Bill Dodd (California politician)

William Harold "Bill" Dodd (born June 10, 1956) is an American politician who is currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Democrat representing the 3rd Senate District, which encompasses the northern San Francisco Bay Area and Delta region.

Bill Dodd
Member of the California State Senate
from the 3rd district
Assumed office
December 5, 2016
Preceded byLois Wolk
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 4th district
In office
December 1, 2014 – November 30, 2016
Preceded byMariko Yamada
Succeeded byCecilia Aguiar-Curry
Napa County Board of Supervisors
In office
2000–2014
Personal details
Born
William Harold Dodd

(1956-06-10) June 10, 1956
Napa, California
Political partyDemocratic (2013–present)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (before 2013)
ResidenceNapa, California
Alma materCalifornia State University, Chico.[1]

Prior to his election to the State Senate, Dodd served in the California State Assembly representing the 4th Assembly District, which includes all or portions of Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano, and Colusa Counties. Before serving in the Assembly, he served on the Napa County Board of Supervisors.[2]

Business career

Prior to his time in elected office, Dodd was President and CEO of Diversified Water Systems, Inc.[3][4] In 1978, Dodd earned a degree in Business Management from California State University, Chico.

During his time in the water industry, Dodd was active in the water quality industry's state and national trade associations.[2] In 1985 he was elected President of the Pacific Water Quality Association and in 1994, elected to National Water Quality Association. During his tenure, the industry embraced third-party certification of water treatment products and lobbied in Sacramento on important legislation to protect consumers. He was awarded the PWQA and WQA Hall of Fame Award,[5] Award of Merit for work in PR and Governmental affairs.[6]

Political career

Prior to serving in the Assembly, Bill served on the Napa County Board of Supervisors for 14 years. He also represented the cities and county of Napa on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission including a two-year term as chairman. In addition, Dodd served as an Honorary Commander for the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base. Other boards and commission service included the Chair of the Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County, Chair of the Napa County League of Governments, Chair of the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency, and Chair of the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

During his tenure as supervisor, Dodd worked with officials and the community to improve Napa's infrastructure, foster economic development while supporting workers, and protect community services for the county's most vulnerable. Dodd helped secure nearly $100 million in funding for the Jamison Canyon Road project (Highway 12) and transportation projects in the Napa, Solano and Sonoma County corridor.[7]

In 2013, having previously been a registered Republican, Dodd changed his affiliation to the Democratic Party. In explaining the change, Dodd described himself as "a fiscal conservative but I agree with the Democratic viewpoint on most social issues". He also described himself as a pragmatist who parted company with the Republicans on the Board of Supervisors due to the outright opposition of the party to any tax increases, while Dodd supported a property tax increase to raise additional revenue.[1]

In 2014 Dodd ran for the District 4 Assembly seat. After gaining the most votes in the primary, Dodd defeated Republican Charlie Schaupp in a run-off election. Dodd won the seat by a 62-38 percent margin.[8] Dodd was named to the Transportation, Water, Parks and Wildlife, Business and Professions, Agriculture and Rules Committee.

Dodd declared his candidacy for the State Senate, District 3 in July 2015 and was endorsed by Governor Jerry Brown, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Alex Padilla, along with the majority of members in the Senate, Assembly and local elected officials.[9] He defeated liberal Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada with 58% of the vote to win election to the Senate.

In March 2017 Dodd coauthored California Senate Bill 649,[10] which would remove a city's ability to control where cell towers are placed and transfer the power to the state.[11]

2014 California State Assembly
California's 4th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Dodd 22,168 26.4
Republican Charlie Schaupp 21,873 26.1
Democratic Dan Wolk 19,963 23.8
Democratic Joe Krovoza 14,993 17.9
Republican Dustin Call 4,939 5.9
Total votes 83,936 100.0
General election
Democratic Bill Dodd 70,598 61.6
Republican Charlie Schaupp 43,981 38.4
Total votes 114,579 100.0
Democratic hold

2016 California State Senate
California State Senate election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Dodd 90,396 37.4
Democratic Mariko Yamada 72,243 29.9
Republican Greg "Coach" Coppes 54,525 22.6
Democratic Gabe Griess 24,540 10.2
Total votes 241,704 100.0
General election
Democratic Bill Dodd 207,927 58.1
Democratic Mariko Yamada 149,701 41.9
Total votes 357,628 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

Dodd was born and raised in Napa County, growing up on a small farm where his family had 10 acres of walnuts.[3]

Dodd graduated from California State University, Chico in 1978, majoring in business administration. Dodd was involved in student government, serving on the Policy Advisory Board and as president of the Inter-Fraternity Council.

Dodd serves on the boards of the Queen of the Valley Hospital Foundation, Justin-Siena High School, Health Care for the Poor Committee, Wolfe Center Youth Drug and Alcohol Center, Children's Health Initiative and is an honorary member of Hospice, Adult Day Services and Clinic Ole.[12]

Dodd and wife Mary reside in Napa. They have five children and eight grandchildren.[2]

His nephew is Hank Bachmeier, QB For Boise State

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References
  1. Linden, Tim (1 April 2015). "California Assemblyman Bill Dodd representing the 4th District, including the Napa Valley and surrounding communities". Western Growers Association. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. "Biography". Senator Bill Dodd. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  3. White, Jeremy B. (2015-03-30). "Get To Know a Freshman: Bill Dodd". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  4. "Bill Dodd | LinkedIn".
  5. "Pacific Water Quality Association - About Us - Industry Awards - Hall of Fame Awards Recipients". www.pwqa.org. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  6. "Award of Merit". www.wqa.org. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  7. COURTNEY, KEVIN. "Jameson Canyon widening may start soon". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  8. "Bill Dodd - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  9. "MY SUPPORTERS -- LOCAL ENDORSEMENTS".
  10. "SB-649 Wireless telecommunications facilities". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  11. "Cities take stand against California bill for 5G antenna placement". www.kcra.com. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  12. "About Bill Dodd - Bill Dodd for CA Senate District 3". Bill Dodd for CA Senate District 3. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
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