Mesa Water District Director James R. Fisler Elected as Special District Voting Member of Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission

COSTA MESA, Calif.; July 31, 2019 — Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®) is pleased to announce that Director James R. (“Jim”) Fisler was elected to the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (OC LAFCO) as a Special District voting member. In this vital role, he will represent the mutual interests of Orange County’s water, wastewater, sanitary, cemetery, library, vector control, recreation and parks, and other special districts that provide services to their communities. Director Fisler previously served as OC LAFCO’s Special District Alternate Commissioner, having been elected by the Independent Special District Selection Committee in 2011, and re-elected in 2014 and 2018.

“I am deeply committed to supporting the economical, effective and efficient delivery of government services to the public throughout Orange County,” said Director Fisler. “It’s an honor to ascend to the Special District Voting Member seat after more than eight years of OC LAFCO service as the Special District Alternate Commissioner.”

All California counties have a LAFCO as mandated by state legislation. Per state mandate, OC LAFCO determines local government agencies’ spheres of influence in Orange County and ensures the provision of cost-efficient municipal services to the public by cities, special districts, and the County of Orange in unincorporated areas. The OC LAFCO Commission consists of seven voting members, including two members from Orange County’s Board of Supervisors, two council members from Orange County cities, two board members from Orange County special districts, and one Orange County public member.

Director Fisler was appointed to Mesa Water’s Board of Directors in August 2009, elected in 2010, and re-elected in 2012 and 2016. He represents Division 2, encompassing the Mesa Verde area in Costa Mesa. Director Fisler served as Board President from 2012 to 2014, and he currently serves as Chairman of Mesa Water’s Finance Committee and as Vice Chairman of its Legislative & Public Affairs Committee.

In addition to serving on Mesa Water’s Board, Director Fisler serves the Association of California Water Agencies as a member of its Local Government Committee. Director Fisler also serves as Immediate Past President of the Independent Special Districts of Orange County. In 2017, he was appointed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to the County of Orange Housing and Community Development Commission where, most recently, he was selected to serve as Vice Chair.

Director Fisler has a passion for public policy and community service. Prior to joining Mesa Water’s Board, he served as Vice Chair of the City of Costa Mesa’s Planning Commission and, before that, as a City Parks and Recreation Commissioner, among other City of Costa Mesa committees. Additionally, he serves on the Board of the City of Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, and he previously served as a Board member of the Costa Mesa Senior Center and the Friends of Costa Mesa Libraries.

Director Fisler will be officially sworn in by OC LAFCO at its next regularly scheduled meeting on August 14.

About Mesa Water

Founded on January 1, 1960, and governed by a publicly-elected, five-member Board of Directors, Mesa Water is an independent special district that provides water service to 110,000 residents in an 18-square-mile service area that includes most of Costa Mesa, a portion of Newport Beach, and John Wayne Airport. Mesa Water provides 100 percent local reliable groundwater to its customers due to the Mesa Water Reliability Facility. Visit MesaWater.org, follow @MesaWater on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, email, or call 949.631.1200 to learn more.