Aziz Akbari

Aziz Akbari is a member of the Alameda County Water District board of directors in California, representing Zone 5. He assumed office on December 6, 2024. His current term ends on December 1, 2028.

Akbari ran for re-election to the Alameda County Water District board of directors to represent Zone 5 in California. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Akbari completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Aziz Akbari earned a high school diploma from Washington High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California in 2015. His career experience includes working as an account executive.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Alameda County Water District board of directors Zone 5

Incumbent Aziz Akbari defeated Raymond Ojeda in the general election for Alameda County Water District board of directors Zone 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aziz Akbari (Nonpartisan)	74.0	15,842
	Submit photo	Raymond Ojeda (Nonpartisan)	26.0	5,555

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,397
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

To view Akbari's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Akbari in this election.

2020

General election

General election for Alameda County Water District board of directors (3 seats)

Incumbent Aziz Akbari, incumbent James Gunther, and incumbent John Weed defeated Martin Koller and Ramesh Gopalan in the general election for Alameda County Water District board of directors on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aziz Akbari (Nonpartisan)	23.9	65,531
✔		James Gunther (Nonpartisan)	20.8	57,029
✔	Submit photo	John Weed (Nonpartisan)	20.7	56,800
	Submit photo	Martin Koller (Nonpartisan)	18.9	51,899
	Submit photo	Ramesh Gopalan (Nonpartisan)	15.5	42,523
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	501

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 274,283
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Akbari's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Aziz Akbari completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Akbari's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your representative on the Alameda County Water District’s Board of Directors for the past eight years. Over this period, I have championed the voices of residents on key decisions for our District so we can continue to provide safe, clean, and affordable water. I continue to advocate for a tiered rate structure, which, when combined with our low-income rate assistance program, will offer relief to many of our District’s ratepayers. I have supported the District’s investments to modernize our IT systems, which will greatly improve the quality of the District's services, and to complete seismic upgrades to our infrastructure as part of our Main Renewal Program. These efforts will protect our water resources for generations to come. My background in industrial engineering, resource planning, and cybersecurity informs my fight for these positions. As a strong consumer advocate on the Board of Directors, I do not accept campaign contributions from special interest groups or lobbyists. With your support, I pledge my continued leadership to move the Alameda County Water District forward.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Advancing investments in our infrastructure, including the Main Renewal and Seismic Improvement Program (MRSIP), Groundwater PFAS Treatment Facility, IT and Cybersecurity modernization programs, and more. We need to maintain and protect our systems against climate change, seismic threats, and cyberattacks, and I have championed these investments during my time on the Board.
Affordability is a top of mind concern, and I am proud that we have implemented and expanded our low-income rate assistance program called Help On Tap (which provides a $63.75 bill credit on every bill for eligible customers) during my time on the Board. We have opportunities to continue to make water more affordable that I am seeking to implement, like expanding the eligibility criteria for the Help On Tap program and moving to a tiered-rate structure, which would creates a more equitable cost distribution system.
Environmental stewardship is a key pillar at ACWD, and I'm proud of the work that we've done through our Alameda Creek Watershed Steelhead Restoration program (in which we constructed 2 fish ladders in Alameda Creek) and the Clean Energy Program (which is projected to offset 12,600,000kWh annually and save the District nearly $700k/year in energy costs). I am committed to protecting the Alameda Creek watershed.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about ensuring that we provide safe, clean, and affordable water for generations to come.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was with a small consulting called PDG Consulting where I was a Business Analyst. Since then, my career has taken me to several early-stage start-up's in the digital transformation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence fields.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

● Sierra Club California

● Bay Rising Action
● State Senator Aisha Wahab
● State Assemblymember Alex Lee
● Alameda County Assessor Phong La
● Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Marquez
● Alameda County Water District Director Jim Gunther
● Alameda County Water District Director Judy Huang
● Fremont Councilmember Raj Salwan
● Fremont Councilmember Vinnie Bacon (Ret.)
● Fremont Councilmember Rick Jones (Ret.)
● East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez
● Dublin Councilmember Kashef Qadri
● Fremont Unified School District Trustee Dianne Jones
● Ohlone College Trustee Lance Kwan

● Hayward Area Recreation and Park District Director Sara Lamnin

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Since joining the Board in 2016, I have been committed to ensuring transparency in all aspects of the work that we do at ACWD. Proper fiscal management is paramount at public agencies, and it is vital that we demonstrate to our constituents that the District has sound fiscal and operational management policies in place. While we still have more work to do, I am proud that we were awarded the District of Distinction Award from the Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF) in 2019, the highest honor conferred on special districts who demonstrate a commitment to transparency. This prestigious honor was given to the District for successfully implementing a comprehensive list of high-level transparency and good governance practices.

Additionally, since I joined the Board in 2016, ACWD has decided to take a proactive role in paying down our pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liabilities. These are debts that are owed to former and current District employees that were deferred by previous Board Directors. The advanced payments we are now making will save the District an estimated $45 million in total payments over the next 3 decades.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Aziz Akbari completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Akbari's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your representative on the Alameda County Water District's Board of Directors for the past four years. Over this period, I have championed the voices of residents on key decisions for our District. I have a cohesive vision, a practical plan, and an unmatched passion for providing safe, clean, and affordable water. I continue to advocate for a tiered rate structure, which, when combined with our existing low-income rate assistance program, will offer relief to many of our District's customers. I have supported the District's investments to modernize our IT systems, which will offer new methods of engagement between customers and the District, and to complete seismic upgrades to our infrastructure as part of our Main Renewal Program. These efforts will protect our water resources for generations to come. My background in Industrial Engineering and Resource Planning informs my fight for these positions. As a strong consumer advocate on the Board of Directors, I do not accept campaign contributions from special interest groups, lobbyists, or political action committees. With your support, I pledge my continued leadership to move ACWD forward.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am committed to affordability and financial transparency. Rate assistance and sound fiscal management will sustain this vital resource for a community across generations.
I am committed to making the necessary investments for seismic upgrades to ACWD's water delivery infrastructure. We must be proactive in protecting our system and our customers from major service interruptions.
I am committed to protecting our environment and the life that shares our waterways. We must protect our most valuable resource for generations to come.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about ensuring that we have a safe and reliable water system that will continue to provide service for generations to come.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Alameda County Water District board of directors Zone 5

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 17, 2020
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 17, 2020

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024

[1]

[2]

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Aziz Akbari

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Alameda County Water District board of directors Zone 5

Endorsements

2020

General election

General election for Alameda County Water District board of directors (3 seats)

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2020

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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