Item 22 - State Legislative Advocacy Services

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Proposal for State Legislative Advocacy Services | City of Santa Ana Page 10 EXPERIENCE Cori Takkinen, Vice President: Cori brings 12 years of legislative advocacy and public policy experience to TPA. Cori has extensive experience writing grants for various local, regional, state, and federal opportunities. Cori has expertise in the policy sectors of transportation, water resources, infrastructure, sanitation, local governance, parks and recreation, and economic development. Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. Vice President 2011-Present Throughout her tenure at TPA, Cori has been responsible for securing millions in competitive grant funds for local public agency clients. In addition to her expertise on municipal and water infrastructure issues, Cori has a strong network of relationships with State Legislators, key staff, and various state agencies. Some of Cori’s accomplishments include the following: In the last three years, leveraging relationships with the Orange County legislative delegation, Los Angeles delegation, and Assembly and Senate Leadership, Cori has secured over $20 million in State Budget funding for the Discovery Science Foundation. That funding includes millions of dollars to create parking opportunities in Santa Ana as well as money to fund the continuing operations of the Discovery Cube Orange County through the impacts of COVID-19. Cori continues to work with the Cube to identify and create state funding opportunities that will bring monies back to Santa Ana. Cori worked with the City of Santa Ana to secure a direct funding allocation in the FY 2018- 19 State Budget in the amount of $4 million to upgrade water infrastructure within the City. TPA worked with the City’s legislative delegation, staff from the Assembly and Senate Budget Committees, and the Department of Finance to ensure funding was included in the State Budget for this critical project to allow the City’s water customers to have real- time access to their water usage, which will help facilitate water conservation and reduce customers’ utility bills. Cori worked with the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District to sponsor AB 2022 (Gordon). The bill allowed for limited bottling of the highly treated and recycled GWRS water for educational purposes. The bill was the first legislation in the nation that allowed for the direct bottling of advanced treated recycled water. TPA secured bi-partisan support for the legislation and it was signed into law. Worked closely with the State Legislature and Administration on the development and implementation of Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018. Cori worked in support of a variety of clients to create specific funding opportunities to achieve desired results. In addition to securing funding opportunities for municipalities, Cori’s efforts with Proposition 68 resulted in $4.8 million to fund a conservation program at West Coyote Hills in Fullerton as well as $3.46 million to fund science education at the Discovery Cube Orange County. In the FY 2019-20 State Budget, Cori worked with 5 municipal clients and 1 nonprofit client to secure $20.2 million in budget earmarks for priority projects, including funding for a