SLO County board will replace Tommy Gong — and some fear a ‘political circus’ is looming
Nearly a month after San Luis Obispo County’s clerk-recorder announced his resignation, supervisors are moving ahead with a search for his replacement — although some are concerned it could become a messy partisan process.
Current Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong’s last day on the job is July 2. Gong announced his departure on June 4, following an election misinformation campaign that included racist remarks, as well as attacks on his office.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed selecting an interim clerk-recorder to serve the remainder of Gong’s term, which ends next year. The position will be up for grabs during the November 2022 election.
Helen Nolan, a deputy-clerk recorder, will head the office while the supervisors pick an interim, said Wade Horton, county administrative officer.
Julie Rodewald, who preceded Gong as clerk-recorder, appeared at the meeting to make a statement on behalf of the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County. She urged supervisors to “keep the public informed of this process for the appointment and that the process be as open and transparent as possible.”
“It is imperative that the position be filled by someone with recent election experience and who will perform the duties in a professional and nonpartisan manner,” Rodewald said.
Peschong favors taking applications for interim position
Following public comment, Supervisors John Peschong and Bruce Gibson endorsed different approaches to the appointment process.
County Counsel Rita Neal said the appointment process is open-ended from a legal standpoint, although Contra Costa and Ventura counties recently selected interim clerk-recorders and could provide recent examples.
“It says the board shall appoint someone, and it should be in a reasonable time,” she said.
Peschong lobbied for a process that would entertain a host of applicants from which the supervisors would select a candidate following a public interview process.
He said he would prefer to make the appointment after the upcoming gubernatorial recall election — which will likely take place in late August or early September — but before electoral redistricting efforts begin toward the end of the year.
“I believe that Contra Costa County did an open and fair process, I think, two or three years ago when they had this same situation where their clerk-recorder had resigned,” Peschong said. “So I thought what the best thing to do (is) to make sure it’s a transparent and open process — and I think by law, we would actually have to interview candidates publicly. So that would mean in this chamber, we’d have to have the candidates that had made the cut come and we would interview them, personally, and then make the decision to fill the position as it moves forward.”
Peschong said he’s gotten queries from “six deputy clerk-recorders around the state of California that have heard about the vacancy and are interested in applying.”
“I think we’ll have a lot of people from our community applying,” Peschong said. “And I think that that’s good for the process, and I think that we need to look at those folks, too.”
Gibson worries application process could create ‘political circus’
But Gibson expressed apprehension about an selection process that would invite a large number of applicants, especially as an election to pick a new clerk-recorder is right around the corner.
“My concern is that opening this process up stands to make it into a political circus, following on the hours of outrageous commentary that we heard the last time the question of elections came before this board,” he said. “And seeing that already one unqualified individual is lobbying to have this job, I think that this board needs to be very careful about how we proceed into the future.”
Gibson suggested appointing a current clerk-recorder staff member, potentially Nolan, to act as an interim through the 2022 election.
“I think we need to consider the option of a simple appointment and let our existing staff get on with the incredible heavy workload that they have facing them this year,” he said. “I don’t quite understand why we would seek to appoint someone between the time of a special recall election and the very considerable effort that has to do with redistricting, where the clerk’s function is administrative — not the decision-making where these lines would be drawn.”
Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg agreed with Gibson’s appointment suggestion, saying the board “(doesn’t) need further disruption or unnecessary drama in this room or in the county at this point.”
“We’ve got so much in front of us, including a pending drought, spending the (American Rescue Plan Act) money, recovery from COVID,” she said. “The workload is enormous — not to mention the decommissioning of Diablo Canyon — and it would really be nice just to get through until the elections of 2022, where all these wonderful candidates can come forth and vie their skill sets in front of us and provide us with an opportunity as citizens to judge.”
Supervisor Debbie Arnold moved to support Peschong’s plan, and the board ultimately voted unanimously to have Horton and his staff present a plan with options for appointing Gong’s replacement on July 14. Gibson voted in favor of the report after being assured it would incorporate his comments.
“I think it is extremely incumbent upon us to make careful decisions about how we craft this process and who we entertain to be considered for this position so that we don’t end up with a circus on our hands,” he said.
This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 9:49 AM.
