About Us

2006 was a dark period for taxpayers throughout the State of California. Nowhere was this truer than in the Inland Empire. While all Californians faced numerous state-wide ballot propositions to create massive new bonds, voters in cities all over Riverside and San Bernardino Counties faced local bond measures the likes of which they had never seen. The size, number and scope of these bond proposals were astronomical, and would have had very real and devastating effects on our State and local economies and on the daily lives of each and every property owner in California.

In March, 2006, soon to be Inland Empire Taxpayers Association founder Chris Mann wrote a passionate letter which appeared as a commentary in the Record Gazette newspaper, urging voters to reject all of the 2006 bond measures, as he put it, sending “a resounding “NO” to those who would continue heaping tax burden after tax burden upon our shoulders as the easy way out of making tough budget choices.”

Chris’ commentary began a surge of support for protecting local taxpayers against increased taxes and bonds. The following month, April 2006, a small committee of volunteers, led by Chris and dedicated to fighting all attempts by local government agencies to raise taxes and pass new bonds, opened a bank account and filed a Statement of Organization with the California Secretary of State and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, giving birth to the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association.

The Inland Empire Taxpayers Associaiton’s first efforts were directed at opposing two bond measures on the June, 2006 ballot: Measure G, a $720 million bond for the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District, and Measure H, a $63 million bond for the Banning Unified School District. Both bonds were defeated on June 6th, 2006. Since then, the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association has lead or been the only organized opposition to numerous local bond measures. We have joined with other taxpayer groups in fighting a state-wide tax proposition and to prevent the election of Phil Angelides, who promised to create $18 billion in new taxes, to the office of Governor. We have supported/opposed candidates for local office, as well as local ballot measures which, although not technically bond measures, would have led to massive parcel taxes/fees. *

In all, the efforts of the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association have thus far directly prevented the creation of over $813 million in new local bonds/public debt…or approximately $1.6 billion of total public indebtedness (initial bond amounts plus interest). *

* Please see the page titled “Projects” for more detailed information.

President

Stefan Ujkic

• Business Owner, Monster Audio Video
• Alternate Member, Republican Party of Riverside County
• Member, Riverside County Young Republicans
• Taxpayer Advocate, Founding Member, Inland Empire Taxpayers Association
• Longtime Inland Empire Resident – raised in Cherry Valley; currently resides with
his wife/high school sweetheart and son in Beaumont

Stefan Ujkic grew up in the Inland Empire and has witnessed first hand the dramatic increase in local taxes, bonds and fees. A homeowner in the City of Beaumont, and a successful small business owner, he became progressively more alarmed at the number, size and frequency of tax and bond increases in the region.

In early 2006, Stefan took action by becoming a driving force behind the creation of the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association. He served as Executive Director of the IETA from 2006 through 2009, when he became the organization’s President. Stefan manages the day-to-day operations of the IETA. In addition, he has become an expert grassroots campaign strategist. Stefan has orchestrated the logistics of all IETA grassroots campaign activites since its inception.

Stefan’s political experience extends beyond his duties with the IETA. He has been an active member of the Riverside County Young Republicans since mid 2006, was a candidate for the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency in November, 2006, and has served on the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Riverside County since January, 2007.

Executive Director

Joe Giardiello

Joe Giardiello is a seasoned political strategist. A veteran of too many campaigns to count, he has extensive experience managing every aspect of a race, from crafting a winning strategy and a solid budget to drafting campaign literature and orchestrating an aggressive grassroots effort.

Joe has been the lead consultant on campaigns at the local, State and Federal levels, including races for city council, water board, school board, county supervisor, State Assembly, State Senate, Board of Equalization, and U.S. Congress.

Joe served as District Director for then California State Senator Tom McClintock, who is now serving in the United States Congress. He is the Founder and President of the South Coast Taxpayers Association, and serves as editor of PoliticalUSA.com, one of the web’s longest running political websites. Prior to his career in politics, Joe was an intelligence analyst in the United States Navy, and then worked as a stockbroker specializing in emerging high tech companies.

Founder / Past President

Chris Mann

• Former Mayor and Councilman, City of Westlake Village
• Former Director, San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency
• Tresurer, Republican Party of Riverside County
• Founding Member/Executive Board, Riverside County Young Republicans
• President, Mann Communications
• Partner, Rotkin Real Estate Group
• Managing Partner, ADR Properties Las Vegas, LLC

Chris Mann moved to Riverside County in 2004, after completing his term as Mayor of the City of Westlake Village, in Los Angeles County, having acceped a Senior Account Executive position at O'Reilly Public Relations, the largest and best known public relations firm in the Inland Empire. In 2005, he formed Mann Communications, a public relations company specializing in land-use entitlement, strategic communications and community outreach services for public agencies, and political campaign strategy. In December, 2006, Chris became a partner of Rotkin Real Estate Group, a small commercial real estate development company based in Newport Beach, CA. In October, 2009, Chris helped form, and became managing partner of, ADR Properties Las Vegas, LLC, a real estate development and management company.

Chris Mann has provided both tactical and strategic public relations counsel to business, public agency and elected clients throughout Southern California. His areas of expertise include land-use entitlement, water and energy project development as well as public education and community outreach programs. A practiced communications strategist, Chris’ experience includes public opinion research, message development, reputation management, coalition building, media relations, public information campaigns and crisis management in both the public and private sectors. He has provided counsel to local government agencies, non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 companies.

Chris has extensive experience in California politics including providing strategic counsel on city council, State Assembly, State Senate, district attorney and ballot measure races throughout the State. He serves as a trusted and respected advisor to numerous elected officials throughout Southern California and has guided scores of successful political and public affairs campaigns, including a few of his own.

Chris was elected to the City Council of the City of Westlake Village in November, 1999, a seat he won by defeating an incumbent who was one of the City’s original founders. At the age of 23, Chris was at that time the youngest elected official serving in the State of California. He became Mayor of the City in 2002, at the age of 26.

Chris was elected to the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency in November 2004, defeating a 12-year incumbent in a landslide election where he gained over 64% of the vote.

Chris was elected to the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Riverside County in June, 2006, and became Treasurer of the Party in January, 2007.

Chris holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Political Science from California Lutheran University, in Thousand Oaks, CA, and has completed all required coursework for his master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration. He holds real estate licenses in California and Nevada.