Brett R. Barbre

Division 1

2000 - Present

Brett R. Barbre was elected to the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) board in November 2000 with nearly 70% of the votes cast.  He was subsequently re-elected in November 2002 by a similar margin and was unanimously re-elected in 2006 when nobody chose to run against him.  He represents Division I, which includes the cities of Brea, Buena Park, La Habra, La Palma, Placentia and Yorba Linda. Prior to his election to MWDOC, Barbre was an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Yorba Linda Water District from 1998 to 2000.

His primary goal in the water community is to ensure there is adequate water supply for all of the needs in Orange County.  He is leading the efforts to build a desalination plant in Dana Point and has been active in pursuing the development of de-sal plants in Huntington Beach and San Onofre.  He has successfully in secured millions of dollars in local, state and federal funds to build these projects in order to increase water reliability for Orange County.   

Barbre is the Principal of Barbre & Associates, a public affairs company specializing in lobbying, campaigns, media and public relations. 

Throughout his 25 year tenure in Orange County public affairs, Barbre has been extensively quoted in most major newspapers in California including, the Los Angeles Times, and the Orange County Register. He has appeared in such prominent business publications as Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, The Bond Buyer and the Dow Jones News Wire, and has also appeared on countless local and national public policy programs, including serving as the political commentator throughout the 2008 election season for Daybreak OC (KDOC-56).

For over seven years, Barbre served in the office of the Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector, including time as the Chief Assistant Treasurer-Tax Collector and as Deputy Treasurer-Tax Collector and Public Information Officer. He also spent seven years on the staff of Congressman Bill Dannemeyer, who was the ranking member of the sub-committee on Health & the Environment, where Barbre developed his expertise on water-related issues. 

As a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, Barbre can often be found travelling around the country to watch them play.  He is a graduate of George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, and being a native of north Orange County, he attended and graduated from Glenknoll Elementary School, Bernardo Yorba Junior High School and Esperanza High School. He has been a resident of Yorba Linda since 1969 where he currently resides with his wife, Jean, two daughters, Kim and Kathryn, and their two yellow labs - Fenway and Huckleberry.

 

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Wayne A. Clark
Division 5

1979 - Present

Wayne A. Clark, a retired business owner, founded and served as Executive Director of the Urban Water Institute, a nonprofit corporation devoted to providing information on the economics and management of water resources. Now retired from the Institute, he serves on its board of directors.

Elected to the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) Board of Directors in 1979, Director Clark represents Newport Beach, portions of Irvine, Lake Forest and Laguna Woods. He has served as President several times during his tenure. He also presently represents the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) as elected alternate to the board of the National Water Resources Association.

Director Clark helped form the Irvine Unified School District and served as charter chairman of the Irvine City Planning Commission. He served as a director of the Irvine Ranch Water District from 1977 to 1981 and was the first elected director to serve as president.

An early member of the Orange County Press Club, Director Clark was a writer and columnist for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, before becoming the first public information officer for the University of California, Irvine. He later became executive assistant to a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and was president and owner of a public relations consulting firm. Among several other campaigns, he managed a successful state-wide bond issue campaign that financed the start-up of UC-Irvine and several other campuses of higher education.

After serving in the US Army post WWII, Director Clark earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and attended Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. A native of California, he is a long-time resident of Orange County, now residing with his wife, Margaret, in Irvine.

 

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Larry D. Dick
Division 2

2000 - Present

Larry D. Dick was elected to the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) Board of Directors in November 2000 and re-elected in 2002 and 2006. He represents Division 2, which includes the Cities of Garden Grove, Orange, Tustin and Villa Park.

Director Dick has been active in the Orange County water community since 1995, when he was first selected as a board member of the Serrano Water District and SWD Recreation, Inc., which governs recreation activities at Irvine Lake and provides water for Villa Park and a portion of East Orange. He is an active member of the Association of California Water Agencies and the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County, which he currently chairs. Director Dick has also worked to protect Orange County's special districts, serving on the Executive Committee of the Independent Special Districts of Orange County.

Director Dick is also one of MWDOC’s four representatives on the Metropolitan Board of Directors, where he has served since 2003.  Currently he serves on Metropolitan’s Water Planning and Stewardship, Communication and Legislation, Audit and Ethics, and Legal and Human Resources Committees (where he serves as Vice-Chair).

President and CEO of the La Salle Group in Orange, Director Dick's business has been named Small Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce. An active member of his community, he serves or has served on the executive boards of both the Garden Grove and Orange Chambers of Commerce. He is also a member of American Legion Post #0132, Orange Rotary Club, and serves on the Leadership Council that supports St. Joseph Hospital. In addition, Director Dick is a board member of the Santiago Canyon College Foundation, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Orange County Taxpayers Association.

The Orange Republican Women's Federation recently nominated Director Dick "Humanitarian of the Year." He was named Small Business Owner of the Year for 2004.

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Joan C. Finnegan, President
Division 4

2000 - Present

Director Finnegan was a member of the Coastal Municipal Water District Board of Directors from 1985 until its consolidation with MWDOC, serving twice as Vice President and President during her tenure there. In November 2000, she was elected to represent Division 4 on the newly consolidated MWDOC board, where she represents portions of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach.

She is past President and current Vice President of the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County (WACO) and has been active on the Orange County Water Task Force Committee and the Association of California Water Agencies Region 10 Board. She has held officer positions for the Independent Special Districts of Orange County (ISDOC) and the Orange County Water Association.

Director Finnegan was named Assemblyman Ken Maddox's Woman of the Year of the 68^th District in 2003 and Costa Mesa Woman of the Year in 1980. She served on the Orange County Grand Jury 1980-81. She was also employed by the Mesa Consolidated Water District for more than 21 years as the district's officer manager and auditor.

A 54-year resident of Orange County, Finnegan resides in Costa Mesa with her husband, Robert. They are the parents of two children and the grandparents of four. Her interest in water also extends to an interest in Japanese Koi fish - she is past president of the Southern California Koi Club, past president and founder of the Orange County chapter of the Zen Nippon Arinkai organization from Japan. She was also President three times of the Associated Koi Clubs of America (AKCA).

Jeffery M. Thomas

Division 6, Vice President

2009 - Present

Jeffery Thomas was appointed to the Municipal Water District of Orange County Board of Directors in August of 2009 and represents Division 6: Santa Margarita Water District and portions of the City of Tustin, Irvine Ranch Water District and Trabuco Canyon Water District.  As a community leader, Mr. Thomas has served as Mayor and City Councilman for the city of Tustin from 1992 - 2004.  He is credited for having saved the city of Tustin over $1 million by recommending the removal of city funds from the Orange County Investment Pool.

For over 25 years Mr. Thomas has been in the investment management industry, from industry leaders like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, to his current firm Sage Advisory Services.  He currently advises a broad range of clients including municipalities, corporations, hospitals, endowments, foundations, insurance companies and high net worth individuals.

As a dedicated fixed income manager, Sage Advisory Services specializes in separate customized managed accounts; from corporate cash and intermediate bonds to municipal bonds.  Mr. Thomas has received significant recognition from national consultants such as Smith Barney to the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA).  He has given several keynote speeches nationally on the mismanagement and subsequent reorganization of the Orange County Investment Pool.

Mr. Thomas's financial expertise has led to several key appointments, including being appointed by the Orange County Supervisors to Chairman of the Orange County Oversight Committee and by Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach as Chairman of the Treasurer's Advisory Committee.  These committees have largely been credited with restructuring and rebuilding the Orange County Investment Pool after the County bankruptcy in 1994.  Additionally, he was appointed by State Treasurer Matt Fong to the Technical Advisory Committee for the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, and by Governor Pete Wilson to the California Housing Partnership Corporation.

Mr. Thomas holds a Juris Doctorate from Western State University, College of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science from California State University, Fullerton.