The mayor of Denver appoints Denver's five-member Board of Water Commissioners to staggered six-year terms.
The Board's purpose is to ensure a continuous supply of water to the people of Denver and its suburban customers. Among other duties, commissioners are responsible for setting water rates and monitoring the cost and maintenance of the system. The Board holds its public meetings generally twice a month. Commissioners are paid $600 annually ($25 per meeting) for their service.
Penfield Tate III, President
- Commissioner since Oct. 18, 2005
- Term expires July 10, 2011
Penfield Tate III is a former state legislator and a shareholder in the Public Finance Group at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig. He is a graduate of Colorado State University and Antioch School of Law. He has served on the boards for the Colorado Bar Association, State of Colorado Banking Board, Cerebral Palsy of Colorado, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Five Points Community Center and Metropolitan State College of Denver Foundation. He has been the executive director of the Colorado Department of Administration, an aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Peña and a trade regulation attorney for the Federal Trade Commission.
John Lucero, First Vice President
- Commissioner since Sept 13, 2007
- Term expires Dec. 1, 2011
John Lucero is a broker associate at Lucero Real Estate, Inc., a local real estate company that offers residential, commercial, development and investment real estate expertise. He also is a former director of the Denver Board of Realtors, where he received the 2007 President’s Distinguished Service Award and has been a member of numerous committees. Lucero also has served on several committees for the Colorado Association of Realtors and the Colorado Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. He currently serves as a member of the Denver Zoning Code Task Force and was a member of the mayor’s transition team for Community Planning and Development in 2003.
Thomas A. Gougeon, Vice President
- Commissioner since Aug. 10, 2004; reappointed July 11, 2005
- Term expires July 10, 2011
Tom Gougeon is a principal in Continuum Partners LLC, a Colorado-based development company known for mixed use and transit oriented “green” building projects. He served as chief executive officer of the Stapleton Redevelopment Foundation, assistant to the mayor of Denver, executive director of a charitable foundation and was a research associate at the Denver Research Institute in community planning and natural resource economics.
Gougeon also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked on the Clean Air Act, western energy development and public lands issues. He is a former chair of the Nature Conservancy of Colorado and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, and he has served on the board of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority and many other community organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Denver and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University.
Paula Herzmark, Vice President
- Commissioner since April 24, 2009
- Term expires July 10, 2013
Paula Herzmark is the executive director of the Denver Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports Denver Health. She previously worked as the chief executive officer of the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center, as well as the president and chief executive officer of Prime Time Cable Corp., a private cable television company. She also served in Gov. Richard Lamm’s cabinet as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for five years, after having served as the governor’s legislative liaison.
Herzmark has been active in several boards in the community, including Opera Colorado, Stapleton Foundation, Denver Judicial Nominating Commission, Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, National Jewish Hospital, the Denver Health and Hospitals and the Downtown Denver Partnership.
Greg Austin, Vice President
- Commissioner since July 28, 2009
- Term expires July 10, 2013
Greg Austin is a former partner in the Denver law firm Holland & Hart LLP. He retired from the partnership in 2001 but continued serving as of counsel to the firm until July 2009. Austin left Holland & Hart from 1973 to 1977 to serve as general counsel to the U.S. Small Business Administration, and later as solicitor (general counsel) of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Austin serves on the board of directors of Craig Hospital, Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting System, the Denver Police Foundation and the Holland & Hart Foundation. He also is a member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee and has served on the Colorado State Treasurer’s Advisory Commission.