Lake County District 3 Supervisor

As District 3 Supervisor, Denise is dedicated to promoting sustainable local economy and community self-reliance in Lake County, California. Together, we can make changes that strengthen local community, support local economy and lead to more healthy, secure and meaningful lives.

District 3 covers Blue Lakes, Upper Lake, Lake Pillsbury, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks and Spring Valley, some of the most beautful areas of Lake County.

About Denise

Denise Rushing was born and raised in Northern California and has lived most of her adult life in rural areas throughout the North State. She earned her Bachelors Degree in engineering from Stanford University where she studied alternative energy and environmental science and a Master's Degree in Culture and Spirituality from Holy Names College in Oakland, CA.
Denise’s business career spans over two decades and includes executive leadership at a number of technology firms: including Sage Systems, CellNet Data Systems and Invensys. Up until 1996, she held a variety of leadership positions at PG&E, including manager of customer operations in Shasta Division (Redding), Industrial Energy Efficiency Engineer in Yuba City, CA and PG&E's Corporate Director of Energy Efficiency Programs and Manager of Clean Air Vehicle Programs.

Denise is proud to call Lake County home. She is an environmental engineer, an organic grower and regenerative ecological designer (certified permaculturist) in Upper Lake. Denise founded Dancing TreePeople Organic Orchard and Garden in Upper Lake, California, where she and her partner, Loretta McCarthy care for 11 acres of walnuts and are implementing organic agriculture, permaculture principles and sustainable living. As founder and principal of Tactical Partners, an energy-efficiency technology management company, Denise also helps develop and manage environmentally beneficial businesses. She is the mother of two young adults, a licensed private pilot and a registered Mechanical Engineer. This is her first term in elective office.

Denise is dedicated to actively preserving and restoring Lake County's natural health and beauty, and enhancing local community well being for current and future generations.

 Teresa Rushing and her mom, Denise

Imagine...

20 years from now, our overall quality of life in Lake County will have improved over life here today. We have not only preserved the unique beauty and agricultural nature of our area, but our local communities will have created a strong “sense of place.“ Our ecosystems are thriving: our pure waters team with life, our air is clean and our soils are seasonally renewing and alive--all are in better condition than when we began.

Our people see and experience our land differently than we do today. We work together to preserve and protect our watershed. We grow much of our food locally and are able to meet most of our own basic needs and those of the most vulnerable among us.

We find that once our basic needs are met, that our lives are primarily about being more, not having more.
Growth: We will have grown our sense of community, our cultural and local heritage, and our health and the health of our wildlife and ecosystems.
Economy: Our local economies are thriving and we are well on our way to not only living sustainably within our watershed, but also improving the health of it.
Purpose: Our children understand that we all play an active ongoing role in Lake County’s restoration and renewal.


That's how I see it. My goal is to foster dialog and productive action on community self-reliance and local sustainability in Lake County, CA. I imagine this change: from our dependence upon an economy that depletes resources, exploits people and damages ecological systems to a way of life more connected to each other and our local community.