Written by Julianne Foster
Laura Koval is the Republican Party of San Diego County’s chosen endorsed candidate for Santee City Council District 3.
Koval graduated from El Capitan High School and her outstanding performance in the school landed her as salutatorian and as a Athletic Hall of Fame member. She then attended San Diego State University where she was the Track and Field Captain and received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and History.
Her career in recreation originally began with her job as the Director of the Santee Branch of the East County Boys and Girls Club for nearly five years. Her next career in professional sports spanned over 25 years, where she began as the Director of Ticket Customer Service for the San Diego Padres. She then became a consultant for two years with LSE Consulting Pty Ltd.
In 2012, the same year in which her job as a consultant ended, Laura continued her career in recreation and became the Customer Service Manager for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which lasted almost three years. She changed positions under the same employment to become the Director of the Park and Recreations of Santee Lakes.
She still holds this position as she has the past six years. During her work for Santee Lakes, she has proven her motivation for green initiatives as she led the teams responsible for integrating new CIS/billing software in tandem with a move to monthly billing delivering the upgrade on time and under budget. She also voted to approve the Sustainable Santee Climate Plan, facilitating a grant for 250 trees to be planted, and successfully launched the Park’s Dynamic Vision Plan. The DVP changed the traditional Master Plan to reinvest over $2 million into the Santee Lakes park and campground services in the last two years.
“As a resident of District 3 for nearly three decades, Santee is my home. I have raised my family here and love our city,” said Koval. “I want to serve our community by continuing as your councilwoman and would be grateful for your support!”
Laura has dedicated time since 2015 to volunteer in the Wellness Advisory Committee with the Santee School District, as a member of the Santee Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.
She is endorsed by colleagues within the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, former Santee Chamber of Commerce President John Morley, and numerous others. In 2018, she was named Woman in Leadership by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce for her “exemplary character, integrity and outstanding leadership, not only in their field, but in the community.”
“As a longtime business executive with tremendous results in the public, private and non-profit sectors, I believe I bring a different perspective to City Council Meetings,” Koval explained.”The ability to cherish the old and embrace the new is definitely a skill needed as a council member.”
Her efforts during the COVID-19 outbreak have been relentless in support of the community. She spent time helping residents navigate the county and state reopening guidelines and protocols.
“Every week I participate in either The League of California Cities, San Diego County COVID-19 Taskforce and/or White House calls to learn, ask questions, and keep ahead of changes in policy,” said Koval. “I voted to allocate grants and funds for rent/mortgage relief (both residential and commercial), Santee businesses, the Santee Food Bank, Santee Santas, and I pushed to include funds for our local YMCA and Boys & Girls Club so they could reopen summer camps.”
Laura promotes efficiencies in community work through technology and providing streamlined permitting processes and other city services with a variety of online tools. Her goal is to make the process more convenient for residents to have their planning requirements fulfilled with access to accurately schedule, track, and calculate a project and fees for inspection and permitting.
Lastly, she wants to be a voice for Santee Seniors, to advocate for the safety in the community and their access to crucial services. A small representation of her involvement in the senior community has been through her participation in several D3 Neighborhood Watch groups, SMOAC, and the Santee Community Collaborative as a participant and speaker for their Words Matter series.
For more information on Laura Koval’s campaign, visit LauraKoval.com/Santee.
