The Latest News from TPA

City of Berkeley

TPA is honored that the City of Berkeley has asked us to continue to provide advocacy services to protect and promote its legislative and funding agenda in Sacramento.

We look forward to our continued collaboration with the City to help transform its progressive vision into legacy…Thank you Berkeley!!

City of Huron

TPA is proud and honored to announce it has been hired by the City of Huron to provide State and federal legislative and funding advocacy services!

The City of Huron is located in the heart of the Central Valley, just off of State Route 269 (also known as Lassen Avenue). Originally founded in 1888 as a water stop along the Union Pacific Railroad’s western route, the City has transformed into an important agricultural community that is home to major companies in the farming industry, including Harris Ranch, Terra Linda Farms, and Dole.

TPA looks forward to helping the City transform its priority community projects into legacies!

To learn more about the City, please visit its website: http://cityofhuron.com/.

Orange County Sanitation District

TPA is honored that the Orange County Sanitation District has asked us to continue to provide legislative and funding advocacy services.

TPA has been proud to serve the District for many years to promote its priority legislation and funding needs. We look forward to our continued work and collaboration to help transform their vision into legacy!

Desert Recreation District

TPA is proud and honored to announce it has been hired by the Desert Recreation District to provide legislative and funding advocacy services.

Established by the State Legislature in 1950, the District is the largest of its kind in California and serves communities spanning 1,800 square miles from Thermal, Coachella, and Indio to La Quinta and Palm Desert.

The District provides and maintains quality park and recreation facilities, programs and service, and leisure opportunities for the personal, social, and economic benefits of its residents.

TPA looks forward to helping the District transform its vision for parks and recreation in the community into legacies!

To learn more about the innovative programs of the District, please visit its website: http://www.myrecreationdistrict.com/

City of Oakland

TPA is honored that the City of Oakland has asked us to continue to provide state and federal advocacy and grant funding services.

TPA has been proud to serve the City for several years to promote its priority legislation and funding needs, and we look forward to our continued work and collaboration with the City and Mayor Libby Schaaf to transform their vision into legacy!

TPA Welcomes Senior Associate Sharon Gonsalves

Townsend Public Affairs is very pleased to announce that Sharon Gonsalves has joined the Firm as a Senior Associate in the TPA State Capitol Office in Sacramento!

Sharon Gonsalves joined Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. after a decade of service with the California Legislature working in the State Capitol. Sharon has focused on major policy issues throughout her career including water policy and infrastructure, energy, agriculture, transportation, and housing. While Sharon has developed and maintained an extensive bi-partisan network of relationships with Members of the Legislature throughout the State, her assignments allowed her to place particular emphasis on the County of Orange, the Central Valley, and the Imperial Valley.

During her tenure working with the California Legislature, Sharon developed Statewide policy, drafted bill language, reviewed, tracked, and analyzed legislative measures, public laws, and agency relations. In addition, Sharon monitored legislative committee and agency hearings and testified at regulatory and policy hearings on a multitude of key public policy matters. Sharon’s key accomplishments include, but are not limited to:

• Assisted with the development and adoption of the historic Statewide Groundwater Management Act in 2014, which represented the first-ever effort by California to manage groundwater basins on a Statewide level .

• Navigated affected cities through the redevelopment dissolution process, serving as a liaison between the cities and the Department of Finance, after the elimination of redevelopment.

• Organized the opposition to a proposal from the State Water Resources Control Board regarding flows on the Stanislaus, Merced, and Tuolumne Rivers. Increased flows, coupled with the drought and groundwater challenges, would have negatively impacted the economic and agricultural future in the Central Valley.

• Assisted with the development and adoption of the Desalination Amendment, which established a uniform and consistent process for the permitting of desalination facilities in California.

In addition to her previous work in the State Capitol, Sharon is a member of Capitol Network and California Women in Energy.

A graduate of California State University Monterey Bay, Sharon resides in West Sacramento with her husband John and two sons.