January 15, 2025
EBMUD welcomes new Board members
OAKLAND – The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Board of Directors welcomed its newest members - Directors Joey D. Smith, Jim Oddie and Valerie Lewis, on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
In 2024, the Board bid farewell to three retiring directors: Lesa R. McIntosh, Doug A. Linney, and William B. Patterson. Together, they served a cumulative 79 years on the utility’s board.
EBMUD, which serves over 1.4 million water and 740,000 wastewater customers, is governed by a seven-member, publicly elected board of directors who serve four-year terms. The Board governs long-range strategy and priorities, including infrastructure investment, financial stewardship, environmental protection, workforce development and more.
Representing Ward 1, which includes Hercules, Rodeo, San Pablo and a portion of Richmond, as well as the communities of Crockett, North Richmond and Selby, is Joey D. Smith, who recently retired from EBMUD after more than 30 years of service. Smith started her career in the water industry in August 1992 and retired as a water conservation technician.
Referring to the transition from an active EBMUD employee to a retiree and newly elected board member, Smith said: “After 32 years of sitting on that side, this is definitely a change. I’m really looking forward to working with this Board. There will be some challenges, but it is going to be awesome.”
Representing Ward 5, which includes Alameda and San Lorenzo, West Oakland, the Oakland Airport and a portion of San Leandro, is Jim Oddie, who served as a member of the Alameda City Council from 2014 through 2020 and is currently a vice president and general counsel of a technology company in Lafayette.
“Poet W.H. Auden said, ‘Thousands have lived without love, not one without water,’ and that underscores how important this role is,” Oddie said. “Our job really is to make sure that water is available when you turn on the faucet, it’s high quality when it comes out, and it’s affordable. I’m honored to fill this role, and I hope I live up to the expectation.”
Representing Ward 6, which includes East Oakland and Park Blvd/5th Avenue south to San Leandro, is Valerie D. Lewis, who is an attorney and former assistant vice president and assistant legal secretary for Safeway Inc./Albertsons Companies.
“My friends will tell you if you don’t want an honest answer, don’t ask me,” Lewis said. “I ran for this seat to tackle the urgent challenges of climate change and its impact on our water supply, and the delivery of clean, affordable water. I will give you my best, I will be there, and you can count on that.”
Director Luz Gómez was appointed in April 2024 to fill the term of resigned board member John A. Coleman through November. She was successfully elected in November to complete the term and will serve through December 2026. Gómez represents Ward 2, which includes Alamo, Lafayette, Town of Danville, communities of Blackhawk and Diablo, and portions of Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and San Ramon.
The new board’s first act appointed Director Marguerite Young president and Director April Chan vice president for 2025.
Young was elected in 2014 to represent Ward 3 in Alameda County, which includes Piedmont and portions of Oakland, and in Contra Costa County includes Orinda, El Sobrante, Moraga, and portions of Pinole and Richmond.
Chan was elected in 2022 to represent Ward 7 in Alameda County, which includes Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview and portions of San Leandro, San Lorenzo and Hayward, and a portion of San Ramon in Contra Costa County.
Images available for download here.
###
The East Bay Municipal Utility District has a proud history of providing high-quality drinking water for 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. EBMUD’s wastewater system serves 740,000 customers and helps protect the ecosystem of San Francisco Bay. EBMUD is a not-for-profit public agency established in 1923.