Getting To Know Cosumnes CSD Director Angela Spease
Angela Spease’s campaign for Cosumnes Community Services District Board of Directors announced that Angela will be uncontested in the November 2022 election. Because the filing deadline has passed, Angela Spease will join the Cosumnes CSD Board of Directors after the election this November.
We had a chance to speak with Angela and ask her a few questions. During the interview, Angela was friendly and spoke of highly of the Elk Grove community. She finds it an absolute privilege to serve in the very community in which she was raised.
Why did you decide to run for Cosumnes CSD?
“I’m eager to serve my city. I’m in lots of different organizations where I served in rotary, where again, I work with budgets and projects and assisting our community members. I’ve owned several businesses. It just made sense, because I’m on the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce. I’ve been involved all my life and, I’ve seen this city grow. I love our fire department. I love our parks and rec. I’m an outdoorsy girl. I just love the different activities our city has.
I want to be helpful with my skill sets. Serving is a passion for me, children are a passion for me. I have my own son, but youth services is my passion, as well as our first responders. My husband was military, I think you know. We’re all about service and supporting our first responders, and those that are fighting for our lives all the time. We are here to protect and to serve and to to our best for our community.”
You mentioned you have owned small businesses. Can you clarify what business you were referring to?
“We have a cyber security business. It’s ‘ISSE Services.’ We’re based out of Utah, outside of Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Then, we have our back-end here in Elk Grove, where we have five employees here as well. We had the honey companies, Spease Honey Company, we actually dissolved in December of 2019 after five years. That came from a rotary project.
We were gardening with the kids out at my father-in-law’s property and they were learning about gardening and all that. My son used to sell figs and honey at the corner of Sheldon Bradshaw when he was back in high school. When we started selling the vegetables, he was home from college one summer, and this is like, “We should sell the honey too.”
What would you say are the primary issues of concern that you are highlighting in your campaign?
“I know from personal experience and with our community, public safety is number one. The response times that our first responders are able to get to our loved ones when they’re in. I have firsthand experience with that with our family. They will tell you right now, they’re down, their firefighters. They’re down by over 15 firefighters at the moment.
Our firefighters need more equipment. We need more fire stations, so bring down the call time, response time is a concern for them too, because if you only have so many engines and trucks, and if you have these wildfires going on, it’s a prioritization and the scope of planning of with our SAC area firefighters.
As I told Local 522, who endorsed me, I have a background in thinking outside the box, working with grants, finding other ways that we can get money for our needs, because taxpayer dollars pay for our services, for our first responders, and also our parks. The main issues for me is getting to our people in need, our residents with the public safety piece, looking at our budgets and planning different ways in which we could possibly implement positive changes which benefit our community.”
Obviously, you see the City Council and EGUSD as partners of Cosumnes CSD. Who else do you see as your partners?
“The City of Elk Grove as well, is a major partner. Getting to know the staff there as well for me is huge. I’m usually on the meetings anyway, might know a few people there. I’ve been actively on Zoom meeting for over the last year, trying to digest, because, no pun intended, it’s a fire hose of information. I can’t pretend to know everything, but an active partner is definitely the city of Elk Grove.
The firefighters, SAC area firefighters, the developers that are coming out and doing business in our areas, and want to put things next to our parks and affect our business if you will, and can bring money to our activities. Key partnerships are definitely people that are developing projects around us. The City of Elk Grove;Chamber of Commerce for the Elk Grove Chamber; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce – is doing a lot out here.
Did you know I was on the ARI board too for about four years? I was the treasurer and then I was also a director. Yeah, we did a lot of outreach. It’s amazing, like you said. That’s another resource, because our council member Stephanie is the Executive Director at ARI.
“I don’t see that there aren’t people that aren’t potential partners with us, because the more connections you have, the more effective and efficient you are. I see a lot of partners out there that I need to get to know better. If someone in the community wants to have a conversation with me, I’m always ready and willing to chat.”
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How do you plan to address these concerns, regarding people not being able to feed their families or make ends meet, as you try to navigate your duties with the Cosumnes CSD?
“I don’t know if you know this about me, but I don’t know how to sit. I don’t know how to not do things. We struck up a relationship through our rotary. We’ve always had this relationship, but a plan of action of how to get food to our residents during COVID, with our senior citizens, especially that had compromised immune systems and things like that.
We started up a signup genius and created a GoFundMe to assist those most in need that just couldn’t even get to food, nor could they afford it because they lost their jobs or people cut back. I see it as that, when two years ago, that’s why we’re heading into the recession. We are, because of everything that happened with COVID.
I think having a plan of different COVID, like we did during COVID-19, I was part of the task force to bring back our small businesses with the mayor, Bobbie Singh-Allen, and some others from Sac County. We worked hard to get business owners assistance with grants, I remember some partnerships with grocery stores, and getting residents that were able to deliver food to those that couldn’t get to the food.”
Is there anything that you would like people to know about you? Anything specifically you want to mention?
“I want people to know I am ready to serve our community and that I am meant to serve in the community. I was very lucky when I grew up here in Elk Grove, that the local grocery store owner, the Albiani’s, the Zender’s, the different folks that were around there to help us kids when we were doing different things in this little town. I just see it as my give back, to use my skill sets. I was educated in Elk Grove Unified School District system. I graduated from Elk Grove High, and I went to the Sac City, I went to CRC when it was just starting to open. I went to a few of the Los Rios community colleges to start off with. I know this city really well.
I think that from a town to a city and coming back to serve, share my skill set. That’s why I just think people understand that, that’s why I care. I just care, because people were there for me and I want to be there for others. That’s just what I see in my role. I’m in the position that I can and I want to do so. I am here and I hope to serve our community well.
I don’t pretend to know everything. But I am open-minded and teachable. Coffees and conversations are welcome and open door to that. I just see myself as being a learner. I need to learn and meet as many of the folks I can and be able to serve in the best way possible.”
Obviously, your husband’s on the city council. How do you see yourself partnering?
“We’ve already been doing what we’re doing no matter what. The reason we see us together doing that is just, I’m lucky. I’ve been married 33 years and Kevin and I have the same morals, values, ethics, when it comes to serving, and that we do a lot together. Whether or not we’re in the positions that we are now, we’re continued to be serving our city. It is my honor and privilege to serve this community and I know that my husband Kevin feels the same.”
