Mark Watts appointed to Placer County Planning Commission

Experience as lobbyist and governmental relations consultant

Auburn, Calif. – The Placer County Board of Supervisors acted on Tuesday to appoint North Auburn resident Mark Watts to the Placer County Planning Commission, representing District 5.

Watts has served locally on the North Auburn Municipal Advisory Council and has decades of experience as a lobbyist and governmental relations consultant in Sacramento with a focus in the areas of transportation, public policy and governance. He is currently co-principal at Watts & Hartmann LLC providing lobbying services and strategic political advice along with day-to-day management of the firm.

Career Highlight

Among key initiatives throughout Watts’ career, he co-chaired the $20 billion Proposition 1B bond measure that helped fund transportation projects statewide in 2006 and more recently was the lead advocate for Transportation California to help the state position for Senate Bill 1 in 2017, which generated $5.4 billion in transportation revenue.

“I look forward to applying my expertise in transportation policy and my lessons learned serving on the North Auburn MAC in recent years by giving back service to the community that has been so wonderful to me and my family,” Watts said.

The position received 10 applicants and all 10 were interviewed for the position.

“Mark is a highly qualified professional with decades of experience in state government as well as working with local governments on transportation issues,” District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson said. “As chair of the North Auburn Municipal Advisory Council, Mark demonstrated his respect for the public process and thoughtful approach on a variety of planning issues. Mark and his wife have residences in Auburn and Tahoe and he’s very knowledgeable of the issues facing our foothill and Sierra communities.” 

The Planning Commission is composed of seven members, one from each of the five Placer County supervisorial districts and two at-large members. Watts will represent District 5, which stretches from North Auburn to North Lake Tahoe. The commission is charged with advising the Board of Supervisors on planning and related matters.

Watts will replace former Commissioner Anders Hauge, who served on the commission since April 2018.