Candidate for
Assessor; County of Orange

Mike's first experiences in property taxes began over 14 years ago, when he joined the L. A. County Assessor's Office. While employed by L. A. County, Mike prepared and presented the assessor's defense of property tax appeals, appraised real property, assisted in the professional education of new appraiser trainees, and developed taxpayer education materials.

During February 1997 Mike joined the Board of Equalization in Sacramento. While employed by the Board he helped to revise the statewide Assessors' Handbook and assisted in the drafting of new property tax regulations. Eventually, Mike was promoted to supervisory and management positions in the Board's Assessment Practices Survey Program. This valuable program conducts compliance audits of California's 58 county assessors to ensure the fair and equal treatment of property taxpayers throughout the state. Under Mike's direction, the Board's staff worked hard to detect and prevent over assessments.

Mike enrolled in the evening division at the McGeorge School of Law concurrently with his employment at the Board. Graduating in 2002, Mike earned the degree Juris Doctor with Great Distinction, and successfully completed McGeorge's Tax Concentration. Mike was admitted to the State Bar of California on December 3, 2002.

Since graduating from law school, Mike has held attorney positions in both the Board's Legal Department and the office of the Honorable Claude Parrish, the Board's Vice Chairman. Both of those positions required him to apply and interpret a wide variety of tax laws involving individuals and businesses. At present Mike works from the Board of Equalization's office in Santa Ana.

See Mike's Web site for more information.