Biography

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ROGER DICKINSON, Supervisor, District One
County of Sacramento Board of Supervisors
700 H Street, Room 2450
Sacramento CA 95814-1298
Phone (916) 874-5485 FAX (916) 874-7593
e-mail dickinsonr@saccounty.net

Roger was elected to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in a special election in January 1994, and was subsequently re-elected to four four-year terms, serving through 2010. He chairs the Sacramento First 5 Commission, the Sacramento Air Quality Management District Board, and the Sacramento Public Library Authority Board. He also serves on the Sacramento Regional Transit Board, the Sacramento Flood Control Agency Board, and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Board. He is a member of the board of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the Local Government Commission, and various other boards and commissions.

Additionally, Roger serves as chair of the Human Services & Education Steering Committee and as a member of the Large Urban Counties Caucus Steering Committee of the National Association of Counties (NACo), is a member of the board and executive committee of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), and chairs the Urban Counties Caucus of CSAC.

As a member of the Board, Roger has played key roles on issues such as health care, welfare reform, economic development, clean air, improved transportation, and smart growth. He was instrumental in the building of Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats; the transition of McClellan Air Force Base to a thriving economic center; the construction of a new primary health care center for Sacramento County; the conversion of the County vehicle fleet to clean fuels; the creation of Birth and Beyond, a home visitation program for at-risk families; the creation of the Dry Creek Parkway, and the turnaround of the Grant Joint Union School District, among other things.

Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Roger participated in numerous community organizations. During the 1980’s, Roger spent eight years as a member of the Regional Transit Board of Directors and was Chairman of the Board twice. Roger also served on the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission, the Sacramento County Air Pollution Control Advisory Board, and the North Sacramento Community Plan Citizens Advisory Committee. In addition, Roger served on the board and as President of the American Lung Association of Sacramento, and chaired the Sacramento Transportation Coalition. He is the former President of the Friends of Light Rail and board member of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

Roger received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley where he lettered in varsity basketball. Roger’s law degree was conferred by U.C.L.A in 1976. He spent seven and a half years, from 1977 to 1984, with the California Department of Consumer Affairs where among other things; he oversaw a statewide project to improve small claims court. From 1984 to 2002, Roger was in private practice and in 1987 helped form the firm of Kemnitzer, Dickinson, Anderson & Barron emphasizing automobile warranty law and sales misrepresentation cases. He has litigated cases up to the California Supreme Court.

A recipient of a number of awards, Roger has been recognized as Environmentalist of the Year in 1982; received the Clean Air Award in 1991, 1997, and 2003; the Outstanding Performance Award from the Air Force Association in 1995; the Affordable Housing Leadership Award in 1998; the Outstanding Community Leader Award from the Antelope-Highlands Chamber of Commerce in 1999; the “Give ‘em Hell, Harry” Award of the Harry S. Truman Democratic Club in 1999; the Affordable Housing Award from the Sacramento Housing Alliance in 2005; the Leadership Award from the Mexican-American Alcoholism Program (MAAP) in 2005; the Community Honoree Award from the Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center in 2006 and the Golden Heart Award from the Association for Enforcement of Child Support in 1999. In 2002, Roger became only the third recipient of the Elizabeth Prebich Award for Distinguished Leadership in County Human Services from the National Association of Counties (NACo).

Roger lives with his wife, Marj, in the Woodlake neighborhood where they have owned a home for more than 25 years. Marj is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Government and Community Relations for the University of California at Davis.