San Bernardino Supervisor Curt Hagman recently joined the MSRC as one of its newest members. He represents the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) on the Committee.
Curt fell into public service by accident. He owned his own business and began volunteering on local boards, where he became a liaison to the Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission before being appointed as a Commissioner himself. “I saw how a few people can make suggestions and it can really change the direction of policy,” he said.
From that experience, he was hooked on public service. He was invited to run for elected office and spent four years on the Chino Hills City Council before becoming a State Assembly Member in 2008. He represented the 55th Assembly District for six years and was first elected to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014. “Public policy and working together to find practical solutions to common goals and to see them through is very satisfying for me,” he commented.
“All of the other committees and boards we, collectively, as elected officials sit on to understand the interconnections helps bridge those gaps we see in different agency missions – as a SCAQMD Board member, we have the mission of clean air standards; being on the SBCTA (San Bernardino County Transportation Authority) Board, we have a mission of building infrastructure; as a County Supervisor, I have the mission of protecting the health and well being of our residents – so they all kind of collide together. Joining the MSRC allows me to see this perspective from the clean air side and how decisions we make here interlace with other boards, so I can get the complete picture,” Curt said.
Being on the SCAQMD has given him a better understanding of the challenges our air basin faces. “Sometimes it’s frustrating because we don’t have all the tools we need to utilize to get to the mandated air quality levels because a lot of the sources are federally regulated. But, the State of California has made some great strides, which I’ve seen first-hand because of where I live in the Inland Empire – we’ve gone from days you can’t breathe to much clearer days.”
Curt said he’s fascinated by the low-emission vehicle technology that’s been deployed to get to this point. “I’m a futurist at heart. I like looking at five and ten years out to see where the next generation of technology fits in, where we need to be in terms of clean air standards and how to integrate that into practical solutions.”
He characterizes himself as a very pragmatic person. “I like to see how we can actually get to our goals so that the private sector, our residents, businesses, and public entities can achieve clean air in a way that is doable and doesn’t push people out of the state.”
One of the reasons he likes the MSRC is because they invest money in newer technologies and can see the fruits of their investments. “I’m excited to see these projects come forward and we can promote some of these newer technologies for a broad spectrum of users.”
He’s seen this happen with the evolution of electric vehicles. “When electric cars first came out, they didn’t go very far and were very expensive. Now, they are very reasonable and perform quite well.” If fact, Curt has two EVs of his own.
Not only is his passion for new technologies one of the reasons why he’s excited to be a part of the MSRC, but he’s also looking forward to providing support for these new technologies. “Infrastructure is going to be critical for us going forward. This is true of all public agencies - how do we know where to invest resources into the infrastructure because things are changing quite rapidly. So, to be a part of an organization like the MSRC that looks at this changing technology has been helpful in giving me a perspective while wearing my other board member hats for thinking about the infrastructure on the ground.”
“From what I’ve seen, the MSRC has been doing great things and great projects, and I’m excited to keep learning about it as we go forward,” he remarked.