GALT, CA (MPG) - Galt Vice-Mayor Rich Lozano announced on April 6 that he is running for the Division 1 seat on the Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD) board of directors. Lozano said he wants to provide a voice representing Galt on the board.

Cosumnes Community Services District’s Division 1 seat, which includes Galt and eastern Elk Grove, is up for election this year. Lozano said Director Gil Albiani, the current District 1 representative, plans to retire after 20 years on the board.

If Lozano is elected, he would be returning to the Cosumnes Community Services District. He served for eight years before winning a Galt City Council seat in 2018.

Since his departure, Lozano said, no directors have been Galt residents. With the introduction of by-division elections in 2022, in which only residents of a given division vote for that division’s representative, the Division 1 election is the only one in which Galt residents have a say at the ballot box.

“I really think it’s important that that board have representation from the Galt community and I’ve always believed that,” Lozano said in an April 8 interview.

Lozano pointed to a broad range of support, including endorsements from Albiani, Cosumnes Community Services District Director Angela Spease and CSD Board President Jim Luttrell, as well as from Galt City Councilmember Kevin Papineau, Sacramento County Supervisor Pat Hume, the three most recently retired Cosumnes fire chiefs and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. 

Choosing to run for the Cosumnes Community Services District board “wasn’t an easy decision for me because I absolutely love being on the council,” Lozano told the Citizen. “I love the city and doing what I can for city services for residents here.”

The vice-mayor listed public-safety measures among his accomplishments on City Council, particularly body-worn cameras, a new drone program and license plate readers for Galt Police Department. He also cited transparency improvements in the city’s finances.

Lozano said he conditioned his candidacy on the support of his wife and children and on Albiani’s blessing.

“He has fully endorsed my campaign,” Lozano said of Albiani.

Through the Cosumnes Fire Department, Cosumnes Community Services District provides fire and ambulance services for Galt, Elk Grove and surrounding areas. In addition, Cosumnes Community Services District operates parks and recreation in Elk Grove.

“My thoughts on the fire service here in Galt: I think they’re tremendous,” Lozano said. “I think that we couldn’t get any better fire service than we get here. Could we tweak a couple things? Maybe.”

He said that call volume is “at a good level” at Galt’s fire stations and that he wants to maintain that level as residential areas in the city build out.

Additionally, Lozano said he wanted to look at options for addressing concerns about service west of the Union Pacific railroad tracks in Galt. Some residents have voiced worries that passing trains might delay emergency responses.

Lozano said he would bring knowledge he gained in his time on City Council, especially an understanding of police department operations and of the funding options available for cities, to Cosumnes Community Services District. He also highlighted the importance of gathering constituent feedback.

Lozano spoke about the responses he has received in the days after his announcement.

“The amount of support that I’ve received in terms of people willing to get behind my campaign has been tremendous,” he said.

The formal candidate filing period for the November General Election opens July 15. Prospective candidates will have until Aug. 9 to file with Sacramento County.