Michael T. Jarvis

A frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times from 1999 until 2005. Jarvis was elected to public office as a Mono County Supervisor in 1990 representing the town of Mamoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra. He was active in water issues surrounding Mono Lake and the re-watering of Owens Lake and played a critical role in the agreement of 1993 that cut water diversions by the City of Los Angeles from the Mono basin in half. In 2005 Jarvis was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Deputy Director for Communications for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Directed all department media strategies for statewide response to major incidents such as the October 2007 Fire Siege and the 2008 Lightning Fire Siege. Frequently served as department spokesman on local news as well as international television shows including Larry King Live and Hannity & Colmes. In 2008 Schwarzenegger re-appointed Jarvis as Deputy Secretary for Public Affairs with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.