LAKEPORT, Calif. – At the end of an hour-and-a-half-long discussion Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved Sheriff-elect Frank Rivero's request to restore the undersheriff job and allow him to appoint a candidate, circumventing the normal county hiring process.
The 3-2 vote – with Supervisors Jim Comstock and Rob Brown voting no – came after Rivero made it clear he was not open to considering any candidates besides Jack Baxter, a retired San Jose Police patrol sergeant who had run for sheriff in the primary.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox told the board the undersheriff classification had been removed during a previous sheriff's administration. The county's Human Resources Department created a job description based on those provided by other counties, and Cox said no one – not even Rivero – made any changes to that proposed language.
The undersheriff job classification would be 5 percent above a captain's spot, which is the same as the chief of staff currently is paid, he said. The undersheriff's entry level salary would be $6,335.33 per month.
“We have discussed some reorganization within the department,” said Cox, noting there is a pending vacancy in a management position that Rivero doesn't intend to fill. “There won't be any additional costs to the general fund if this request is approved.”
Rivero also was asking to exempt the job from the normal recruitment process, which Cox said the board could choose to allow, although other assistant department head positions are recruited.
Rivero told the board that the position was important to him and the county's residents. “The position of the sheriff of any county is a position that comes with great responsibility and it is not an easy one to fill,” he said, explaining the undersheriff – a “quasi-political position” – assists in those duties, which makes it a win-win.
He said he needed to be able to have someone he trusts by his side, and have confidence in that person's advice. “That's why I believe this position must be an appointed position.”
Most of the state's counties have undersheriff's, he said, and appointing the position isn't unusual.
Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association President Gary Frace told the board that the group supports Rivero's request for the undersheriff “wholeheartedly.”
The group was most concerned about the job going to someone who fits the position and has the proper qualifications. He said he spoke with Rivero on Monday and tried to tell him that they're all trying to work for the county's betterment.
Frace said the group wanted to see the candidate in possession of a Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) management certificate, which the job description didn't require but said is preferred.
To have the management certificate, the candidate must have been a manager, holding a rank of lieutenant or above for at least two years, with the proper education and training, and supervisor management school, Frace explained.
He said he doesn't have a problem if Rivero appoints someone with the qualifications. “We're going to support them 110 percent.”
Frace pointed out, “The undersheriff is going to be involved in all aspects of our department,” not just day to day operations but budget and disciplinary issues. He asked the board to keep the standards high.
He said he didn't care what other counties did, that the deputy sheriff's association was his concern. “The best qualified person for the job would be somebody who has some experience in command level management,” Frace said, explaining that running the department is completely different than management a business.
Frace told the board he hoped they would grant Rivero's request to approve the undersheriff job, adding he hoped they could work together in the next four years to make the county better.
County resident Clint Fitzgerald said he objected to any deviation from the normal recruitment process, suggesting that a current staffer should be appointed to the job. Fitzgerald said any departure from the normal hiring process could be perceived as cronyism.
He brought up a San Jose Mercury News article detailing a lawsuit filed by a woman against the city of San Jose and five police officers over an incident in 1996 in which four of the officers allegedly had sex with the woman following a department picnic.
Baxter was named because the woman alleged he knew about the activity and failed to stop it, according to the report. The city of San Jose paid $10,000 to have the case against itself and Baxter dismissed.
Rivero asked the board to ignore Fitzgerald, saying it was an “outrage” for make the allegations against Baxter.
Olga Martin Steele, who was Rivero's campaign manager and has experience acting as chief executive officer, said in all large organizations it's vital for the CEO to have a management team they can work with and trust.
She said the board could show its trust and respect for Rivero by allowing him to appoint who he wanted.
Fitzgerald came back to the podium and presented the board with a copy of the San Jose Mercury News article outlining the lawsuit that had named Baxter.
Greg Scott, a retired California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee, said it's important to have a trusting relationship in command structures, but added, “I still haven't heard what the specific duties are” for the undersheriff job.
Rivero said some of the duties are obvious, such as filling in for him when he's gone, directly supervising and guiding department goals, and coordinating with other agencies.
He stated that there are “broken relationships” between the sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies within the county and the position would help rectify that.
The undersheriff also will help establish and care for the agency's reputation, said Rivero. “We in law enforcement live and die by our reputation. If we have a crisis of legitimacy we cannot operate.”
Pointing to Baxter sitting in the audience, Rivero said he believed Baxter had the ability and desire to advocate for the people of the county. “If I didn't trust him I wouldn't be here proposing this to you.”
Farrington asked Rivero about the deputy sheriff's association's request for a management certificate. Rivero said Baxter meets the qualifications of the job description. “That should put the whole issue to rest.”
Rivero said he was aware that Frace had gone to each of the supervisors about the issue after he and Frace met twice on the subject. During the second meeting with Frace, Rivero said the management certificate wasn't raised but a personality conflict was.
Cox said he was uncomfortable with the board getting into the area of who to appoint, which is the sheriff's decision. “It's just as simple as that.”
Board members question departing from recruitment process
Brown joked that the only difference between the new undersheriff position and the old one was that the old one had its own take-home horse.
He said the San Jose Mercury News article was irrelevant to the board's discussion, and he was glad Cox had laid out how the position would be funded.
Brown said he supported the undersheriff position, but wanted assurance that with another management position added, deputy positions wouldn't suffer if the county is faced with layoffs. Cox said it's hard to predict what the state will do, but he said Rivero had indicated that he has every intention of putting more employees on the street.
Rivero said he intends to keep two sworn and one nonsworn correctional captain, will eliminate a current captain position that is about to be vacant, and reduce the five lieutenant positions – several of which were recently filled – to three. He also wants to reduce the number of sergeants – currently at 11 – to six patrol sergeants and move away from 12-hour shifts, which he said create deputy safety issues.
“We're a paramilitary organization and we do need that structured chain of command in order to operate,” he said.
Regarding the appointment, Brown said the county hires employees all the time by going through recruitment, and it's a process that can be very positive and educational.
“I don't like the idea of deviating from the recruitment process,” he said. “You may end up with you want anyway.”
Brown suggested making it a transparent process. Referring to Rivero's statement about a “crisis of legitimacy,” Brown said he can make the choice legitimate by going through the normal process.
The elephant in the room, said Brown, is that by following the recruitment procedure it avoids the perception of awarding political loyalty.
Rivero said he didn't have the time to go through a recruitment, stating, “We have a sick department that needs immediate attention.”
He added, “I am being completely transparent. I am not hiding who I want to put in that position,” which he said will allow him to move quickly to repair the department and bring it to “21st century standards.”
Rivero said they could spend four years going through the recruitment process.
“Or you can hire somebody who's good,” said Brown.
Rivero said the people of the county trusted him enough to elect him, and that he will bear the political ramifications of his mistakes.
Comstock also suggested the recruitment process could bring forward the best possible candidate.
Rivero replied, “I believe I have found the best candidate available.”
Supervisor Denise Rushing said she thinks the recruitment process is valuable, adding, “I want to give our new sheriff the benefit of the doubt,” noting that she generally trusts people until they prove they're not trustworthy.
Cox told the board that there are benefits to going through recruitment, but added, “I honestly don't think the board should force him to do it,” because it was unfair to ask people to go through a process when they're not going to be hired.
Supervisor Jeff Smith, referring to Rivero's statement that any failure would be on him, said, “If we didn't have this meeting today I'd say, 'Yeah, you'd be solely responsible.”
But he was concerned any failure might now be blamed on the board. “It doesn't just fall on you, we're elected officials, it falls on us, too.”
Smith wanted to know why the management certification should be preferred or required. Rivero said he didn't think it needed to be there at all, because he's known individuals in law enforcement management with all sorts of certifications who “weren't worth their weight in salt.”
Based on his authority as a department head, “I can choose whomever I want, that's the deal,” Rivero said.
He added, “I made a series of promises out there saying this is what I'm going to do. I cannot be shackled and handcuffed when I'm coming to you with a reasonable request.”
Rivero said both Cox and Human Resources were saying that the job doesn't require recruitment. Cox corrected him, stating that it does require recruitment, but the board can exempt it.
Farrington said he had researched undersheriff qualifications around the state, and found them varying from place to place.
“I like the direction you're taking with the department,” Farrington told Rivero, adding that he had “the whole county's backing to put him in that position.”
Farrington said he didn't want to micromanage Rivero, as they haven't done that with other elected officials.
“I know political lines have been drawn this election,” and the discussion was an opportunity to let the healing begin, Farrington said.
Rushing agreed with Farrington, noting the election has divided the community and families.
“Trust is earned and respect is earned,” she said. “The voters trusted you enough to vote for you.”
She added that many people don't trust him, that he didn't get every vote and the election was divisive.
Rushing said she also met with Frace, who she believed was working in the interest of the community.
She said she doesn't like the perception of cronyism and supported the appointment request “with some reluctance” because of that.
Brown – who said he spoke with Baxter in June, and Baxter confirmed being offered the undersheriff job – said he would not support appointment, but would support recruitment.
Rivero reiterated that he didn't have time. “The department is ill. It needs attention. It's sitting on life support.”
Human Resources Director Kathy Ferguson said the recruitment could be done by the end of January. In her 10 years with the county, they had always done recruitments for such positions.
Smith told Rivero, “I heard you say over and over again, 'Are you tried of the GOB syndrome?'”
He said that, whether it was true or not, it appeared that Rivero was offering Baxter a payback. Rivero denied it was a payback since Baxter wasn't on his campaign. Baxter did, however, publicly endorse Rivero in campaign ads this fall.
Rivero said to make those assumptions about political payback dishonors both him and Baxter.
Farrington said he felt they were beating the subject to death, and if the public didn't like Baxter, Rivero wouldn't be reelected. He said he supported recruitment if Rivero was open to it.
“I want to appoint Jack Baxter as undersheriff, I don't know how much clearer I can be,” Rivero said.
Farrington wanted to offer both resolutions, passing the gavel to Comstock, the vice chair.
The first resolution, to establish the position, was approved 5-0. The second resolution, to exempt the position from recruitment, was 3-2.
Because Baxter has been retired for close to eight years, he will need to go through a POST requalification process.
Karen Lozito, a law enforcement consultant with POST, told Lake County News on Tuesday that, based on POST standards, Baxter could seek an exemption from the normal requalification procedure.
The standards state that the POST executive director can grant an exemption to an individual who possesses a POST Basic Certificate and is returning to law enforcement after a break of three years or more if that person is reentering a middle management or executive rank and will function at the second-level of supervision or above, or if they are reentering law enforcement in a permanent or light duty assignment not involving general law enforcement duties if attested to in writing by the agency chief executive.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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