The Denver Board Of Water Commissioners
(Updated 12/27/07)

Denver's five-member Board of Water Commissioners is appointed by the Mayor of Denver to staggered six-year terms. The Board's sole purpose is to ensure a continuous supply of water to the people of Denver and its suburban customers. Among other duties, commissioners are responsible for setting water rates and monitoring the cost and maintenance of the system. The Water Board holds its public meetings generally twice a month. Commissioners are paid $600 annually ($25 per meeting) for their service.

Thomas A. Gougeon, President

  • Appointed August 10, 2004

  • Term expires July 10, 2011

Tom Gougeon is a principal in Continuum Partners LLC, a Colorado-based development company known for "green" building projects. He served as CEO of the Stapleton Redevelopment Foundation and conducted research at the Denver Research Institute in community planning and natural resource economics. At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he worked on the Clean Air Act, Western energy development and public lands issues. He is a former chair of the Nature Conservancy of Colorado and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, and he served on the board of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Denver and a master’s in city and regional planning from Harvard University.

Penfield Tate III, First Vice President

  • Appointed October 18, 2005

  • Term expires July 10, 2011

Penfield Tate III is a former state legislator and a partner in the law firm of Greenberg Traurig. He is a graduate of Colorado State University and Antioch School of Law. He has served on the boards of the Colorado Bar Association, the State of Colorado Banking Board, Cerebral Palsy of Colorado, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Five Points Community Center and the Metropolitan State College of Denver Foundation. He has been the executive director of the Colorado Department of Administration, an aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Peña and a trade regulation attorney for the Federal Trade Commission.

George Beardsley

  • Commissioner since February 2, 2004

  • Reappointed November 6, 2007

  • Term expires July 10, 2013

George Beardsley is a principal with Inverness Properties, LLC, which specializes in the development and operation of commercial real estate properties. He is a partner with G.L. Beardsley and Sons, which had ranch operations in Elbert and Douglas Counties and maintains ranch operations in Summit County. Beardsley is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Colorado Conservation Trust, the Colorado State University Research Foundation and the Gates Foundation. He is the past president of the Inverness Metropolitan Water & Sanitation District, a member of the Urban Land Institute's Environmental Council and the Colorado Forum and its Water Committee; and a former board member of Great Outdoors Colorado.

John Lucero

  • Appointed September 13, 2007

  • Term expires December 1, 2011

John Lucero is a broker associate at Lucero Real Estate, Inc., a local real estate company that offers residential, commercial, development and investment real estate expertise. He is also a former director of the Denver Board of Realtors, where he received the 2007 President’s Distinguished Service Award and has been a member of numerous committees. Lucero has also served on several committees for the Colorado Association of Realtors and the Colorado Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. He currently serves as a member of the Denver Zoning Code Task Force and was a member of the mayor’s transition team for Community Planning and Development in 2003. Lucero replaces Commissioner Harris Sherman.

Susan Daggett

  • Appointed November 6, 2007

  • Term expires July 10, 2013

Susan Daggett is an independent consultant and has worked with a variety of conservation groups to address impacts associated with oil and gas development in the Rocky Mountain West. Prior to her consulting work, Daggett was an attorney for Earthjustice where she represented nonprofit environmental groups in litigation under the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and a variety of other environmental statutes. Daggett has more than 13 years of experience serving as an attorney for various organizations, including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees and as Policy Committee Chair for The Nature Conservancy of Colorado and is also a member of Greenprint Denver. Daggett holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Mount Holyoke College and a law degree from Yale University. She replaces Commissioner Denise Maes.