Carlsbad Resident Chris Cate Named Vice President at San Diego County Taxpayers Association

Staff promotions and the addition of a new Policy Analyst at the San Diego County Taxpayers Association reflect the increased reliance and trust of the San Diego community in the organization’s policy analysis and advocacy on behalf of taxpayers.

Lani Lutar, President & CEO, of SDCTA, announced that Carlsbad resident Chris Cate has been promoted to Vice President.

Amy Harris has been promoted to Development Director; Peter Amaro has been hired as Policy Analyst.

“SDCTA has an incredibly strong team in place to serve its mission on behalf of the taxpayers,” said Lutar. “Polls consistently rate us as the most ‘influential’ and ‘trusted’ public policy institution in San Diego. We don’t take that trust for granted. Recognizing the contributions of Chris and Amy to this effort and bringing in Peter Amaro allows SDCTA to continue to effectively protect our region's individual and business taxpayers, and provide them with detailed analysis and independent approach to every issue.”

Cate plays a leadership role in planning the Association's public policy and advocacy efforts, as well as SDCTA's daily operations. Prior to joining SDCTA, Cate served as Audit Committee Consultant at the City of San Diego. He also worked for Jefferson Government Relations in Washington, D.C., where he assisted in developing legislation related to higher education and healthcare. Cate is actively involved in issues pertaining to North County and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Carlsbad Unified School District Bond Oversight Committee.  Cate is the Chair of the Asian Business Association Public Policy Committee and has served on a number of citizen committees around the County.  Cate earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of San Diego.

Harris manages membership and development opportunities, coordinates special events and conducts policy research for SDCTA. Originally from Colorado, Amy graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy and Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

A native San Diegan, Amaro received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.  During his time at Georgetown, he worked as a policy analyst with the Harrison Institute for Public Law, where he focused on land-use regulation and environmental policy issues facing state and local governments.  He was also involved with Georgetown’s Environmental Law Society and Habitat for Humanity student groups.  Prior to his legal studies, he worked for AVID Center, a San Diego-based educational nonprofit organization. 

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, dedicated to promoting accountable, cost-effective and efficient government and opposing unnecessary new taxes and fees.  Founded in 1945, SDCTA has spent the past 66 years saving the region’s taxpayers millions of dollars, as well as generating information to help educate the public.