Jess Durfee, Chair (Email)
Now serving an unprecedented fourth term as County Chair, in 2008 Jess was the first San Diegan in recent memory to be elected to the Democratic National Committee. He has been active in Democratic politics for 24 years and had a 15-year career as a high school teacher and administrator. During his time as a teacher, Jess was a negotiator and president for his local union and served at the state and national levels as a political action leader.

Vacant, Vice Chair, North Area (Email)

Fred Rogers, Vice Chair, Central Area (Email)

Karen Marie Otter, Vice Chair, East Area (Email)
Karen co-founded California's first Veteran's Democratic Club and is the Vice Chair of the Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party. She ran for Congress in 2006 in the 52nd District and later served as Vice President of the East County Democratic Club. Karen joined the Army after high school and served in Pershing Missile battalions from 1983 to 1988, obtaining the rank of Sergeant/E5. A native of El Cajon, she works as a Certified Community Association Manager on behalf of nine condominium associations and is in her final year of law school.

Eduardo Valerio, Vice Chair, South Area (Email)

Xavier Martinez, Controller (Email)
Xavier is the treasurer for numerous Democratic campaigns and committees. He is Co-Chair of the California Democratic Party's Organization and Development Committee and has served as the CDP's Region 20 Director. A member of the President's Advisory Council at CSU San Marcos, he is also a founding Board Member of Encuentros Leadership of North County. He owns Martinez & Associates, a bookkeeping and tax service.

John Gordon, Secretary (Email)
John is serving his second year and first full elected term as Secretary. He has been active in Democratic Party politics for 42 years as volunteer, observer, contributor, and analyst, working to build the Democratic Party brand from an organizational standpoint. John is a consultant who focuses on financial management and other general management topics.

Steve Rivera, Director of Administration (Email)
Steve has served in various positions with the California State Senate, State Assembly, and state and local Democratic Party. He was Chair of the Volunteers for Kerry-Edwards in San Diego County in 2004 and worked for the Office of Scheduling and Advance for Vice-President Gore during the Clinton Administration. Steve has held several positions on the Executive Board of the San Diego County Democratic Party and is presently the Region 21 Director for the California Democratic Party.

Eleanor Mang, Director of Clubs (Email)
A San Diego resident since 1940, Eleanor retired as Vice President of Operations for a local business to begin life anew as a Democratic volunteer during the Gore campaign. In 2000 she revitalized the inactive Mesa Democratic Club and served as its President, and in 2003 she committed to keeping the San Diego County Democratic Party office operational as a full-time volunteer. She has served in numerous capacities on the Party's Executive Board.

Humberto Peraza, Director of Fundraising (Email)

Vacant, Director of Outreach (Email)

Mike Thaller, Director of Communications and Media Relations (Email)
Mike is the past President of the Eastlake-Bonita Democratic Club. He was on the faculty of Missouri University and San Diego State University, where he taught radio, television, film, and photography production. He was also a production manager for major film and video production houses. Mike is now a computer programmer and software project manager.

Kennan Kaeder, Past Chair (Email)
Kennan has served on the County Party's Executive Board since 2000, including as Chair from 2002 to 2004. A former President of the Pacific Beach Democratic Club, he has also been involved in many campaigns for local Democratic candidates. Kennan has been an attorney in private practice since 1982, with an emphasis on business litigation, securities, and public and private offerings.