Chris has extensive experience in local government and politics. Currently serving as City Manager for the City of Canyon Lake, located in Southwest Riverside County, California, Chris has held numerous elected and staff positions within city, county and special district government agencies.  

 

His entrée into local government was as Mayor and a City Councilman in the City of Westlake Village, in Western Los Angeles County, a seat he won at the age of 23. Chris has also served on the Board of Directors of the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency (Riverside County, CA), and he currently sits on the Board of Directors and serves as President of the Yucaipa Valley Water District (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA).

 

From 2014 to 2017, Chris worked as an Administrative Analyst and then as Deputy Chief of Staff for a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. In this role, he advised the Supervisor on a wide range of policy issues impacting the County’s two million residents, including the management of the County’s $5.4 billion budget and 22,000 employees. 

 

Chris is perhaps best known in local political circles as the original Founder and President of the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association, which he started in 2006. The IETA has grown to become one of the largest and most recognized taxpayer advocacy organizations and political action committees operating in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Each election cycle the IETA has raised and spent anywhere from $100,000 to $1.4 million in the cause of protecting the interests of taxpayers at the ballot box.

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In addition to serving in elected and appointed office and managing a political action committee, Chris has provided strategic counsel on city council, special district, county, and state legislative races, as well as ballot measure races, throughout Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Having guided scores of successful political and public affairs campaigns, he serves as a trusted and respected advisor to numerous elected officials throughout Southern California.

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Chris holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Political Science from California Lutheran University, in Thousand Oaks, California, and has completed all required coursework for a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration.