Former DWR Director Ronald Robie
Brings Broad Experience to Appellate Court Post
By Pete Weisser

California Supreme Court Justice Ronald George, right, administers the oath of office to Ronald B. Robie, as the former DWR Director and Sacramento County Superior Court Judge becomes an Associate Justice of the Third District Court of Appeal. Watching proudly are Robie family members, from left to right: daughter, Melissa, Justice Robie’s son, Todd, and wife, Lynn.

Shortly after taking the oath as an Associate Justice in the Third District Court of Appeal, former DWR Director Ronald B. Robie said, with characteristic enthusiasm:

“I’ve loved every job I’ve ever had.”

Justice Robie has distinguished himself in many jobs, working in all three branches of State government.

As a legislative consultant to the Assembly Water Committee, he became an expert on California water law and helped draft influential water legislation. Serving as a member of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), he worked in the regulatory arenas of water rights and water quality.

While DWR Director from 1975-1983, he faced the first big California drought since the 1930s and led a successful campaign to win Legislative approval of an expansion of the State Water Project, including a Peripheral Canal.

For the past two decades, he was a Sacramento County Superior Court judge, highly regarded for his dedication, heavy workload, and enthusiasm. Coleman Blease, an appeals court justice who’s known Robie for more than 30 years, said at Robie’s January 15 oath-taking ceremony in the State Supreme Courtroom in Sacramento that Judge Robie consistently displays “an infectious enthusiasm for life and the law.”

Robie believes having worked in all three branches gives him insight into the realities faced by legislators, administrators and trial judges.

“My experience has given me an appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of the different branches of government,” said Robie.

As DWR Director, Robie provided leadership in 1976 -77 “when we faced the first major statewide California drought since 1934.” The year 1977 ranked as one of the driest years in California history, when SWP deliveries dipped under 600,000 acre-feet. To combat the drought, Robie implemented conservation measures, encouraging innovative water management and storage programs.

He led a significant battle to achieve legislative passage in 1980 for SB 200, a measure authorizing an expanded State Water Project, including a Peripheral Canal.

It was signed into law by Governor Brown.

Though the measure was overturned by a 1982 referendum, Robie still voices great pride in winning legislative passage (“both houses by a two-thirds vote”) of controversial legislation that would have approved SWP expansion and authorized a Peripheral Canal. “It was a very significant legislative achievement,” he said.

Robie speaks highly of the people with whom he served at DWR.

“The people at the Department were just great,” he said. He often encounters former coworkers and enjoys speaking with them. At a DWR ceremony in May 2001, at which the SWP was honored as one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th Century, he spoke glowingly of the dedication of former DWR employees who planned and built the State Water Project.

They, in turn, remember him vividly and swap stories about his challenging era as Director.
Gerald Meral, who served as Robie’s Chief Deputy Director, predicted that Robie “will do a terrific job on the Court of Appeal.”

Meral noted that Robie enjoys the historic distinction of having been an appointee of four California governors, two from each party. Governor Ronald Reagan appointed Robie to the SWRCB. Governor Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. appointed Robie as DWR Director. Governor George Deukmejian appointed Robie to the Superior Court. Governor Gray Davis appointed him to the Court of Appeals, Third Appellate District.

Robie is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. Robie earned his law degree at McGeorge School of Law while working as a legislative committee consultant. He and his wife, Lynn, married for 43 years, have lived in Sacramento for four decades. Lynn served 13 years on the Sacramento City Council. Lynn, a Registered Nurse, is a graduate of the Kaiser Foundation School of Nursing.
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