EBMUD Director Frank Mellon Won’t Seek Re-Election
After serving on the EBMUD Board of Directors since 1994, Frank Mellon announced this week that he will not be running for re-election in 2022.
“I have had a good run and it is time. While my health is generally good, I turned 76 this year and think it is time for someone who can carry the responsibilities of the position for the future,” Mellon told the Forum.
Mellon, a 40-year resident of Castro Valley, has been a major figure in securing water rights for East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and as a steward of Ward 7, which includes Castro Valley, portions of San Leandro, and Hayward, and the communities of Cherryland and Fairview as well as a portion of San Ramon. As an EBMUD board member, Mellon serves on the EBMUD Retirement Board, as a board member on the DSRSD/EBMUD Recycled Water Authority (DERWA), and on the Special Districts Association of Alameda County.
While Mellon says his name will not be on the ballot for the first time in 28-years, he notes he is not disappearing from community service. Mellon is a member of the Senior Assistance Foundation Eastbay (SAFE), a charitable trust which provides funding to low-income senior programs. He is also a member of the Castro Valley Sports Foundation.
“You all have been very good and kind to me and I am not going anywhere,” he says. “Thank you all for so very much. I am not saying goodbye. Just look for me to be supporting our community.”
All of Frank’s grown children are graduates of Castro Valley High, with two still residing in the area and one living in Utah. Frank also has a brother who lives in Cape Coral, Florida whom he says can expect more visits.
Mellon noted his many accomplishments while serving EBMUD including reducing water demand by more than 40 million gallons per day while covering the growing East Bay population through conservation and recycling programs. He says he was instrumental in settling a lawsuit to assure that water supply during droughts will no longer result in drastic water rationing due to the construction of the Freeport Water Supply project in 2011.
Mellon’s work at EBMUD also included saving Redwood Canyon Golf Course, making EBMUD’s wastewater treatment plant become 100% energy self-sufficient and with energy to sell to the Port of Oakland; and supporting Mokelumne River conservation programs that helped maintain salmon runs.
A Navy veteran, Mellon graduated from the University of Hawaii with a BA in Management and from St. Mary's College in Moraga with an MBA. He was also a Scoutmaster for Troop 708 in Castro Valley where he says he developed a mantra that spilled over into his professional career.
“Doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do,” Mellon says.
While the election for his replacement on the EBMUD board won’t take place until this November, Mellon says he is endorsing Fairview MAC (Municipal Advisory Committee) member April Chan to take his place for the next four years.
“I think she will do an excellent job,” he says.
The deadline to file as a candidate for EBMUD Ward 7 is in the first week of August 2022.