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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors has terminated another Health Services director, appointing the county’s assistant administrative officer to fill the role on a temporary basis.
The board’s decision to fire Anthony Arton came on Tuesday afternoon, a little over two years since hiring him for the job. It followed a closed session performance evaluation of Arton by the board – the third such evaluation that had been agendized for this month.
Board Chair Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News that the board emerged from the Tuesday closed session discussion, with the motion made, seconded and approved unanimously to terminate Arton effective immediately.
No other details of Arton’s dismissal were released.
At the same time, the supervisors appointed Assistant County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter to act as the Health Services Department’s interim director.
Carter, who has worked for the county for 16 years, has been in his current role as assistant county administrative officer since 2022.
He’s also previously served as interim director of Lake County Behavioral Health in 2023, Social Services in 2024, and Animal Care and Control from 2025 to the start of this year.
“Stephen Carter has successfully managed complex fiscal and leadership responsibilities, and our Board is confident he will be effective in this Interim assignment,” Rasmussen said in a statement issued by the county. “We are grateful for his willingness to step into this assignment.”
“The board’s confidence means a lot, and I will do all I can to lead and support the Health Services team as interim director,” Carter said in the statement released by the county. “I am grateful to be able to do my part, and have learned a lot from each opportunity to work closely with county departments.”
A brief tenure
Arton was hired in February of 2024 to succeed Jonathan Portney.
Portney was terminated in September 2023, at the end of a tumultuous 20-month tenure in which he clashed with then-Sheriff Brian Martin over the handling of matters related to jail medical services and a no-confidence letter was issued against him by several key staffers.
In November 2024, Portney filed a federal discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination lawsuit against the county. Federal court records show the suit has a case management conference set for May 27 and it’s tentatively scheduled to go to trial in August.
When Arton arrived in Lake County he had just spent more than three years as public health director for Coos County, Oregon, and was hailed by the county as a seasoned leader with experience to help change Lake County’s health outcomes.
In his job with the county of Lake, Arton was tasked with the work of keeping the Public Health officer’s job filled – an increasingly difficult task across the state, not just Lake County. – and preparing for the looming health care cuts due to the impacts of HR 1, signed into law last year.
More recently, he was among the county officials appearing at town halls in Clearlake in response to the massive January Robin Lane sewage spill.
Earlier this month, Arton – along with Environmental Health and Public Health staffers – appeared before the Lakeport City Council to ask for approval of a memorandum of understanding between the city and county that allows the county to enforce tobacco retail license requirements established in an ordinance the Lakeport City Council approved in December 2024.
Arton told the council, which approved the agreement, that he and Environmental Health Director Crag Wetherbee had been working on the ordinances – accepted separately by the cities and county – for two years.
It has become the case over the years that when department heads receive more than one or two reviews annually, it’s a signal the Board of Supervisors has an issue with their performance.
In the case of Portney, he had eight reviews over a 13-month period before his termination.
For Arton, for the 19 month period stretching from July of 2024 until this week, he had six closed session evaluations. Three occurred between July of 2024 and April of 2025. The last three of them happened this month – beginning on March 3, the day he appeared before the Lakeport City Council; the other two were scheduled on March 10 and 24.
Based on a review of board agendas, the only other current county department head with more such scheduled evaluations is Special Districts Administrator Robin Borre, who – in a record close to Portney’s – has had eight in 13 months.
The county’s full statement on Carter’s appointment to fill the interim Health Services director job is below.
Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
Carter Appointed Interim Health Services Director
Insightful Fiscal Manager Previously Served as Interim Behavioral Health and Social Services Director
Lake County, CA (March 25, 2026) – Late yesterday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors announced Stephen L. Carter, Jr., had additionally been appointed Interim Director of the County of Lake’s Health Services Department. This appointment was immediately effective (March 24, 2026).
Carter began service with the County of Lake in July 2010, and has served in fiscal leadership positions for over eleven years, including as Assistant County Administrative Officer (ACAO) since 2022. During previous assignments as Interim Director of the County’s Departments of Behavioral Health (2023), and Social Services (2024), and Animal Care and Control (2025-26) he provided stability in times of transition.
Many residents will be aware of the insight and effective collaboration Carter has brought to oversight responsibilities surrounding the County’s $400+ million annual budget. Since August of 2016, he has prepared financial forecasts to support County-wide fiscal planning and management activities, and served as a trusted authority on the Board of Supervisors’ purchasing policies and practices. Carter has also successfully administered tens of millions in critical grant funding, across multiple County Departments.
County staff in financially focused roles know Carter to be an effective trainer and highly creative problem solver, informed by years of experience and a strong theoretical foundation in Business Administration. In 2025, Carter culminated a Master of Public Administration (Public Financial Management Concentration) program through California State University, San Bernardino.
“Stephen Carter has successfully managed complex fiscal and leadership responsibilities, and our Board is confident he will be effective in this Interim assignment” affirms Brad Rasmussen, Chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors. “We are grateful for his willingness to step into this assignment.”
“The Board’s confidence means a lot, and I will do all I can to lead and support the Health Services team as Interim Director,” adds Carter. “I am grateful to be able to do my part, and have learned a lot from each opportunity to work closely with County Departments.”
Please join in congratulating Stephen L. Carter, Jr., on this interim appointment.
