After nearly two decades as a
successful architect, Ron Roberts walked
away from the private sector for the opportunity
to serve the city he has called home now for more
than fifty years.

In 1987, the Berkeley-educated architect decided to leave
the architectural firm where he had risen to Managing Partner
in order to launch a campaign for a seat on the San Diego City
Council. In that, his first bid for public office, Ron was triumphant.

During his seven years on the City Council, Ron put his private sector background to good use. He led the charge to dismantle the city’s anti-business policies that had stifled economic growth. He also was instrumental in expanding the number of police officers on the streets and in creating a city/county partnership to build a new downtown jail.

By the mid-90s, Ron was ready for a change – and a new challenge. In 1994, he was elected to represent the multi-ethnic Fourth District on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

For Ron, however, there was little time for celebration. He and his new colleagues were immediately faced with a test of the highest order – steering the County away from bankruptcy. Sadly, the previous Board of Supervisors had made a string of poor financial decisions that placed the County on the verge of fiscal collapse.

Through disciplined decision-making and with a fresh private-sector approach, Ron and his colleagues engineered a phenomenal turnaround, taking the County from the brink of financial disaster to become one of the best-managed counties in America. The San Diego County Taxpayers Association would go on to hail the Board of Supervisors as “the model of creative and innovative government leadership,” and “the poster child of good fiscal governance.” In 2002, Washington, D.C.-based Governing Magazine heralded the County of San Diego as one of the three best-run counties in the nation.

A product of public housing, it was perhaps Ron’s own meager beginnings that stirred his passion to help the less fortunate, especially at-risk children.

In 1997, he helped launch the groundbreaking Critical Hours after-school program to keep middle school students on track and off the streets. Today, this unique county program – which combines art, athletics and academics – has spread to more than 50 middle schools throughout the region.

Ron also played a major role in the creation of the San Pasqual Academy, a one-of-a-kind residential campus exclusively for foster teens. For his work, Ron was recently presented with the prestigious Caucus Courthouse Award by the National Association of Counties as well as the Congressional Angel in Adoption Award.

Ron also has helped develop several youth facilities, including the new Clairemont Skatepark, which debuted in 2002, and the soon-to-be-completed library, gym and teen center multiplex in Spring Valley. Also, thanks to Ron’s leadership, a plan to construct a new teen center in Linda Vista is in the making.

On the waterfront downtown, Ron is currently mounting a visionary effort to transform the two large parking lots that bookend the historic County Administration Center into a grand waterfront park that will change the face and the heart of the North Embarcadero. Once slated for high-rise hotels and office buildings, these lots will soon provide San Diegans with a beautiful grassy picnic area to play ball, throw a Frisbee, or just soak up some sun and watch the sailboats go by.

On the issue of air quality, perhaps no other San Diegan has done more to clean up our skies than Ron. As a member of the California Air Resources Board, Ron helped craft vehicle-emission legislation that, along with other local initiatives, has given the San Diego region its cleanest air in more than 50 years. Ron also started the County’s wildly popular Lawnmower Trade-In Day, a yearly spring-time event that enables local residents to purchase a $370 battery-rechargeable mower for only $150 if they turn in their smog-spewing, gas-powered mower. Not surprisingly, the event has been a sell-out every year since its launch in 2000.

In addition to the California Air Resources Board, Ron also serves on the Metropolitan Transit Development Board, the San Diego Workforce Partnership Board, the San Diego Association of Governments’ transportation subcommittee, the City-County Reinvestment Task Force and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.

Throughout his career, Ron has worked diligently and sometimes defiantly to make San Diego a better place for all of us. His reputation is that of a forward-thinking civic leader who’s not afraid to speak out on the issues of the day. Ron has earned the respect of a great many San Diegans, from blue-collar workers to blue-chip CEOs.

As a long-time resident who is deeply passionate about preserving our city’s beauty and charm for the next generation, Ron truly represents San Diego’s past, present and future.

Ron lives in Mission Hills with his wife of 38 years, Helene. They have three daughters: Christine, who works for Qualcomm; Andrea, an emergency room doctor in Los Angeles; and Deborah, who is studying to become a teacher.

A voracious reader and movie buff, Ron enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially his new grandson, Nicholas, who was born in 2001.