Dave Roberts

David W. Roberts (born 1960) is an American politician from Solana Beach, California. He was the county supervisor for San Diego County from 2012 to 2016, representing district 3, which includes portions of San Diego and most of north San Diego County. He was formerly the Mayor of Solana Beach. He is a Democrat.

Early life and education He was born and raised in Riverton, Connecticut, in 1960. His family has resided in Connecticut for 11 generations since 1629. After graduating from Northwestern Regional High School, he attended The Citadel, but left after he was beaten by a fellow cadet because of his sexual orientation. He wound up at American University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics and a Master of Public Administration. He is also a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, the Harvard Kennedy School for State and Local Leaders, and the Air Command and Staff College.

Career He was a vice president for government relations of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), an international non-profit, but retired from that position when he was sworn in as county supervisor. Before that, he worked as a corporate vice president in the healthcare business unit of the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Earlier, he served as a budget analyst for the United States Department of Defense and as a staffer for Senator Lowell Weicker.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors He was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 2012 to represent the 3rd district, replacing retiring supervisor Pam Slater-Price. He narrowly defeated Republican Steve Danon, chief of staff to Congressman Brian Bilbray, in the November 2012 runoff election. The race was so close that Danon did not concede until nine days after the election. The final tally was 51.14% for Roberts to 48.86% for Danon. He was sworn in on January 7, 2013.

Roberts was the only Democrat on the Board of Supervisors, which had consisted only of Republicans for more than two decades. (Local elections are nonpartisan under California state law, but most officeholders do identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans.) As a supervisor, he hoped to strengthen the county's mental health services and launch a solar energy initiative. By Thanksgiving, Gaspar's lead had grown to 1,090 votes, after steady gains throughout the preceding week. Roberts conceded on November 27.

Allegations of hostile work environment In May 2015, two of Robert's former staff members filed claims against the County of San Diego seeking monetary relief while alleging various acts of wrongdoing by Supervisor Roberts including misuse of County resources and employee favoritism. A third former employee filed a similar claim in June 2015. Roberts denied all of the allegations made against him. Roberts he conceded that he sent what he termed to be "jovial texting" to county staff stating that a particular employee should keep him warm on a county trip and claimed he would sleep in the same bed with him on a separate trip. That employee subsequently filed a lawsuit against two of the former staffers who had filed claims against the county regarding Robert's alleged behavior, for spreading “salacious rumors in the workplace.” Roberts was not named in the lawsuit.

On September 15, 2015, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Los Angeles Times newspapers reported that the Board of Supervisors had agreed to settlements totaling $310,000 for three of Roberts' former staffers in relation to various claims that he had created a hostile work environment. The four presiding county supervisors who agreed to the settlement also released a statement, "In the opinion of the Board, activities that occurred in the District 3 office, at a minimum, showed poor judgment by the Supervisor. And, although not conclusive, the investigative material surrounding the inappropriate use of County funds, promoting a hostile work environment, an alleged bribe, campaigning on County time, improper use of a County vehicle and retaliation against District 3 staff members is significant and a matter of concern for the Board of Supervisors."

Personal life Roberts is a married gay man; he and his spouse Wally Oliver have five adopted children.