SANTA ANA — Supervisor Lisa Bartlett has been chosen unanimously by her colleagues to serve as chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors for 2016.
Bartlett, who was previously vice chair, assumed her new post on Jan. 12.
Supervisor Michelle Steel, Second District, will serve as the board’s vice chair.
This is Bartlett’s second year on the board. She was elected in November 2014 and took office in December 2014. She began her involvement in local governance in 2006 when she was elected to the Dana Point City Council. She later served as mayor pro tem in 2007-08 and as mayor in 2009 and 2014. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration.
Bartlett thanked her colleagues for their “confidence, respect and continued support.”
“I’m looking forward to a very productive year as we collectively work towards tackling a number of key county-wide initiatives,” she said, including increasing government effectiveness and efficiency, working to end homelessness in Orange County, and the revitalization of Dana Point Harbor.
“I strongly believe that 2016 will be a year in which our board, our employees and our county will achieve great things that will have a positive impact well into the future,” Bartlett added. “Our collective strategic goals and initiatives will literally change lives, enhance the business climate in the county and truly make Orange County one of the best places to live, work and play.”
Bartlett represents the 5th District, the county’s second-largest and home to more than 650,000 residents. It includes Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, and the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza and Ladera Ranch.
Steel is also serving her second year on the board. She represents the 2nd District, which includes Buena Park (parts), Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley (parts), Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton, Rossmoor, Sunset Beach, Surfside and Santa Ana Heights.
“Chairwoman Bartlett and I look forward to working together with our colleagues to make sure that Orange County is a better county over the next year,” she said.
Supervisor Andrew Do (1st District) praised the outgoing board chairman, Supervisor Todd Spitzer (3rd District), for his leadership in 2015. “You achieved everything you set out to do and proved why you have been such an asset to the people of Orange County,” he said.
Bartlett also thanked Spitzer “for your passion and leadership as chair over the past year.”
Spitzer will continue to serve on the board along with Supervisor Shawn Nelson (4th District).
The election last year of Do, a Vietnamese American attorney and former member of the Garden Grove City Council, gave the Board of Supervisors an Asian American majority for the first time. Steel, a former member of the State Board of Equalization, is a Korean American and Bartlett is a Japanese American. All three are Republicans.