Former NAACP Chapter Head Adds Diversity To City Government

Brian Tisdale stands out. Sworn into the Lake Elsinore City Council Dec. 14, Tisdale is African American, representing the only person of color on the council – this in a city where nearly half the population is non-white.

While Tisdale's background may be helping to close the color gap in Lake Elsinore city government, his ethnicity is not something he talks about. Rather, he prefers to focus on the issues facing his city.

High on his priority list is making Lake Elsinore more family friendly by implementing a city master plan, adding sidewalks, improving streets and working with county officials to develop a 14-mile bike route around the lake.

He also wants to see the city create fun, safe places where local youth can go after school.

"From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. crime goes up when kids are out of school. When I was a kid, you always had something to do and a parent to come home to. That's not always the case, today," Tisdale said, as he sat in his office decorated with his children's artwork, a ceramic piece created by his wife, Sharon, and a signed group photo of his staff.

Tisdale is a family man. He and his wife have two children, Nicholas, 9, and Lauren, 6. He has long been involved in their sports endeavors and he currently serves as a coach to his daughter's soccer team.

"Coaching is kind of a hobby," Tisdale said with a smile. "I played soccer as a kid, and in the Marines."

While on the council, Tisdale also hopes to improve the city's reputation by putting more emphasis on the positive aspects of the city, including local sports activities, such as motocross, skydiving and semi-professional baseball.

"We want people to come to Lake Elsinore to play," he said.

Tisdale has set lofty goals, but his schedule will be full. In addition to his duties as councilman, he was also appointed vice chair of the city's Public Finance Authority and its Redevelopment Agency.

Tisdale, 48, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant with 22 years military service, was born in Beaverton, Ore., and was raised in Birmingham, Ala. After graduating from Birmingham High School, he enlisted in the Marines and got to see the world.

He moved to Lake Elsinore in 1998, while stationed at Camp Pendleton, and continued to stay in the city after his military retirement in 2002. He holds a bachelor's degree in management and human resources, and a master's degree in emergency services administration.

Now, he is program director of Riverside County Department of Public Health's Emergency Preparedness and Response unit, where he manages $9 million in government grants.

Among Tisdale's supporters are some of his employees, including Ramon Leon, a Riverside County project coordinator in the Emergency Preparedness and Response unit.

In the months before the November election, Leon used his weekends to help register voters and walk with Tisdale as he visited about 3,000 homes in Lake Elsinore. Leon said he did it because he believes Tisdale will make a positive difference.

"Brian puts action in his words," Leon said. "He analyzes. He's not a person who does rash things. He thinks things through."

One of Tisdale's biggest supporters is Lake Elsinore activist Christine Hyland. She met Tisdale at the local chapter of the NAACP, where he served as president from 2008 to 2010.

Hyland said she was impressed by Tisdale's leadership skills, his background as a Marine and his current position with the County of Riverside.

"He's there for the people. He's a very honest and upstanding citizen," she said.

Tisdale doesn't seem afraid to say what he thinks either.

Earlier this year, former Councilman Thomas Buckley faced a failed recall effort after opponents accused him of profiting from a land deal he voted for. The recall effort is what prompted Tisdale to run for office, he said.

"I felt the recall was illegal and the people behind it were wrong," he explained.

During the Dec. 14 city council meeting, Tisdale acknowledged Buckley for his service to the city.

"Tom really worked hard," he said.

With so much in front of him as new councilman and vice chair on two city agencies, it's Tisdale's turn to dig in.