Serving his home county in Northern California for the last seven years, James has shown steadfast and innovative leadership through an unprecedented barrage of fires, floods, droughts, and more. He has become a well-known champion of resiliency by engaging and empowering residents through recovery and rebuilding in the wake of wildfires. James led efforts to secure historic regional, state, and federal funding for emergency preparedness and infrastructure investments. He’s also a key local and state leader on housing, homelessness, and behavioral health.

During the pandemic, James led the California State Association of Counties as President through the multitude of statewide prevention and response actions. Locally, he spearheaded the creation of Sonoma County’s Office of Equity to take on the disparate impacts of COVID on underserved communities.