Larry Asera
Larry Asera, a Filipino American engineer, businessman, and politician, is the first Filipino American elected to public office in the US mainland. Born July 15, 1948, in Vallejo, California, he has served in a variety of public positions, including Deputy Secretary of State of California,[1] chief legislative consultant to the California State Senate and California State Assembly,[2] and "energy czar" of Vallejo, California.[2] He is known for his work on alternative energy, particularly in the field of photovoltaic energy development, and is the recipient of the California Energy Commission's State Energy Technology Award and the US Department of Energy's Award for Innovation, among other state and international honors.[1] He is the founder of Asera-Pacific Ltd. and Asera LLC.[2]
On December 30, 2011, Larry Asera was sued by a solar integrator for misappropriation of $100,000 in development funds with regard to the Napa Waste Management Authority's Napa Solar Farm project planned for the American Canyon Landfill site. During the discovery phase of the litigation, several other businesses were identified that paid money or provided services/information to Larry Asera, or on his behalf, and subsequently learned that Larry Asera had misrepresented key facts about the project and/or had no intention of living up to his promises. In November 2012 the NVWMA terminated Larry Asera's participation in the project for failure to perform under his contract with them.