LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Lake County’s chief public defender, two weeks after he was hired to do the same job for the county of Monterey.

The County Administrative Office, in a brief statement released to Lake County News, said the supervisors took the action involving Raymond Buenaventura’s resignation during closed session, which occurred at the end of the regular Tuesday meeting.

After emerging from the closed session, Supervisor Brad Rasmussen moved that the board accept the resignation, a motion Supervisor Bruno Sabatier seconded and the board approved 4-0. Supervisor Jessica Pyska was absent.

Buenaventura’s resignation from the county of Lake is effective Nov. 4.

“During his County service, Mr. Buenaventura’s commitment to ensuring fair and effective representation for all clients strengthened the County’s justice system and advanced its mission to serve residents with integrity and compassion,” the County Administrative Office said in its statement on Buenaventura’s departure. 

“The County of Lake extends appreciation to Mr. Buenaventura for his contributions and wishes him the very best as he embarks on the next chapter of his career,” the county’s statement said.

Buenaventura began working for Lake County in October 2023, tasked with creating a new public defender’s office four decades after a previous iteration of the agency ended due to the high costs of dealing with the attorneys’ conflicts of interest. 

The employment contract the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved with Buenaventura on Oct. 14 goes into effect on Dec. 1, at an annual salary of $273,245. His current salary with Lake County is $204,360.

Following the vote to accept his resignation, the board took no further action. They did not announce the appointment of an interim chief public defender, which was a closed session discussion that was on the Tuesday agenda.

The county said the recruitment for a new chief public defender will be announced soon.

With Buenaventura’s departure, the county now has three department head positions to fill. In addition to the chief public defender, the county is recruiting for new directors for Animal Care and Control and Public Works.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 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.