Fact check: No ‘stand-in’ will be appointed to replace Supervisor Adam Hill. Here’s why

It’s time to shut down the rumors. There will be no “interim supervisor” appointed to temporarily replace Supervisor Adam Hill, who has been absent for several weeks.

The prolonged absence has fueled questions and comments, which County Counsel Rita Neal responded to at the last Board of Supervisors meeting.

“The board had been able to operate with four members,” she said. “At this point in time, we do not have a vacancy in any supervisorial office.”

Bottom line: The board does not have the authority to appoint a temporary supervisor to take over for Hill, who announced early this month that he was seeking residential treatment for “persistent, and at times, painfully debilitating depression.”

The supervisor’s struggles with depression are well known. He attempted suicide on March 11 — the same day the FBI served search-and-seizure warrants in the county. That triggered speculation that Hill was the focus of an FBI investigation, though that’s never been confirmed.

Hill returned to work following the suicide attempt, but then announced that he had not fully recovered and planned to seek specialized treatment, adding that he was “determined to return soon and in much better health.”

Hill has not given an estimated return date, though county officials expect that he’ll return in August.

In the meantime, some conservatives have been angling to temporarily replace him, especially COLAB, a far-right organization with chapters in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.

A recent newsletter from the group suggested trying to circumvent the law by appointing an “interim” supervisor — even though Neal had already vetoed that idea.

“It would be interesting to see what happens if the board were to appoint an interim regardless of county counsel’s position,” the newsletter says. “Would someone legally object or would some official challenge the appointment? Why not roll the dice? There is nothing to lose.”

It may have meant as a joke — or an exercise in wishful thinking. Either way, it’s a heartless idea.

Would COLAB be so anxious to replace a conservative member of the board recovering from, say, a heart attack?

The fact is, a vacancy exists only when a supervisor dies, resigns, moves outside the district or “ceases to discharge his duties” for three consecutive months — but that doesn’t apply in cases of illness.

When there is a vacancy, it’s up to the governor to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

Not willing to let the subject drop, COLAB raises another issue: It points out that state law requires counties to appoint “stand-by officers” to take over for county supervisors in the event that a crisis like a war, a natural disaster or, yes, a pandemic, prevents them from carrying on.

“The board may be able or may even be required to appoint a qualified elector from the 3rd District to provide representation until Supervisor Hill can return,” COLAB says.

Nope.

Again, we turn to the county counsel: “The intent behind this section is to assure that local governments can continue to act during an emergency. Thus, these sections allow for a local body to appoint stand-by officers in the event that enough members of a governing body are ‘unavailable’ and there is not a majority of members available.

“Unavailable” is defined as “killed, missing, or so severely injured as to be unable to attend meetings and otherwise perform his duties.”

The county already has selected not just one, but three stand-by officers for all five county supervisors. In every case, the stand-ins are county officials, rather than ordinary citizens.

“It generally makes more sense to have a county official act as the stand-by officer as it is assumed they have more knowledge about the emergency and can quickly and easily step in to assist in making decisions if necessary,” Neal said in an email.

In District 3, the stand-bys are the clerk-recorder, the public works director and the county assessor.

Getting even deeper into the weeds, there is one irregularity: The county Board of Supervisors appointed the stand-bys in 2017, and is supposed to update the list at the start of every year.

County, please take care of that bit of housekeeping. In the awful event of a major disaster, don’t give anyone reason to challenge the authority of “stand-bys.”

And COLAB, please face facts: It was close, but your preferred candidate still lost the election. Adam Hill remains the duly elected supervisor of District 3.