Organization/Board

Kenneth Willis, Chairman

Kenneth Willis is President and founder of the League of California Homeowners (LCH). A not-for-profit corporation, LCH specializes in residential energy conservation and provides consumer help and information for home remodeling projects. LCH provides a unique resource center for contractor screening services both for consumers as well as financial institutions and utility companies.

Ken was first elected to the Upland City Council in 2000. As Chairman of the Public Works Committee, he helps oversee Upland’s water department. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for both the West End Consolidated Water Company as well as the San Antonio Water Company. Mr. Willis also serves on the Policy Review Committee for the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. In 2006, Mr. Willis was elected Chairman of the Chino Basin Water Master Board.

In the 1980’s, Ken served as Vice-Chairman of the California State Water Resources Control Board and previous to that, served as Vice-Chairman of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the Santa Ana River.
For several years Mr. Willis served as Executive Vice President of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, a trade group affiliated with the National Association of HomeBuilders. During that time he was heavily involved in local, state and federal legislation affecting home building.

In addition to public duties, Mr. Willis is a founding director and continues to serve on the Board for the Upland Partnership for Child Development. He is also a founder and past board member to the Upland Youth Accountability Board.

In his formative years right out of college, Mr. Willis worked in city planning wherein he specialized in land use and zoning regulation. A graduate of California Polytechnic University, Pomona, Ken also holds an MA in Urban Studies from Occidental College in Los Angeles. Ken received post-graduate training in public affairs and policy development as a CORO Foundation Fellow (Los Angeles Class - ‘76). While serving in the U.S. Army, Ken spent two years in Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division and MACV. A California native, Ken lives with his wife Jane, and daughter Elizabeth in Upland, California.

Bob G. Kuhn, Vice-chair

Bob Kuhn has been a resident of Glendora for over 30 years and served eight years on the Glendora City Council, most notably as Mayor in 1990-91 and 1993-94. He was a delegate to the League of California Cities, San Gabriel Valley Association of Cities, and Southern California Association of Governments. He is a member and past President of Foothill Transit and has served as President for the Independent Cities Risk Management Authority. Director Kuhn has been a member of the Glendora Planning Commission, the East San Gabriel Valley Planning Committee and alternate member for the Local Agency Formation Commission. He is also a member of the Foothill Presbyterian Hospital Men's Club. Director Kuhn is President of a Glendora based insurance agency.

Tom Haughey, Secretary/Treasurer

Thomas Haughey moved to Chino in 1977. He owns Haughey Insurance Agency, which has been in Chino since 1980. Tom and his wife, Karen, have two sons, Christopher, 24, who works for Haughey Insurance, and Patrick, 20, a student at Mt. San Antonio College. The family all loves to travel, play golf and tennis, and go “antiquing”. Tom is an avid Civil War enthusiast. Not only does he collect Civil War memorabilia, he also lectures on the history of the Civil War and the history of photography.  He is a member of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War and helps to campaign to preserve Civil War battlefields.

Tom is presently serving as Mayor Pro Tem of the city of Chino. He has been a member of the Chino City Council since 2001. He also served on the Chino Planning Commission in 2001.

Tom is a Charter Member of the Rancho del Chino Rotary Club in Chino, California, which was chartered July 1, 1989. He has held many offices in his club including the office of President in 1993-94. Not only has he been busy on the board of his club, he has also been very active with the Interact Club at Don Lugo High School, a high school service club sponsored by Rotary International.  He began the club nine years ago and has served as its advisor for those nine years.  He attends bi-monthly meetings with the kids planning projects such as rose tree planting to beautify the school, painting houses for low income families, and Christmas gifts and handmade stockings for the children at the local hospital. Tom continues to chair other annual Rotary Community service events such as the Halloween Spooktacular and Easter Fun Day.  He is also active with the annual Bingo Night and Spaghetti Dinner in conjuction with other service clubs in the area. He received the Rotarian of the Year Award in 1998.

In the community, Tom is a Board Member with The Chino Valley YMCA.  He has served as Chairman of the Chino Valley YMCA’s Annual Sustaining Campaign for three years. Tom is also on the Board of Trustees and has served as Chairman of the Hospital’s Advisory Board of the Chino Valley Medical Center. He has served on the Chino Valley Unified School District’s Bond Steering Committee, and has participated in the Principal For A Day program for several years. He was appointed to the Substandard Housing Appeals Board in 1999 for the city, and served on the committee for the Chino Millennium Celebration and the Chino Holiday Parade.

In between all of this, Tom has always found time to spend time with Karen, his wife of 31 years, and their two sons.  Tom coached both his sons’ Little League teams through 9 years of games, and coached his wife’s women’s slo-pitch softball team for 8 years.  Tom and Karen helped the Chino Valley Women’s Club by donating their home for their Home Tour fundraiser in 1997. Their home received Chino’s 1994 Home Beautification Award.  

Tom always finds time to help with Karen’s Soroptimist club and was voted “SoroptiMister of the Year” in 1996. He has always played a role behind the scenes when it comes to helping with the C.H.I.E.F.S. Fire Foundation. He has sponsored every event for the past several years, and has helped with the Firefighter’s Fun Muster: securing the hay, setting up booths, and judging the chili contest. He has also been a good campaigner, helping to secure sponsorships for the foundation and raffle items for the fundraising events, along with selling tickets to the ball. Tom has attended and participated in the golf tournaments, muster and ball for the last 7 years.

In 1999, Tom received the Champion Newspaper’s Chino Citizen of the Year. In 2001, Tom, along with Karen, was awarded the Chino Outstanding Layman Service Award. Tom also received the 2003 Fred L. Burns Award from the Chino Valley Independent Fire District and C.H.E.I.F.S. Foundation. Tom finds community service work very fullfilling and rewarding. He looks forward to continuing his service to the community for many years to come.

Charles D. Field, Member

Charles D. Field was voted to the Western Municipal Water District board in November 2006 and was seated in January 2007. Mr. Field is a retired judge of the Riverside County Superior Court.

Mr. Field, who was born in San Francisco, grew up in the Stanford and Los Angeles regions of California as well as in Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Riverside in 1958, and a law degree from UCLA in 1963. From 1963 to 1990, Mr. Field practiced law with the Riverside firm, Best, Best & Krieger. He was a senior partner in the labor and employment section and served a full term as managing partner of the firm.

Judge Field was appointed to the Riverside Superior Court in January 1990 by then Governor Deukmejian. He was first assigned to the Juvenile Court, then moved to the Civil Division where he served until his retirement in August 2004.

Mr. Field was involved in a variety of organizations during his 40-plus year career including service on the UCR Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Board of Regents of the University of California. He was founding chair of the UCR Foundation and is past president of the Citizens University Committee. As an attorney, Mr. Field was a member of the Commission on Specialization in Labor Law of the California State Bar from Riverside County and was one of the founding members of the California Council of School Attorneys. He was a member of the Board of the Public Service Law Corp. or Riverside County and continues to serve as a board member of the Riverside County Law Library. Mr. Field served for more than 10 years on the board of directors of the Riverside Arts Foundation where he was chair for two years. For approximately 15 years, he was a member of the board of directors of The Press-Enterprise Company.

Mr. Field is married to Virginia L. Field, a retired UCR administrator, and they share five children and 11 grandchildren. He remains active as a private mediator and in University of California activities and serves on the board of several community service organizations, including the Riverside Philharmonic and the Mission Inn Foundation.

Paul Hofer, Member

Paul Hofer represents the Agricultural Pool. Mr. Hofer has served on the Chino Basin Water Conservation District Board of Directors since 1996, and is currently serving as Vice-President. Mr. Hofer is a resident of Ontario where he has spent his lifetime career as a farmer.

Geoffrey Vanden Heuvel, Member

As the owner/operator of J & D Star Dairy in Chino, California and a dairy industry consultant, Mr. Vanden Heuvel has been a business and community leader for nearly twenty-five years.

Mr. Vanden Heuvel’s primary responsibility is managing a dairy operation which milks over 1,400 cows on two facilities, as well as maintaining an alfalfa farming operation in Blythe, California. Mr. Vanden Heuvel also does consulting on state and federal milk pricing issues for Milk Producers Council, a dairy producer trade association, where he is also a member of the board of directors.

Mr. Vanden Heuvel is very interested and involved in water issues. In 1994, he founded the Delta Restoration Coalition, a statewide group of urban and agricultural leaders dedicated to achieving a long-term fix for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. He then served on the Executive Committee of the Californian’s for Safe, Clean, and Reliable Water; Yes on Proposition 204 campaign. Currently Mr. Vanden Heuvel is a Trustee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Southern California Water Committee. He serves on the Bay-Delta and Colorado River Task Forces of the Water Committee. He currently represents agricultural groundwater users on the Chino Basin Watermaster Board. He serves as an elected director of the Chino Basin Water Conservation District and he serves on the San Bernardino County Flood Control Zone 1 Advisory Committee.

Mr. Vanden Heuvel is a founding board member of the Dairy Producers Environmental Foundation and played a significant role in the inception of the Santa Ana River Watershed Group. He has served as a director of the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce, as well as served on the Chino Unified School District’s Bond Oversight Committee. In the past he has served on the City of Chino Mobile Home Rent Review Board, The Chino Hills Municipal Advisory Council, and a variety of ad hoc committees dealing with issues as diverse as the purchase of a private water company by the county of San Bernardino, to advising the California Secretary of Agriculture about how to address low milk prices.

Mr. Vanden Heuvel is active in his church where he is an elder. He has served on the Board of Directors of Ontario Christian School where his children attend as well as serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Providence Christian College in Ontario, California.

Mr. Vanden Heuvel likes to read, sail and play softball in his spare time.

Mr. Vanden Heuvel and his wife Darlene have been married for twenty-six years and have four children.

Robert Bowcock, Member

Mr. Robert Bowcock has been appointed to serve on several Watermaster Boards by California Superior Courts since 1990. He currently represents municipal, industrial and commercial parties in the Chino, San Gabriel, Raymond, Mojave, Central and West Los Angeles, Upper Los Angeles River, Santa Clara and San Diego River Basin Judgments in California. Mr. Bowcock founded Integrated Resource Management, LLC in 1997 after serving as a Water Utility Manager in Azusa (1991-97) and Huntington Park (1987-91), California. Prior to that, Mr. Bowcock worked for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (1982-87), and as a United States Army Civil Affairs Team Leader designed and constructed water treatment and distribution systems for various federal branches of government in Southeast Asia and South America. He is a licensed California Grade V Water Treatment Operator and maintains various other water industry licenses and certifications. He routinely provides expert witness testimony to both state and federal courts and conducts research and writes reports for legal firms in the specific area of water resource management.

Paula Lantz, Member

Bio to follow

Steve Elie, Member

Mr. Elie was recently elected to serve on the Inland Empire Utilities Agency’s Board of Directors (November, 2010), and currently serves as the Secretary/Treasurer.  He represents Division 3 - the City of Chino, the City of Chino Hills, and portions of Ontario.  He joined the Chino Basin Watermaster Board in January of 2011.

Mr. Elie also serves as a Committee member on the Public, Legislative Affairs, & Water Resources Committee, the Finance, Legal & Administration Committee,  IEUA’s representative to the Association of Special Districts, and as alternate representative to the Southern California Water Committee and the Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority.

Mr. Elie is an attorney who regularly represents public entities and public utility regulated entities in complex, multiparty litigation and administrative matters, including soil and groundwater contamination.