Barry Jantz (born September 8, 1959) is a retired CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District, a former member of the La Mesa

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

within

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and a Community Affairs consultant. After being selected by the San Diego Business Journal in five consecutive years as a "SD 500"—one of San Diego's most influential people—in 2021 he was recognized as one of 66 'Icons,' described as "those whose work is so influential, and whose contributions so great, that the SDBJ recognizes them as icons." Born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...

, Jantz moved to La Mesa in 1973 and attended

Helix High School Helix High School, or Helix Charter High School, is a charter high school in La Mesa, California, built in 1952. It received its charter in 1998. Helix is part of Grossmont Union High School District, and serves a mid-level socioeconomic co ...

Grossmont College Grossmont College is a public community college in El Cajon, California. Its name originated with the silent film actor and producer William J. Gross, who was enticed by Ed Fletcher to invest in the purchase of land, part of which was called Gro ...

, and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(SDSU), where he majored in journalism and minored in political science. He wrote for the ''Grossmont College G'' and SDSU's ''The Daily Aztec''. Jantz was inducted into the Grossmont College Walk of Fame in 2004. Jantz ran successfully for La Mesa City Council in 1990 after forming the political consulting and public relations firm of Jantz-Baldwin, with Steve Baldwin, later a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

. Jantz won re-election three times, most recently in 2002. He represented the City of La Mesa as a board member of the East County Economic Development Council (ECEDC), San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Heartland Communications Authority, and Mission Trails Regional Park Task Force. Jantz currently serves on the boards of ECEDC, San Diego Taxpayers Education Foundation, and Grossmont Hospital Foundation. He's a past East San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce board member, where he served as chairman of the Government Affairs Committee. He has served as board chairman of both ECEDC and San Diego County Taxpayers Association. Jantz has been involved in California Republican politics throughout the years, having served as Treasurer of the San Diego County Republican Party and as a delegate to the California Republican Party, where he served on the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Initiatives Committee. In 2000, he was selected as one of George W. Bush's 54 presidential electors from California. From 2001 to 2004, Jantz served as District Chief of Staff to California State Assemblyman Jay La Suer (R-77). In late 2004, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the ''Grossmont Healthcare District'', a public hospital district in East San Diego County. On June 28, Jantz declared that he would not seek a fifth term on the La Mesa City Council. He cited an interest to be more involved in the life of his daughter. Jantz' commentaries have appeared in the

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

, San Diego Daily Transcript, San Diego Business Journal, ''East County Californian'', and other newspapers. He is a contributor to SDRostra.com, a San Diego blog forum and correspondent for FlashReport, a web-based portal for California political news and commentary. Jantz and his wife, Colleen, have one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jantz, Barry 1959 births Living people California city council members Writers from Whittier, California