Candidate for
County Board of Supervisors; Santa Barbara County; Supervisorial District 4

Joni L. Gray

While serving as the Santa Barbara County 4th District Planning Commissioner, Joni Gray was appointed to fill the seat of 4th Supervisorial District of Santa Barbara County, by Governor Pete Wilson in August 1998. She then ran and was elected on November 3, 1998 for a two year term. On March 7, 2000, Joni Gray was re-elected to her first four-year term by a 2 to 1 margin over her opponent. On March 2, 2004 Joni was elected by an overwhelming majority for a third term, which commenced in January 2005.

Joni Gray taught at Santa Maria High School and Allan Hancock College from 1964 until 1980. She spent three years as the Administrative Assistant to the 5th District Supervisor for Santa Barbara County. Later, while working for the County Superintenent of Schools, she handled administrative hearings personnel matters.

From 1986 until 1988, she worked at the County Jail and served as the Bail Review unit for Santa Barbara County. Because there was no law college in the immediate area, she read the law on her own and she successfully passed the Bar on her first try. By 1988 she was practicing Family Law. Joni served as the Chair of the Family Law section of the Northern Santa Barbara County Bar Association from 1990 to 2000. She has also served as Superior Court of Santa Barbara County Judge Pro Tem.

Today Joni is a member of the Board of Supervisors, Santa Barbara County Employees Retirement Board of Trustees, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, the Air Pollution Control District Board, and is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association. For ten years she has been the Board representative to the Community Action Commmission of Santa Barbara County.

Supervisor Gray is on the CSAC - California State Association of Counties, where she serves on the Board of Directors as Treasurer. She was recently nominated by CSAC to participate in organizing and serving on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations Facility Program Advisory Commmittee. She will represent the California Counties on this Committee.

Supervisor Gary has completed a course on the Fundamentals of Money Management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. During 2003 she attended Stanford University and completed the Fundamentals of Public Retirement Systems program. She has participated in the Air University - Air War College and the 47th National Security Forum at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

Supervisor Gray is a graduate of Santa Maria High School and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she earned Bachelors of Science and Masters in Education degrees. She is a member of the State Bar of California, holds teaching credentials in General Secondary Education, Adult Education, Counseling and Guidancer and General Administration.

In August 1998, immediately after being apppointed County Supervisor, Joni began a once-a-week radio spot on two local stations to discuss Board of Supervisor issues and to help keep her constituents informed. In February 2003 radio stations KUHL and KTME asked her to co-host "Sports Talk". In this venue she presented information on a wide variety of topics, interviews and fields phone calls.

In rection to the US Fish and Wildlife Service's attempts to close Surf and Ocean Beaches on Vandenberg Air Force Base to protect the habitate of the Western Snowy Plover, Joni Gray established the Surf-Ocean Beach Commission. She works closely with local community members, VAFB staff and congressional representatives to keep the beaches open for public access. Recently she joined Mayor DeWees in addressing the California Coastal Commission to seek its support. Today, the work continues to keep the beaches open.

Joni is a founding member of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Council. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Lompoc, served as the YMCA Sustaining Membership Chair, has been a Boys and Girls Club Board member and is a long time member of the California Women for Agriculture. She is a past board member of the PTA, 4-H Leader, and a Rigetti High School and Santa Maria High School Booster. She has served for more than 12 years as an announcer of the annual Elks Rodeo Parade and is a past Eks Rodeo Queen.

Joni has been honored by being selected for the Righetti High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the Santa Barbara Industry Association of Elected Official of the year in 2002 and again in 2004, PTA Life Membership, Cal State 4-H Alumnni Award, People's Choice "Best Attorney" for Santa Maria Times and the Los Padres Boy Scout Council Public Official of the Year and recently received the State Assembly Award as Woman of the Year. Beginning in 1998, Supervisor Gray has been the keynote speaker at the annual kick-off banquet forthe Leadership Lompoc Valley program.

Joni is married to attorney George Wittenburg, has one daughter and two sons. She is a life long resident of Orcutt, where she learned from her parents the importance of community involvement.