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The San Diego County Taxpayers' Association (SDCTA) is a non-profit, non-partisan association of individuals, businesses, and organizations who promote effective and efficient government on behalf of all San Diego County Taxpayers in San Diego, California.
Mission
To support the public, civic leaders and policymakers with independent research on economic and quality-of-life issues impacting taxpayers and ratepayers countywide.
Policy Platform
SDCTA is a nonpartisan association of individuals, businesses, and organizations who promote effective and efficient government on behalf of all San Diego County taxpayers. SDCTA engages civic leadership as well as the public to develop and promote well researched policy solutions.
SDCTA envisions a future where San Diego citizens receive a better return on investment in public assets and services.
SDCTA works to reduce the need for tax revenue or taxpayer debt by advocating for policies that create efficiencies in public services, which affect San Diegans’ quality of life and against policies that disengage, disaffect, and disenfranchise the taxpayer.
History
The San Diego Taxpayers Association was founded on September 18, 1945, just four days after the abrupt end of WWII. As the world entered the atomic era, San Diego's wartime economy evaporated. Factory production of warplanes halted and thousands were out of work. Meanwhile, political and civic leaders grappled with what San Diego should become in this brave new world.
The Association was founded by the "Broadway Barons” aircraft pioneer Claude T. Ryan; attorneys Walter Ames and J.D. Forward; contractors Roscoe “Pappy” Hazard and Walter Trepte; department store owner Guilford Whitney and others who felt that San Diego needed an independent civic organization[1] separate and distinct from the City-subsidized Chamber of Commerce to monitor government spending and efficiency as San Diego planned its future in the post-war world.
In early 1946 the San Diego Taxpayers Association - SDTA (later SDCTA, when “County” was added to its name in the 1980’s) - hired its first Executive Director, Jack Borchers. Jack, a tax attorney by training, was fresh from serving on Admiral Nimitz’s staff in Hawaii. Jack initiated the detailed analysis and independent approach to issues that is still the signature of today’s Taxpayers Association.
The “Borchers’ era” resulted in SDCTA becoming a key player in San Diego’s civic establishment. Borchers worked closely with dairyman-Mayor Harley Knox in developing a constructive working relationship with local government. Jack served until 1955.
The Association’s second Executive Director, John Leppert (who retired as Assistant City Manager for the City of San Diego in 1997), ran SDCTA from 1955 to 1970 and cemented the Association’s role as a permanent civic fixture.
The work of SDCTA’s pioneers, its staff and its dedicated and hardworking Board of Directors is why public opinion polls consistently rank SDCTA as the most “influential” and “trusted” public policy institution in San Diego.
Past Presidents
| Year | Executive Director | Board Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 - 1951 | John F. "Jack" Borchers | Guilford Whitney |
| 1952 - 1953 | John F. "Jack" Borchers | H. Philip Anewalt |
| 1954 | John F. "Jack" Borchers | Edward C. Hall |
| 1955 | John C. Leppert | Edward C. Hall |
| 1956 - 1958 | John C. Leppert | Colin A. Stillwagon |
| 1959 - 1960 | John C. Leppert | D.R. Gable |
| 1961 - 1962 | John C. Leppert | Eugene T. Ageno |
| 1963 | John C. Leppert | Colin A. Stillwagon |
| 1964 - 1966 | John C. Leppert | Douglas R. Giddings |
| 1967 | John C. Leppert | Nolan Wright |
| 1968 - 1969 | John C. Leppert | Paul Leyton |
| 1970 - 1971 | Stanley H. Coombs | Ken Kitson |
| 1972 | Stanley H. Coombs | Richard Hibbard |
| 1973 | Joel Strobl | Richard Hibbard |
| 1974 | Joel Strobl | Thomas T. Brekka/Norman Roberts |
| 1975 | Joel Strobl | Norman Roberts |
| 1976 | Joel Strobl | Daniel Larsen |
| 1977 | James Harris | Daniel Larsen |
| 1978 | James Harris | Edwin Gray |
| 1979 | James Harris/Craig Lee | Edwin Gray |
| 1980 | Craig Lee | Edwin Grey |
| 1981 | Craig Lee | Peter Fritz |
| 1982 | Craig Lee | Edward Peterson |
| 1983 | Mark Nelson | Edward Peterson |
| 1984 - 1985 | Mark Nelson | Robert J. Lichter |
| 1986 - 1987 | Mark Nelson | Terry O'Malley |
| 1988 | Mark Nelson | Barry I. Newman |
| 1989 | Mark Nelson/Jim Ryan | Barry I. Newman/Milton C. Clow |
| 1990 | Jim Ryan | Milton C. Clow |
| 1991 | Steve Frates | Mark Nelson |
| 1992 | Steve Frates | Irby McMichae |
| 1993 - 1994 | Steve Frates | David Geerdes |
| 1995 - 1997 | Scott Barnett | Jack Monger |
| 1998 | Scott Barnett | Larry Nuffer |
| 1999 - 2000 | Scott Barnett | Tom Turner |
| 2001 | Scott Barnett | Mary Ball |
| 2002 | Geoff Patnoe | Mary Ball |
| 2003 | Geoff Patnoe/Lisa Briggs | April Boling |
| 2004 | Lisa Briggs | April Boling |
| 2005 | Lisa Briggs | John O'Neill |
| 2006 - 2008 | Lani Lutar | John O'Neill |
| 2009 - 2011 | Lani Lutar | Mike McDowell |
| 2012 | Lani Lutar | Greg Stein |
| 2013 | Lani Lutar/Felipe Monroig | Greg Stein |
| 2014 | Felipe Monroig/W. Mark Leslie | Greg Stein |