The San Diego County Taxpayers Association has come to an agreement with Haney Hong, its president and CEO, for him to remain at the helm of the government watchdog through 2027.
Hong, hired as president and CEO in January 2016, is credited with restructuring and modernizing the association. Most notably, he worked with the board to reorganize the membership structure, leading to growth in individual and household memberships. Those are now triple that of corporate memberships in the association.
“Changing the membership structure to focus on everyday families and their concerns ensures that San Diegans without paid advocates have a voice in our community,” Hong said. “We’ll be continuously expanding that effort in the future.”
Mike McLaughlin, chairman of the board of directors, said Hong “transformed our association over the past eight years.”
“Our mission endures, however, and our work never ends,” the chair added. “We go into the next three years building atop an ethical and intellectual foundation that is rock solid and has never been stronger.”
The association credits Hong with other major achievements, including fighting to improve transparency in homelessness services and accounting for taxpayer dollars, creating the Public Regional Outcomes Standards Board through the Taxpayers Education Foundation, and establishing a review service called “Certified by Taxpayers” to verify the performance of public agencies and contractors. Six local governments are involved in the program.
Hong’s status was announced at a private event last month for regional policy makers and executives from public and civic institutions and business.
