Dave Hart
editDave Hart (b. 1950) graduated from California State University, Chico with a B.S. in Agronomy (1973) and from the University of California, Davis, with an M.S. in Irrigation and Drainage (1979). He has been employed by the California Department of Water Resources as an Engineering Associate in the California Cooperative Snow Survey Program since October, 1983. He has been active in his union, SEIU Local 1000 since 1989 and was Chair of Bargaining Unit 11, Engineering and Scientific Technicians from 1999 through 2005. He was elected President of the California State Employees Association (CSEA) on October 7, 2007. The Sacramento Bee found this election sufficiently noteworthy to publish a story about it on October 9, 2007, page A3, entitled "SEIU pick wins CSEA election".
Dave Hart has presided over a fundamental change in the organizational structure of CSEA. A key aspect of this reorganization is a first time ever use of strategic planning in CSEA. A strategic plan for CSEA business operations was developed and adopted by the CSEA Board of Directors in September of 2008 and implemented by the CSEA General Manager and staff. The strategic plan provides an objective framework to pursue changes to the organization, measure progress and create transparency on all corporate activity. He has also embraced the discipline of project management as a crucial tool to support strategic thinking and planning. Dave Hart won re-election again on September 3, 2009 and announced in his re-election speech that he would use his second term to follow through on the strategic plan but would not seek a third term. During the three year period of 2009 through 2012, the CSEA Board of Directors came to consensus on a conceptual restructuring of the CSEA with a financial plan to support the practical autonomy of its four affiliated organizations. He followed through with his promise to relinquish any leadership position in CSEA and left office upon the election of Marilyn Hamilton as president of CSEA on September 3, 2012.