Commissioner & Staff Info

The composition of LAFCO Commissions varies from county to county. Riverside’s Commission consists of members who represent all levels of local government. These are: two County supervisors selected by the Board of Supervisors; two city council representatives selected by the City Selection Committee within Riverside County; two special district board members selected by the Special District Selection Committee, one public member selected by the other members of the Commission. For each category of commissioner represented (county, city special district, and public) there is one alternate. Alternate members may attend LAFCO meetings but only vote on items when a regular member from their category is absent. Each Commission member serves a four-year term.

Michael M. Vargas

Name: Michael M. Vargas

Position: City Member, Chair

Email: mvargas@cityofperris.org

Bio: Michael was born and raised in Los Angeles. He is married to Julie Vargas, and they have four daughters and six grandchildren. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and a...

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Stephen J. Tomanelli

Name: Stephen J. Tomanelli

Position: Public Member, Vice-Chair

Email: care@hughes.net

Bio: Stephen Tomanelli is the Owner-Operator of Computer Care which was established in 1986. Computer Care is a Sole Proprietorship Company specializing in computer sales and service...

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Kevin Jeffries

Name: Kevin Jeffries

Position: County Member

Email: District1@rivco.org

Bio: Kevin Jeffries was elected in November 2012 to represent the residents of the 1st Supervisorial District, which includes about two-thirds of the City of Riverside, as well as La...

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Yxstian Gutierrez

Name: Yxstian Gutierrez

Position: County Member

Email: district5@rivco.org

Bio: Dr. Yxstian Gutierrez (Pronounced IX-tian similar to Chris-tian) is Riverside County’s 5th District Supervisor, a former local mayor, teacher, and community leader who is serv...

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Steve Sanchez

Name: Steve Sanchez

Position: City Member

Email: ssanchez@laquintaca.gov

Bio: At the age of 19, Steve enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as an Infantryman. He served 8 years (1996-2004) with deployments in Asia and a combat tour during the ground ...

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Stephen Corona

Name: Stephen Corona

Position: Special District Member

Email: coronast@emwd.org

Bio: Steve Corona grew up in Cucamonga, CA and attended Alta Loma High School, graduating in 1975. He then attended Pepperdine University, graduating in 1978 with a Bachelor of Scien...

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Castulo Estrada

Name: Castulo Estrada

Position: Special District Member

Email: cestrada@cvwd.org

Bio: Cástulo Estrada was elected to the Coachella Valley Water District in 2014, he was re-elected in 2018 and appointed without opposition in 2022 to his current term, which ends i...

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Steven Pastor

Name: Steven Pastor

Position: Alternate Special District Member

Email: sapastor3@yahoo.com

Bio: During his working career, Steve was involved in production agriculture and agricultural related businesses.

He began his career working on the family herb farm i...

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V. Manuel Perez

Name: V. Manuel Perez

Position: Alternate County Member

Email: District4@rivco.org

Bio: Victor Manuel Perez was appointed by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on May 9, 2017 to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, representing the County’s Fourth District, and was s...

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Jim Love

Name: Jim Love

Position: Alternate Public Member

Email: jimhlove@gmail.com

Bio: Jim Love, Vice President, Beaumont Electric Inc.
Electrical Industry – 38 years
Beaumont Electric – 23 years
Procuring Contracts, Estimating, Project...

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Greg Newton

Name: Greg Newton

Position: Alternate City Member

Email: gnewton@ci.norco.ca.us

Bio:

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Staff

Riverside LAFCO has an independent staff of five headed by an Executive Officer.


Gary Thompson

Name: Gary Thompson

Position: Executive Officer

Bio: Gary Thompson began his service as Executive Officer in May of 2019, after previously serving 5 years as City Manager for the City of Jurupa Valley. Gary has over 18 years of l...

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Crystal Craig

Name: Crystal Craig

Position: Assistant Executive Officer

Bio: Crystal began her service as the Assistant Executive Officer in 2020, after previously serving as a Local Government Analyst since 2002. Her principal duties include supervisin...

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Michael Henderson

Name: Michael Henderson

Position: LAFCO GIS Analyst

Bio: Michael is the GIS Analyst for LAFCO and has held this position since March 2022. His duties involve database development and maintenance of LAFCO’s Geographic Information Sys...

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Elizabeth Valdez

Name: Elizabeth Valdez

Position: Commission Clerk

Bio: Elizabeth Valdez is the Commission Clerk and has been with LAFCO since 2001. She performs a variety of administrative duties, including clerking the monthly Commission meetings,...

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Rebecca Holtzclaw

Name: Rebecca Holtzclaw

Position: LAFCO Secretary

Bio: Rebecca Holtzclaw is the Secretary for LAFCO, a position she has held since 2017. She performs a variety of duties, including maintenance of the Access proposal database, office...

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Melissa R. Cushman

Name: Melissa R. Cushman

Position: Legal Counsel

Bio:

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