The Board of Supervisors on Dec. 18 unanimously appointed former Yucca Valley Mayor Dawn Rowe to serve as Third District supervisor and complete the final two years of the term to which now-Assemblyman James Ramos was elected in 2016.
Supervisor Rowe, who was selected from a field of 43 qualified applicants, was immediately administered the oath of office and took her seat on the Board of Supervisors, which for the first time in the county’s 165-year history features a female majority.
In applying for the appointment, Supervisor Rowe cited experience dealing with key issues in the district, including the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, water hauling, vacation rentals and off-road recreation. She also expressed understanding of countywide issues and committed herself toward building a positive working relationship with the other members of the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Rowe (rhymes with “now”), who has lived in the Morongo Basin since 2003, served on the Yucca Valley Town Council from 2010 to 2014, including a turn as mayor, and worked as a field representative for Assemblyman and then Congressman Paul Cook from 2009 until her appointment to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 18. She has been a substitute teacher with the Morongo Unified School District since 2009 and is active in a host of community organizations.
Supervisor Rowe has a master’s degree in advertising from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications & public relations (double major) from Drake University. 
The Third District includes all or portions of the cities of San Bernardino, Grand Terrace, Colton, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, Yucaipa, Barstow, Big Bear Lake and Twentynine Palms, the Town of Yucca Valley, and surrounding unincorporated communities and areas. A detailed map can be viewed here.