Dave Potter is a

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, having served at the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, and

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

levels.

Early life and education

Potter was born in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, t ...

to John Lee "Johnny" Potter and Ruth E. (Goedert) Potter. He attended

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He majored in English Language and Letters. He moved to the Monterey Peninsula in 1970.

Political career

Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea

On November 8, 2018, Dave Potter was elected mayor of

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

for a 2 year term. He received nearly 60% of the vote. He was reelected on November 3, 2020, again for a 2 year term as mayor, with 73.62% of the vote.

Monterey County Board of Supervisors

Dave Potter previously served as the

5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

representative and Chairman of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, board member and Chairman of the

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...

Reuse Authority, and board member and Chairman of the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach. History Monterey Monterey was founded in 17 ...

Water Management District. In addition, he also represents the

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

on the

Natividad Medical Center Natividad Hospital (NMC) is a 172-bed acute-care teaching hospital located in Salinas, California, Salinas, California. The hospital is owned and operated by Monterey County, California, Monterey County and the hospital's emergency department rec ...

Board of Trustees. Potter previously represented the Central Coast on the California Coastal Commission, and served on the

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and the Monterey City Planning Commission. Potter is a registered

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Dave Potter was first elected to the 5th District seat on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in 1996. Geographically the largest of the five supervisorial districts in Monterey County, the 5th District covers most of the

and

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

line of Monterey County, extending southward to the county's border with

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...

. The 5th District includes the cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea,

, and Pacific Grove; the unincorporated communities of Carmel Valley,

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

, San Benancio, Corral de Tierra, and Jamesburg; military installations at the

Presidio of Monterey The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC) ...

, the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

, and the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

; and the

Ventana Wilderness The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the Ventana Wilderness Act redesig ...

area of the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

. In addition to representing District 5, Potter is the current Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He also served as Chairman in 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2012, and served as

Vice Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

in 1997 and 2001. Potter's current committee assignments include the Board’s Legislative Committee, Fort Ord Committee, and Capital Improvements Committee. Mr. Potter has served on the Board for nearly 4 terms, winning reelection in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. His current term expires in January 2017.

California Coastal Commission

Dave Potter was first appointed to the California Coastal Commission from 1997 to 2009. As a

state agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG) is the interconnected structures and proc ...

with

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an Arbitration, arbitration panel or tribunal, tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law en ...

regulatory oversight over land use and public access in the California coastal zone, the Commission's mission is to "protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline". Appointments to the Commission are split evenly between the Speaker of the Assembly, the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, and the

Senate Rules Committee The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, also called the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualificat ...

. Mr. Potter's seat was one of the four appointees allotted to the Speaker of the Assembly. He was reappointed by the Speaker in 2000 and 2002, and served as Vice Chairman between March 1999 and December 2002. Potter served on the Commission until 2009 when several environmental groups, led by the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, lobbied for his replacement, arguing that Potter's time on the Commission had been "a genuine disaster." In support of their position, the Sierra Club cited Potter's conservation voting score - ranked as the second lowest of all Commissioners and the lowest of any Democrat serving on the Commission at that time. As a result of the Sierra Club's efforts, Potter was replaced on the Coastal Commission by then-Assembly Speaker

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician, social worker and former physician assistant who is serving as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Bass had previously served in the U.S ...

in August 2009 with current Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors member Mark Stone.

Fort Ord Reuse Authority

Mr. Potter has served on the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) Board of Directors since 1993 and currently serves as its Chairman. As a large, multi-governmental body responsible for the redevelopment of the 28,000 acre former Fort Ord Military Installation, FORA is composed of elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as representatives from the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

and educational bodies such as

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and ...

at the primary, secondary, and

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

levels. Voting members are made up of representatives from the cities of

, Del Rey Oaks,

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

, Sand City,

, Pacific Grove, Salinas, and Seaside as well as 2 representatives from the County of Monterey; of which Potter is one. Ex officio members are composed of representatives from the

Monterey Peninsula College Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) is a public community college in Monterey, California. Established in 1947, it is a part of the California Community Colleges system. There are two additional MPC campuses located in Marina, CA, and Seaside, ...

, the

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is a public school district based in Monterey County, California, United States. The district serves the cities of Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Sand City, Seaside and a portion of unincorporated De ...

California's 17th congressional district California's 17th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that is currently represented by Ro Khanna. It is located in the South Bay and East Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area. The district i ...

, California's 15th State Senate district,

California's 27th State Assembly district California's 27th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Ash Kalra of San Jose. District profile Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the district includes Down ...

, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, the Chancellor of the California State University, the President of the University of California, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and the Transportation Agency of Monterey County.

Fair Political Practices Commission investigations

In recent years, Potter has been the subject of three investigations by the

California Fair Political Practices Commission The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) of California is a five-member independent nonpartisan commission that has primary responsibility for the impartial and effective administration of the Political Reform Act of 1974. The Commission's ...

(FPPC). The first investigation, regarding alleged money-laundering, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing, and the plaintiff entered into a confidential settlement with Potter. In the second investigation, which involved a trip to Ireland, Potter was cleared of wrongdoing. The third investigation, regarding allegations related to conflict of interest, was closed (without prejudice) in November 2013.Rubin, Sara.
"DA Investigation Questions Former Marina Coast Board Member Who Claims Feds Are on the Desal Case"
''Monterey County Weekly'' (October 3, 2013).

Personal life

Potter is married and lives with his wife, Janine in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Potter has three adult children, Myles Benjamin Armstrong, Sarah and Tyler.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Dave Living people County supervisors in California People from Fort Ord, California California Democrats People from Hingham, Massachusetts People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Year of birth missing (living people)