The Orange County Taxpayers Association (OCTax) today announced the retirement of the organization’s long-time CEO and President, Carolyn Cavecche. This announcement closes a chapter in Carolyn’s remarkable career of public service and advocacy on behalf of Orange County taxpayers.
“Orange County taxpayers, and by extension, California taxpayers have been well served by Carolyn’s ardent advocacy for fair, sound tax policies. Her natural ability to build consensus throughout Orange County and across party lines made Carolyn an especially great asset in battles to protect Prop 13 and defeat unjustified tax increases,” said OCTax Chair Trevor O’Neil. “Carolyn leaves the organization having fulfilled her goal to make OCTax the most trusted name in Orange County for public and governmental affairs, an achievement commensurate with the impeccable effort she put forth over the span of ten years. Public servants of Carolyn’s caliber never truly retire; they simply start new chapters. I have every confidence that Orange County will continue to play a central role in her next endeavor.”
Carolyn Cavecche assumed the leadership of OCTax in 2012. Before taking the helm, Carolyn served 6 years as the directly elected Mayor of the City of Orange, in addition to serving almost 6 years as a member of the Orange City Council. During her close to 12 years in office, she sat on the boards of several regional agencies, including the Orange County Transportation Authority, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), the Orange County Sanitation District, the Orange County Vector Control District, and the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency. Carolyn’s contributions have been honored many times by state, regional and local organizations. She is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology. She and her husband Rick are parents to three grown children and proud grandparents of two, soon to be four, grandchildren.
During her tenure at OCTax, Carolyn is credited withsignificantly raising the profile of OCTax statewide and increasing its education outreach on issues that impact the taxpayers of California every day. Most recently, under Carolyn's leadership, OCTax led the effort to educate Orange County residents on the consequences of passing a split-roll property tax system and helped defeat Proposition 15, which would have undermined historic Proposition 13 taxpayer protections.
“When I assess the balance of my tenure at OCTax, I can say without reservation that I am proud of the impact we made together, working with community members, organizations, elected leaders and support staff to advance taxpayer protections,” said Carolyn Cavecche. “OCTax’s work is never done. As we speak, there are ongoing efforts to remove protections from California’s taxpayers during the upcoming 2022 election. I may not be at the forefront of the fight anymore, but I leave behind a strong organization to a very capable Board of Directors, one that I know will select a leader to guide OCTax to future successes. I am excited to see this organization continue to thrive and thankful to have been entrusted with its care.”
Carolyn’s retirement is effective March 1, 2022. OCTax’s Board of Directors is overseeing the process to select Carolyn’s successor and expects to make an announcement in the Spring of 2022.
Founded in 1986, OCTax is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to help ensure taxes and tax-supported programs are fair, understandable, cost-effective, and good for the economy.