About Us

Eric Thronson – Principal

Mr. Thronson is a talented, creative thinker who knows his way around California governmental and legislative processes. With advanced writing and communication skills, he is able to uniquely serve his clients with wit and style. Mr. Thronson has the experience, skill, and perseverance necessary to help you solve your problems.

About: Services

DEDICATED TO REPRESENTING AND SECURING FUNDING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Mr. Thronson brings over 15 years of legislative and public policy experience to his work, with broad expertise in transportation planning and infrastructure from his tenure with both Legislative Transportation Committees and the California Transportation Commission, but his expertise extends to other policy areas including housing and land use, hydrogen, local infrastructure, the state budget, and local governance.

In just the past three years, Mr. Thronson has worked with clients to develop their funding proposals and secure competitive grant funding on projects. He has also worked to identify strategic funding resources that ensured his client’s visions were transformed into reality. His accomplishments include:

In 2024, Mr. Thronson worked closely with Sacramento Regional Transit District on its application for the Federal Low- and No-Emission Grant Program, securing more than $76 million for SacRT's efforts to transition to a zero-emission transit agency. The successful application included upgrading existing facilities to accommodate new hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric buses as well as new vehicles to begin zero-emission service in the most disadvantaged communities in SacRT's service area.

Mr. Thronson worked with the City of Fontana to develop, prepare, and execute a strategic plan to support the City’s FY 2022 RAISE grant application. This highly competitive federal grant opportunity administered by the US Department of Transportation formed a key component of the City’s Complete Streets Upgrades. These upgrades include street, bike, sidewalk, and trail improvements. The strategy entailed gathering support from key stakeholders in a way especially tailored to the current Administration’s priorities, thus maximizing the application’s chances of success. In addition to tailoring a message, Mr. Thronson planned advocacy that leveraged the City’s strengths during the grant review process. The culmination of this process was the award of $15 million in federal RAISE funds for the City’s transportation infrastructure improvements. In the FY 2022 RAISE cycle, Fontana was one of only eight jurisdictions in the State of California to receive a RAISE grant.

Mr. Thronson worked with California State Transit Agency staff to help secure $60 million in funding from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA). TJPA, the local agency responsible for the Salesforce Transit Terminal in San Francisco, has a commitment from the federal government for almost $4 billion towards a tunnel to connect Caltrain and the future high-speed rail system to the Terminal; state and local funding such as this $60 million award is required to secure that federal funding and bring those funds to California.

Mr. Thronson worked closely and successfully with Congressman Raul Ruiz to secure an FY 2022 federal appropriations earmark in the amount of $2.5 million for SunLine Transit Agency’s Fueling Station Expansion project, upgrading its 350-bar hydrogen public station to include 700-bar fueling capability for light- and heavy-duty vehicles.

From strategy development to last-minute meetings with Legislators, Mr. Thronson successfully navigated a tax measure on lithium extraction through the state budget process on behalf of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, securing two-thirds support in the Legislature and the Governor’s signature.

Due to a significant state budget deficit, the Governor proposed in his 2024 May Revise to eliminate all promised funding from the General Fund for grade separations through the Port and Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP). The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG), relying on the grant award, had already entered into a construction contract for the Turnball Road grade separation project; without the $30 million that the state had promised for the project, SGVCOG was in jeopardy of defaulting on the contract and owing the contractor millions of dollars that it did not have. Mr. Thronson worked with the Administration and the Legislative Budget Committees to get language in the 2024 budget that promised to find alternative funding for projects like Turnbull Road to avoid any project impacts. SGVCOG was able to secure the necessary funding on time and move the project forward.

OVER A DECADE OF LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE

Working as policy committee staff in both the Senate and the Assembly, Mr. Thronson spent much of his time analyzing legislative proposals and bills. This required working with departments involved in administering these proposals in order to fairly represent any potential impacts, as well as with advocates both for and against the bills to try and address concerns. All of this effort was overlaid with a strong concern for accomplishing what is in the state’s best interest, and involved building relationships in order to negotiate for what was the most achievable policy outcomes.

Mr. Thronson also has significant state budget experience, having served in the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) through the last recession in 2008. During that time, he was responsible for formulating recommendations to the Legislature that addressed the General Fund deficit while minimizing the impacts of those actions on the state’s many transportation programs. It was difficult to balance the urgent needs of the General Fund-supported programs with the state transportation system’s long-term challenges, but Mr. Thronson worked hard to protect what he could through some of the toughest budget times the state had ever faced.

PERSPECTIVE FROM WITHIN STATE GOVERNMENT

"I have always been grateful for Eric‘s wise insight and guidance. His astute grasp of issues, combined with a steady, unflappable demeanor make him uniquely qualified to lead others through complicated challenges to sound outcomes. In fact, because of these traits, Eric has masterfully set the course for nearly every piece of significant state transportation legislation for the past 10 years."

- Janet Dawson, Former Chief Committee Consultant

As Deputy Director for Legislation and Finance at the California Transportation Commission, Mr. Thronson helped direct the growth of the organization to handle new, legislatively-assigned responsibilities and manage the difficult budget process from the administrative side of state government. In addition, he was responsible for the Commission’s relationship with the Legislature, pursuing legislation that furthered the Commission's agenda. Finally, Mr. Thronson developed and oversaw the Commission’s program to review and approve tolled transportation facilities throughout the state.

BORN FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

From the moment he graduated from Tulane University, Mr. Thronson has dedicated himself to public service. First, he worked at numerous non-profits in the Austin, Texas area. Then he returned to school to earn his Master of Public Affairs with a focus on State and Urban Affairs at the LBJ School within the University of Texas at Austin. The California Legislative Analyst's Office recruited him upon graduation and brought he and his family to the state, where he has since focused on the needs of all Californians.

COMPETITIVE SPIRIT

Born in rural Eastern Washington, Mr. Thronson learned to work hard from early in life. He spent his summers working on farming and logging crews with his father and older brothers, then applied that work ethic to become a dominant competitor in high school track and cross country. To this day he still owns school records at his high school alma mater. Leveraging that success, Mr. Thronson went on to earn an athletic scholarship at Tulane University, where he set two school records and was the Captain of the first collegiate team in Louisiana history to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships. Mr. Thronson brings that competitive spirit and willingness to work hard for what he believes is right to everything he pursues.

In fact, in addition to his consulting work, Mr. Thronson is a USATF-certified track coach and co-leads a local youth racing team called the Delta Hawks. To learn more about the Hawks, visit their website at deltahawksracing.com.

FAMILY FIRST

Mr. Thronson lives in Davis, California with his wife, Tara, and their two children. Together, they enjoy family runs and getting outdoors for hiking, camping, fishing, and skiing.