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East Bay Regional Park District Director Olivia Sanwong is defending her Ward 5 board seat against Bruce Henry, chair of the district’s Park Advisory Committee and a fellow longtime Pleasanton resident.
Sanwong is seeking a second term representing her hometown plus the communities of Dublin, Fremont, Livermore, Newark, Sunol and unincorporated eastern Alameda County on the Board of Directors, after she was first elected to the position in 2022.Â
“I bring nine years of governing experience in elected office, approving public budgets and holding fiduciary duty to voters at two different agencies,” Sanwong told the Pleasanton Weekly in an email interview, referring to her time on the Zone 7 Water Agency Board of Directors. “That’s rare, direct experience in both water and parks governance. I know what’s going on, and I know who we need to work with to get things done.”
Henry, however, said he wants to challenge the idea of uncontested elections by offering himself, a viable and knowledgeable candidate, as an option for voters.
“There is a long history of uncontested elections in the Park District, which I don’t think is good for democracy; the people of Ward 5 deserve to make their voices heard,” Henry told the Weekly via email. “I am running to represent Ward 5 to keep our parks safe, accessible, and well-managed for everyone in our community.”
Olivia Sanwong
Sanwong is a lifelong Tri-Valley resident who has had years of experience in science and technology industries.
Prior to her being elected to the Ward 5 seat in 2022, Sanwong had been serving on the Zone 7 Board of Directors. She was first elected to the water agency’s board in 2018 and had just been reelected for a second term in the June 2022 primary before making the decision to run for the EBRPD Ward 5 director position that November, which she earned uncontested..
She also served on EBRPD’s Park Advisory Committee and on Pleasanton’s Economic Vitality Committee, Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board and Leadership Pleasanton Steering Committee.
Sanwong said she has accomplished many things during her time on the EBRPD board, including hosting the board’s very first meeting at Camp Arroyo so more Tri-Valley voices are heard; approving a map for new automated fee machines to “resolve the entry bottleneck at the Del Valle kiosk”; and resolving a 2016 memorandum of understanding with the city of Pleasanton regarding the Garms Staging area at West Las Positas and Foothill.
But she said her work is not done yet.
“There’s so much momentum right now,” Sanwong said. “This work requires the same multi-jurisdictional thinking I’ve built my entire public service career around.”
She said the park district will conduct two liaison meetings with Livermore and Pleasanton concerning the Garms Staging Area and is preparing to open Doolan Canyon’s ranch road to the public. Expressing regret that these meetings ever stopped, she hopes to maintain the practice under EBRPD’s new general manager, Max Korten.
“I’m thrilled to have Max Korten as our new General Manager, because he’s prioritized resolving these long-standing issues across the Tri-Valley, along with scheduling liaison meetings with our partner agencies, a practice that should have never lapsed in the first place,” Sanwong said. “I have a record of opposing a proposal in late 2024 and early 2025 to remove liaison meetings from our Board Operating Guidelines entirely, a proposal that did not move forward.”
If elected, Sanwong said she plans to focus on continuing EBRPD’s efforts to improve wildfire resiliency and focusing on the new long-term lease that the district is currently negotiating with the state.
The lease negotiation would allow EBRPD to continue operating Lake Del Valle which, according to Sanwong, is a crucial asset for the parks district.
“Lake Del Valle serves three equal goals: flood protection, water supply, and recreation, and balancing all three is central to what this negotiation is about,” she said. “Based on my preliminary analysis, I estimate that nearly a third of EBRPD’s general fund property tax revenue comes from communities that rely on Del Valle for their water supply, underscoring what’s at stake in how we steward this resource.”
For more information about Sanwong’s campaign, visit www.oliviasanwong.com.
Bruce Henry
Henry is also a longtime Tri-Valley resident who, after having retired from his corporate job of over 30 years, is eager to give back to his community through public service.
“I am passionate about our parks and dedicated to public service,” Henry added. “Now that I have retired from my corporate career, I have the capacity required to serve effectively.”
A longtime sales director for Coca-Cola and Clorox, Henry has had some recent experience working at the park district. He was first appointed by Sanwong to the EBRPD Parks Advisory Committee back in 2022. He subsequently served on the PACÂ Finance Subcommittee in 2024 and was later elected as the committee chair for the 2025 to 2026 term.
In addition to his time at the EBRPD PAC, he also served on the city of Pleasanton’s Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Committee.
Henry said if he is elected this November, he would bring a unique perspective to the board as someone who not just knows what it takes to be a steward for the parks, due to his time on the advisory committee, but also as someone who actively hikes and rides his bicycle throughout several parks in the regional district every week.
“As someone who enjoys our regional trails every week, I know firsthand how vital these spaces are to our community,” Henry said in his campaign press release. “Managing our parks requires both community dedication and rigorous organizational oversight. My background allows me to translate corporate financial discipline and operational leadership directly into transparent public governance.”
Henry’s platform focuses on five key priorities, according to his press release. Those are “expanding safe trail access for all users, wildfire mitigation, protecting open spaces, supporting family friendly park experiences, and efficient spending of our tax dollars”.
He said if elected, he plans on ensuring tax dollars are “efficiently while championing safe access, wildfire mitigation, and habitat conservation across all our communities”.
Henry also criticized Sanwong and the EBRPD’s board in general for not holding meetings with the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District, having low employee morale according to an employee survey and the contentious lawsuit LARPD filed against the EBRPD in 2025 over a tax-sharing dispute.
Henry said some of his other key priorities include fiscal accountability; resolving “high-profile workplace disputes”; and collaborating with other agencies to ensure Ward 5 tax dollars remain focused on local park improvements.
“Serving on this board is an opportunity to advocate for the parks I love on behalf of my community,” Henry told the Weekly. “I have always been deeply passionate about public park access and trail safety, and being elected to this board would allow me to be an even stronger advocate for the parks we all share.”
For more information about Henry’s campaign, visit brucehenry4parks.com.
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