Experienced Leadership to Restore Trust in the Assessor's Office
I’m Nick Spinner, and I’m running for Contra Costa County Assessor because this office should be led by someone with proven leadership, operational experience, and a clear commitment to accountability.
For more than a decade, I’ve worked inside Contra Costa County government improving mission-critical systems residents and property owners rely on. I’ve seen how outdated processes, slow communication, and unclear information erode trust, even when people are simply trying to get a fair and timely answer.
I’m running to deliver accountable leadership, restore public trust through visible standards and independence, and modernize this office responsibly so service is clearer, faster, and more reliable for every property owner.
Trust in this office should come from actions, not promises.
- Nick Spinner
Why I'm ready to lead:
- More than 10 years inside Contra Costa County government improving mission-critical systems.
- Direct experience with the operational realities behind assessments, property records, and resident-facing tools.
- A leadership approach focused on competence, accountability, and follow-through.
- A commitment to show trust through actions, including clear standards and independence from influence-seeking money.
Questions about the appraiser's certificate requirement? I believe voters deserve straight answers.
My Priorities
Accountable Leadership
The Assessor's Office needs someone with a long-term vision and the track record to back it up. As Property and Business Information Systems Manager at the Contra Costa Treasurer-Tax Collector's office, I led the technical vision for systems that property owners rely on every day. As Interim General Manager of the Crockett Community Services District (CCSD), I took over a district in serious trouble, built a strong leadership team, cut unnecessary spending, and paid off $2 million in district debt. That is the kind of leadership the Assessor's Office needs.
Restoring Public Trust
Restoring public trust isn't about making the right promises. It's about taking concrete actions that demonstrate independence and transparency. I will never accept campaign contributions from anyone seeking to gain influence over the Assessor's Office. I will also separate myself from direct assessment decisions to insulate the process from politics. Property owners deserve to know that assessments, reviews, and decisions are guided by the facts and the law, not by who donated to a campaign or who holds office. Inside the office, that same commitment means clear, plain-language explanations for assessment decisions, public reporting on office performance and timelines, and consistent standards applied the same way across every neighborhood and property type. Trust has to be visible to be real.
Responsible Modernization
Contra Costa County's Assessor's Office depends on aging systems that are expensive to maintain, slow to adapt, and increasingly difficult to staff for. That creates real problems for property owners: longer waits, harder-to-reach help, and notices that are harder to understand. I have spent my career working on exactly this kind of problem. As Property and Business Information Systems Manager at the Treasurer-Tax Collector's office, I led the modernization of systems that the county depends on every day. I know how to do this work carefully, how to avoid the costly failures that happen when government technology projects move too fast, and how to keep the focus on service outcomes rather than technology for its own sake. I have already developed a clear technology platform for the office. As Assessor, I will set public goals for modernization, report on progress honestly, and measure every improvement by whether it actually makes the office work better for the people it serves.
Accountable Leadership
The Assessor's Office needs a leader with a clear direction, the ability to build a strong team, and the independence to make decisions based on what is right for property owners, not what is convenient for political allies.
Build a High-Performing Team
I will recruit and retain skilled appraisers and staff, give them clear direction, and remove the bureaucratic obstacles that slow them down. As Interim General Manager of the Crockett Community Services District, I inherited a district in serious financial trouble, built a strong leadership team, cut wasteful spending, and paid off $2 million in district debt. I will bring that same steady, results-focused management to the Assessor's Office.
Set Goals and Be Accountable
The office will publish service standards: how long assessments take, how quickly appeals are resolved, how accurately values are set. I will report on those results publicly and take responsibility when we fall short. Property owners deserve a straight answer about how the office is performing, not just at election time.
Bring Relevant Experience
As Property and Business Information Systems Manager at the Contra Costa Treasurer-Tax Collector's office, I led systems that thousands of property owners depend on every day. I know how county government works from the inside and how to move complex projects forward without losing sight of service outcomes. I am ready to lead the Assessor's Office on day one.
Good leadership means making the office work better for every property owner in Contra Costa County.
Restoring Public Trust
The Assessor's Office works for every property owner equally. That only happens when the office is free from money, politics, and favoritism.
No Conflicts of Interest
I will not accept campaign contributions from developers, commercial landlords, or tax agents seeking to influence property values. An office that takes money from the people it regulates cannot treat everyone fairly.
Hands Off Individual Cases
The Assessor sets policy and lets trained appraisers do their jobs — not personally intervene in specific assessment decisions. Political meddling in individual cases is how favoritism starts. I will insulate the office from that pressure.
Dignity in the Workplace
The office serves the public through its people. Staff treated with respect and given clear direction do their best work. I will lead with fairness inside the office so that fairness shows up in every assessment outside it.
Trust is not declared. It is demonstrated, one decision at a time.
Responsible Modernization
Modernization is not primarily about technology. It is about improving how the office works. In Year 1, I will pursue immediate efficiency gains while starting a long-term plan to replace the office's 1980s mainframe system. The goal: better service, more timely communication, and long-term cost control.
Four-Year Plan
2027
Cut the Red Tape
Identify and eliminate duplicative processes. Engage staff to map pain points and find quick wins.
2028
Digitize the Records
Launch document digitization starting with the oldest records. Free up physical space and protect records that must be kept.
2029
Modernize Case Management
Implement a modern case management system. Staff gain better tools to manage cases and access records from the field.
2030
Serve Residents Online
Property owners can check assessment status and homeowners exemption status online, and receive email and text notifications.
2027
Cut the Red Tape
Identify and eliminate duplicative processes. Engage staff to map pain points and find quick wins.
2028
Digitize the Records
Launch document digitization starting with the oldest records. Free up physical space and protect records that must be kept.
2029
Modernize Case Management
Implement a modern case management system. Staff gain better tools to manage cases and access records from the field.
2030
Serve Residents Online
Property owners can check assessment status and homeowners exemption status online, and receive email and text notifications.
Reduce Duplicative Work
When a property title is recorded at the Clerk-Recorder's office, all the data is already digitized. Today, assessor staff print the title, manually re-enter the same data into the assessor's system, then file the paper. We will connect those systems. For time-off requests, the County already operates a digital system used by multiple departments and the Assessor's office can adopt it at no added cost. Quick wins like these are easy to find: they are the painful, repetitive tasks staff dread every day.
Digitize Documents
The office holds nearly a hundred years of paper records, many stored in hallways because there is no room left. Paper degrades, is difficult to search, and takes staff hours to retrieve. Many of these records are past retention requirements. I will begin a digitization program on day one, starting with the oldest files, freeing up space, protecting the records we must keep, and making the office more accessible.
Migrate Off the Mainframe
The office runs on a 1980s IBM mainframe. IBM raises costs every year, legacy systems command a growing premium, and even minor improvements take weeks of development and testing, making it prohibitively expensive to improve resident-facing services. My plan is to replace the system incrementally, splitting it into components and migrating one piece at a time. The first target is the case management system. I will replace it with a modern vendor solution, customized to the office's actual workflows, so staff can access it in the field and property owners can check the real-time status of their assessments online and receive email and text notifications.
Better service does not always require a big budget. It requires clear priorities and the will to follow through.
What's Working — And What's Missing
The Assessor's office has real strengths worth building on. But strengths without improvement leave residents underserved. Here is where we stand today — and where we need to go.
99% Assessment Accuracy
The office consistently produces accurate assessments. That is a high bar, and the team deserves credit for maintaining it year after year.
Wasteful Spending and Legacy System Risk
Behind that accuracy is a 1980s mainframe that gets more expensive every year, staff manually re-entering data that already exists digitally, and processes that have not been reviewed in decades. The longer we wait, the more it costs.
Real People Answer the Phone
When residents call, a person picks up. That is not a given in government, and it reflects a genuine commitment to service.
Limited Online Self-Service
But if you want to check the status of your assessment, there is no website for that. No email updates. No text notifications. In 2027, residents should not have to call — or wait on hold — to get basic information about their property.
The goal is not to fix what is not broken. It is to make sure what works can keep working — without the hidden costs and missed opportunities holding the office back.
Endorsements
Open the map to explore endorsers across the county. Full list below.
Tap or click the pins on the map to see endorsers. Full list below.
Anthony Tave
Mayor, Pinole
Devin T. Murphy
Mayor Pro Tempore, Pinole
Cameron Sasai
City Council Member, Pinole
Jay Howard
Vice Mayor, Martinez
Logan Campbell
Trustee, Martinez Unified School District
Marisol Rubio
Vice Mayor, San Ramon
Laura Nakamura
Mayor, Concord
Monica Wilson
City Council Member, Antioch
Cesar Zepeda
City Council Member, Richmond
Democratic Party of Contra Costa County
California Democratic Party
Dale McDonald
Board President, Crockett Community Services District
Luigi Barassi
Director, Crockett Community Services District
John Mackenzie
Director, Crockett Community Services District
About Nick Spinner
Contra Costa County public servant, systems engineer, board member, and Eagle Scout.
I was raised in Martinez, and Contra Costa County has been home since my family moved here when I was a kid. I attended Diablo Valley College and earned my B.S. in Computer Science from Cal State East Bay. I'm also an Eagle Scout (Troop 180, Martinez), and that experience shaped how I think about public service: be prepared, do the work, tell the truth, and leave things better than you found them.
For over a decade, I've worked in Contra Costa County government, helping teams modernize systems, improve reliability, and deliver better service. I'm proud of practical work that reduces friction, makes information clearer, and helps residents and staff get things done.
Source: Martinez News-Gazette, August 3rd 2005.
Outside of work, I serve on the Crockett Community Services District Board of Directors, supporting responsible budgeting and transparent local governance for Crockett and Port Costa. I've also been involved in local environmental advocacy through Sierra Club leadership.
Today, I'm a homeowner in Crockett with my wife. I'm running for Contra Costa County Assessor because I want an office that earns trust through fair assessments, clear communication, visible accountability, and independence from influence.
Why I'm running
I've seen what happens when government systems are confusing, outdated, or hard to access: people give up, misinformation spreads, and trust erodes. I'm running for Assessor to build an office that's easier to understand and easier to use, where residents can get a clear answer, staff have the tools they need, and decisions are guided by facts, the law, and the public interest.
Source: Martinez News-Gazette, August 3rd 2005.
Nick Spinner brings local roots, practical leadership, and a commitment to public service grounded in accountability.
Common Questions
Straightforward answers to questions voters are asking.
Q: Doesn't the County Assessor need to hold a Board of Equalization appraiser's certificate before taking office?
No — and this is a common misconception worth clearing up. A candidate running for County Assessor is not required to hold an appraiser's certificate before taking office. A candidate who already works as an appraiser in an assessor's office may already hold one — but candidates who come from outside the assessor's office, like me, are not eligible to receive the certification until they take office.
If elected, I will obtain a temporary appraiser's certificate from the Board of Equalization within 30 days of taking office — as required by Government Code section 24002.5. I will then have up to one year to pass the comprehensive examination and receive full permanent certification. That examination is prepared and administered by the Board of Equalization.
This timeline is not a workaround — it is the standard legal process for every newly elected Assessor in California who comes from outside the office.
Source: California Board of Equalization — Appraiser's Certificate Requirements; Government Code § 24002.5; Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 670(a), (e); Property Tax Rule 282.
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