WRITTEN BY MARC DEL PIERO
An attorney, licensed to practice law in the State of California since 1980, Marc Del Piero is a native of Monterey County. Marc's grandparents, Timoleone and Caterina Del Piero, immigrated to the United States from Nimes, Friuli, Italy after the devastation of World War I left most of their community in ruins. Timo entered into the farming business in North Monterey County in 1927. Their three children, Rita, Aurora, and Richard Del Piero all attended Monterey High School in the 1930's and 1940's and were active in the Italian Catholic Federation and the Sons of Italy for many years.
Since their arrival in their adopted homeland, the Del Piero family has always placed a high value and priority on education, public service, and their Catholic faith. Marc's parents, Patricia and Richard Del Piero, had three sons, Marc, his twin brother Dr. Eric Del Piero, and Kris Del Piero, all of whom were raised on the family farm in Monterey County. Eric Del Piero is a medical doctor in Monterey who graduated with degrees from Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University. Kris Del Piero, who still owns the family farm, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary's College in Moraga and his Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Santa Clara University.
Marc Del Piero received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History, with emphasis on California history, from Santa Clara University in 1975. He was also commissioned as a Second Lieutenant by the Santa Clara University ROTC program and later spent 13 years in the California National Guard, attaining the rank of Captain. Marc subsequently received his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1978. Fourteen years after he graduated, in 1992, Marc was asked to serve as an adjunct professor at the law school. From 1992-2011, Marc served as an adjunct instructor at the Santa Clara University School of Law where he taught California Water Law.
Even before he graduated from law school, Marc Del Piero began to contribute to the betterment of our communities of Monterey County. In 1978, at the age of 24 and before he graduated from law school, he was appointed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to serve on the Monterey County Planning Commission. That year, he served as the Vice-Chair of the Monterey County Planning Commission. And the next year, in 1979, Marc married the love of his life, Tina Tomlinson Del Piero, whose pioneer family has lived on the Monterey Peninsula since 1852. Tina has just retired after spending nearly two decades working for the Monterey County Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice.
In 1981, Marc Del Piero became the first descendent of Italian immigrants to be elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. He was 26 years old. In that capacity, he served from 1981-1992 as a member of the Board. During that tenure, Marc personally wrote and implemented many of the County's general plans, local coastal plans, and ordinances and policies mandating the protection and preservation of our surface water and groundwater resources, our productive farmlands and ranch lands, and our coastal wetlands and environmental resources. He served on the local committee appointed by then Congressman Leon Panetta that put together the draft policies for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. He also co-founded and continues to serve on the Ag Land Trust, a non-profit organization which has permanently preserved over 45,000 acres of Monterey County farmlands and open space.
In 1992, Marc Del Piero was appointed by then Governor Pete Wilson and confirmed twice by the California State Senate to serve as the attorney member and Vice Chair on the California State Water Resources Control Board. During those years, Marc acted as the Board's Hearing Officer and heard every major water rights decision rendered by the Board, including the historic decision to compel the City of Los Angeles to return water and restore the eco-system of Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras.
When he returned from Sacramento, Marc entered private practice and continues representing public agencies, farming interests, and resource conservation organizations in Central California. He is recognized as an expert by the State Water Resources Control Board on California water rights law and has testified many times before the Board and state courts in that capacity. He also served the U.S. Department of Justice as a federal bankruptcy trustee from 2008 until 2019. Marc continues to serve on the boards of four different non-profit organizations in Monterey County.
Tina and Marc Del Piero have two sons: Paul Del Piero (wife: Dr. Larissa Del Piero), an attorney who is a Director for The University of Washington, and John Del Piero (wife: Dr. Juliet Del Piero), who is a Vice President for Lighthouse, Inc, a large multi-national technology company.