CalTax's 95th Annual Meeting

First elected in 2014, Autumn R. Burke represents the 62nd District in the California State Assembly. Her economically and ethnically diverse district is home to some of the world's most successful technology and aerospace companies, several of the region's most popular beaches, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles Air Force Base, and the Forum. A Los Angeles native, Assemblywoman Burke is an entrepreneur and small business owner with a proven record of business development and community outreach. She has worked to help provide pathways to green technology and energy efficiency for neighborhoods and disadvantaged communities. She has taken that same passion for innovation to Sacramento with a focus on policy to expand access to health care, education and living-wage jobs for all. Burke is the daughter of former Los Angeles County Supervisor, Assemblywoman and U.S. Congresswoman, Yvonne Braithwaite Burke. Autumn Burke's election to the legislature marks the first time in California history that a mother and daughter have both served in the State Assembly. Assemblywoman Burke represents the cities of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, and Gardena, the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, and Del Rey, and communities of Del Aire, West Athens, Lennox, Westmont, and Marina del Rey.

Adam Gray is focused on what matters most to the residents of California’s Central Valley: health, education, public safety, jobs, and water. He was born and raised in Merced, and put himself through college working at his family’s dairy supply. After school, Adam found work as a Legislative Aide in the State Legislature, before eventually returning home to become an assistant lecturer on the State Legislature at UC Merced. When the Great Recession hit, Adam chose to step up and be part of the solution. He was elected to the State Assembly in 2012 where he represents Merced County, and portions of Stanislaus County. During his time in office, Adam has fought to make the needs of the Central Valley a priority. When Merced County had the highest murder rate in the state, Adam secured $4.5 million in funding and worked with local law enforcement to develop a gang violence reduction program that resulted in the arrest of more than 50 gang leaders and the seizure of 21,000 rounds of ammunition. Adam spearheaded efforts to increase the number of doctors practicing medicine in the Central Valley by doubling the operating hours of intermittent health clinics, increasing Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, and pursuing the establishment of a School of Medicine at UC Merced. When one of the worst droughts in recent memory decimated farm water supplies, Adam advocated for the inclusion of nearly $3 billion for the construction of new water storage facilities in the Prop 1 water bond. After years of cuts to education, Adam supported a new school funding formula which radically increased per-pupil funding in the Central Valley and provided additional funds to better educate students learning English as a second language. Adam also passed bills to restore funding to the county fairs, dedicate $500 million to extend the ACE train to Merced and to complete the Campus Parkway, construct a new firehouse in Los Banos, and address the growing homeless epidemic in Merced and Stanislaus counties. Adam currently is a sitting member of the committees on Accountability & Administrative Review, Agriculture, Emergency Management, and Revenue and Taxation.

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris represents California’s 74th Assembly District – Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, and portions of Irvine & Huntington Beach. Cottie Petrie-Norris is a businesswoman and community leader who was elected to the State Assembly in 2018. In her first term, Cottie has secured millions of dollars in funding for projects in our district and introduced important legislation to combat sea level rise, improve services for veterans and help small businesses. Cottie serves as Chair of Assembly’s Accountability and Administrative Review Committee and as Chair of the Select Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. She also serves on the Assembly’s committees for Banking & Finance; Revenue & Taxation; Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy and Veterans Affairs. Cottie grew up in San Diego County and is a graduate of Yale University. Prior to being elected to the Assembly, Cottie had a successful career in finance and technology. She has helped build businesses and lead teams at Fortune 500 corporations, small companies and start-ups. Cottie lives in Laguna Beach with her husband, Colin, their two sons Dylan & Hayden and their rescue dog Flounder.

Assemblywoman Laurie Davies represents California’s 73rd Assembly District –Aliso Viejo, Coto de Caza, Dana Point, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Las Flores, Mission Viejo, Rancho Mission Viejo, Rancho Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Trabuco Canyon. Laurie Davies is a small business owner and former Mayor who was elected to the State Assembly in 2020. Laurie serves on the Assembly’s committees for: Appropriations, Communications and Conveyance, Governmental Organization, Human Services, Judiciary, and Transportation. Like so many, Laurie packed up everything and headed west in pursuit of the California Dream. Originally from Wisconsin, after graduating from high school and saving enough money to buy a Cutlass Supreme, Laurie moved to Southern California to attend Cal State Long Beach. After earning her degree, Laurie planted roots in Orange County where she worked locally in the Restaurant and Hospitality sector. Two decades ago, she launched a small business specializing in wedding and special events that she successfully still operates today. Over the course of nearly the last twenty years as an entrepreneur and small business owner, Laurie became active in the community. In recognition of her involvement in the community, she was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award from the Lions Club. Laurie was first elected in 2012 to the Laguna Niguel City Council in 2012. She was appointed Mayor in 2015 and re-elected in 2016. During her time on the Council, Laurie served as a Board Member on the Transportation Corridor Agency, Chaired the League of Cities Committee on Transportation, Communication and Public Works, and was elected to the OCTA. Laurie served the Board of the Association of California Cities Orange County as President. Laurie lives in Laguna Niguel with her husband, Neil.

Antonio Vazquez, Chairman of the Board of Equalization (BOE) representing the 3rd District, was elected to the Board in November 2018. His district includes most of Los Angeles County, all of Ventura County, and a portion of San Bernardino County. He is the first Latino ever elected to the BOE since its inception. Vazquez brings to the board over 20 years of business and government experience involving strategic and long-term planning, business development, and municipal and legislative advocacy. He is known as a tireless advocate for responsible growth and development, fiscal responsibility, public safety, affordable housing, open and responsive government, and education to improve the quality of life for all Californians.

Yvette Stowers was appointed California Deputy Controller of Taxation in January 2015. She began her tax career as an auditor for the Franchise Tax Board. At the FTB, she held various leadership roles in supervision, management and audit program development. She later joined a public accounting firm, where she helped develop a tax controversy practice, and resolved tax disputes involving unitary business issues, business credits and residency. In 2008, Stowers accepted a tax consulting position with Betty Yee, then a BOE member. Stowers holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from San Jose State University, and a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University, San Francisco.

Elected in November 2018, Ted Gaines represents the Board of Equalization's First District. He is a leading taxpayer advocate and is committed to providing trustworthy and transparent representation for the nearly ten million constituents in 30 counties of northern and eastern California. Prior to his election to the Board, Ted served 12 years in the State Legislature where he was a tireless voice for California’s taxpayers, ratepayers, businesses, and families. He also fought to protect citizens’ privacy and led major efforts to bring thousands of new jobs to the state, as well as supporting critical legislation to strengthen and expand California’s infrastructure. Ted began his public service career in local government as a member of the City of Roseville's Planning Commission from 1997 to 1999. In 2000, he was elected to the Placer County Board of Supervisors and re-elected in 2004. Ted is a devoted public servant who is dedicated to delivering excellent service to constituents and taxpayers as well as providing helpful information and outreach opportunities. In addition to his life in public service, Ted is a successful small business owner, having owned Gaines Insurance for more than 30 years. He has been married to his beautiful wife Beth since 1985 and together they reside in El Dorado County and are blessed with six children and three grandchildren.

Mike Schaefer made history on January 7, 2019 in Sacramento when he took his Oath of Office as a member of the California State Board of Equalization from Governor Gavin Newsom, becoming the oldest freshman constitutional officer in state history. Mike Schaefer serves as Vice Chair of the California State Board of Equalization, the only publicly elected tax commission in the United States. He represents 10 million people in five Southern California counties including San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial.

Brenda Fleming has over thirty years of experience working in state government. Ms. Fleming started her state career working for the California State Legislature. She joined the Office of Legislative Counsel's Legislative Data Center in January 1993 where she served in management roles, until her appointment to the Deputy Director position in 1999. Ms. Fleming has served as the CIO for the State Board of Equalization (BOE) from 2011 to 2017, with an interim appointment as BOE's acting Chief Deputy Director from October 2016 through June 2017, then appointed to Chief Deputy Director October 2017 through December 2018. Ms. Fleming then was appointed to Acting Executive Director December 28, 2018 through January 29, 2019.

Gabriel Petek was appointed to the position of the Legislative Analyst in February 2019, as the sixth person to serve in that capacity since the office was founded in 1941. As the Legislative Analyst, Gabriel serves as the nonpartisan fiscal advisor to both houses of the California Legislature and oversees the preparation of fiscal and policy analyses of the state’s budget and programs. His office is also responsible for preparing impartial analyses of all initiatives and constitutional measures qualifying for the state’s ballot. Before joining the office, Gabriel worked for two decades at S&P Global Ratings. Gabriel held several positions at S&P before he was ultimately named the Managing Director and Sector Leader in the U.S. States Group of the U.S. Public Finance Division in San Francisco. Gabriel was S&P’s primary analyst for the states of California and Illinois. Gabriel graduated with a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, during which time he interned at the City of Boston’s Office of Management and Budget. In addition, he earned his B.A., magna cum laude, in political science from Loyola Marymount University, with a portion of his undergraduate coursework completed through his participation in the Hansard Scholars Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Gabriel holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and has served as an advisor to the Government Finance Officer’s Association’s Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy. He currently serves on the Statewide Leadership Council of the Public Policy Institute of California. Gabriel is married to Andrea de la Fuente and has two children, Eden (11) and William (9). He enjoys running, listening to his daughter play violin, and has coached his son’s little league baseball teams for four years.

Rob is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CalTax, responsible for managing the staff and overall direction of the association. Rob joined CalTax in 2009, and served as Director of State & Local Finance and Director of the California Tax Foundation, CalTax’s nonprofit research entity. Rob is a member of the Franchise Tax Board Advisory Board. He has completed extensive research on tax policy, including property taxes under Proposition 13.

David was named Vice President of Communications and Research in January 2010, after serving since 2007 as Director of Communications. He fields media inquiries, oversees research projects and production of CalTax publications, and serves as editor of the CalTaxletter. From 1992 to 2004, he worked for the Metropolitan News Company, first as the Capitol bureau chief and later as editor of Senior Spectrum newspaper, which received several journalism awards during his five-year tenure.

Peter is the Vice President of Policy at CalTax. He has been with CalTax since 2011, first as a Policy Analyst and since 2015 as a registered lobbyist. In addition to representing CalTax in the Capitol, he analyzes legislation relating to tax policy, and manages special projects. He also provides research and writing for CalTax publications. Peter’s research and writing covers a broad spectrum of state tax policy, as well as government efficiency, elections and local tax issues.