Marilyn T. Thoms
Director - Division 2
Term Dec 2022 - Dec 2026
Director Thoms is a water industry expert with more than forty years of experience. She served the County of Orange for 15 years as Manager of the Watershed Management Division of Public Works leading the Environmental Engineering, Watershed Management, Mitigation and Administrative teams prior to her retirement in 2018.
During her tenure at the County, she was instrumental in securing more than $100M in federal, state, and local funding for engineering and environmental projects. Director Thoms also led efforts to develop regional watershed management strategies to preserve, protect and enhance coastal resources and surface waters throughout Orange County.
Since 2018 she has served as a Principal of Solutions Project Management, LLC, a North Tustin based firm that specializes in planning, developing, financing, and implementing infrastructure, water resource and environmental projects.
Marilyn is a third generation North Tustin resident where she still resides with her husband Hal and is committed to giving back to her community through various charitable, educational, and philanthropic works. She is a past Chairwoman of the Assistance League of Tustin Winifred Campbell Auxiliary, past President and current member of the Orange County Historical Commission where she was appointed by Supervisors Campbell, Spitzer and Wagner. Director Thoms is also the past President and current member of the Orange County Academic Decathlon Association, Secretary of the Tustin Area Historical Society, and member of the Orange Elks and Foothill Communities Association.
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CONTACT
Phone: 714-538-5815
John Nielsen
Director - Division 4
Term Dec 2022 - Dec 2026
John Nielsen has lived in Tustin for 34 years, and has been involved with both civic and non-profit organizations. He served on the Tustin City Council from 2008 to 2016, and as Mayor in 2012 and 2016. John represented Tustin on the Orange County Sanitation District Board of Directors from 2010 to 2016 (Chairman from 2015 to 2016), while OC Sanitation District Chair the agency expanded to 130 million gallons a day of recycled water working with the Orange County Water District. He also served from 2009 to 2016 on the Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments representing the cities of Tustin, Orange and Villa Park. John served one year on the Orange County Fire Authority Board of Directors in 2010. He is also serving on the Board of Directors with local non-profit agencies, Orange County Council Boy Scouts of America, Tustin Host Lions Club, Tustin Area Historical Society, and Tustin Dollars for Scholars, which take up much of his spare time.
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CONTACT
Phone: 714-538-5815