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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 08281984 - 2.4 a•� THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY , CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on August 28, 1984 , by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Fanden , Schroder , McPeak , Torlakson NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: Supervisor Powers -------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Process for Selection of District Attorney The Board received an August 23, 1984 letter from Phil Batchelor , County Administrator , advising the Board that with the election of William A . O'Malley , District Attorney , to the Superior Court , there will be a vacancy in the Office of the District Attorney as of January 7 , 1985 or whenever Mr . O'Malley takes the oath of office . Pursuant to Government Code Section 25304, it will be the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors to appoint a District Attorney to serve until the general election in November 1986. Mr . Batchelor recommended that the Board engage in an open recruitment process , using procedures outlined in the above referenced letter (copy of . which is attached hereto and by reference incorporated herein) . Supervisor Tom Powers advised that he is abstaining from participating in any discussion as well as voting on said procedure for the reason that he has not reached a decision on whether to apply for the position . Board members being in agreement with procedures recommended by the County Administrator , IT IS ORDERED that the aforesaid appoint- ment process is APPROVED and the County Administrator and the Director of Personnel are AUTHORIZED to take the steps necessary to carry it out in a timely manner . cc: County Administrator Director of Personnel 1 hereby certify that this!s a true and correct copy of an action taken and en!e;cd on. the rrsnutes of the Board of Sup-mvtaors cin the date idle r:n. ATTEST ED: �1.163ct� .P��.��JY4 oe By , Deputy 00338 Board of Supervisors County Administrator Cera Tom Powers 1st District County Administration Building Costa Nancy C. Fanden Martinez, California 94553 2nd District (415)372-4080 County Robert I.Schroder Phil Batchelor 3rd District County Administrator Sunne Wright McPeak 4th District Tom Torlakson z 5th District August 23, 1984 �--- - - 7" i Board of Supervisors Administration Building 651 Pine Street Martinez, California 94553-1290 C:. Dear Board Members: .,. Vic; rO. RE: APPOINTMENT OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY With the election of William A. O'Malley, District Attorney, to the Superior Court to replace retiring Judge Robert J. Cooney, there will be a vacancy in the Office of the District Attorney as of 12 noon, January 7, 1985 or when- ever Mr. O'Malley takes the oath of office. Government Code Section 25304 reads as follows: "The board of supervisors shall fill by appointment all vacancies that occur in any office filled by the appointment of the board and elective county officers, except judge of the superior court and supervisors. The appointee shall hold office for the unexpired term or until the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the next general election." Thus, it will be the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors to appoint a District Attorney to serve until the general election in November, 1986. The person elected in November, 1986 will take office at 12 noon on the first Monday after January 1, 1987. If no appointment has been made by the time the vacancy occurs, Government Code Sections 26542 and 24105 specify that the duties of the office may be temporarily discharged by a chief deputy, assistant, or deputy next in authority. The District Attorney is a County Officer pursuant to Government Code Section 24000, which enumerates county officers. Government Code Section 24001 requires that all county officers (with some exceptions which are not relevent in this instance) be registered voters of the county (or district) at the time of appointment. Therefore, the appointee to the office of District Attorney must be a registered voter in Contra Costa County at the time of his or her appointment. 00339 Board of Supervisors August 23, 1984 Page 2 In addition, Government Code Section 24002 requires that the person appointed as District Attorney have been admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court. In order to have available a list of qualified candidates for District Attorney, it is recommended that the Board engage in an open recruitment process using the following .procedure: 1 . On September 11, 1984 the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors should issue a press release covering the following points: a. The Board will make an appointment to the position of District Attorney after Mr. O'Malley assumes his judgeship in January, 1985. b. Qualified, interested persons are invited to submit an application up to 5:00 pm, Friday, October 12, 1984. c. For an individual to qualify as a candidate, he or she must be: - A registered voter in Contra Costa County at the time of the appointment. - Admitted to the practice of law before the California Supreme Court. d. It is desirable that candidates be experienced in the practice of criminal law, have demonstrated organization and management ability and possess good interpersonal communication skills. e. Interested persons may obtain an application and supplemental questionnaire from the Personnel Department and may file for the position of District Attorney by 5:00 pm, Friday, October 12, 1984. 2. The press release should be mailed to all newspapers which publish or distribute in Contra Costa County, including minority oriented newspapers and to the Contra Costa County Bar Association. In addition, notices should be mailed to newspapers in the Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento metropolitan areas as well as the San Francisco Bay Area and to each District Attorney in California. 3. Authorize reimbursement of candidates for any necessary and reasonable travel and lodging expenses for interviews. 4. Authorize an appropriation adjustment in the amount of $5,000 to reimburse the Personnel Department for expenses incurred for a professionally published brochure, advertising, postage and candidate travel and expenses. 00340 _ Board of Supervisors August 23, 1984 Page 3 5. The application should consist of the county's regular employment application form and a supplemental questionnaire which would ask the following: a. Are you a registered voter in Contra Costa County? YES NO. b. Are you admitted to the practice of law before the Supreme Court of the State of California? YES NO c. Describe your experience in the practice of criminal law. d. Describe your organizational and management experience. e. What do you believe are the major issues or problems in the administration of criminal law and justice in the State of California? f. Why do you want to serve as District Attorney for Contra Costa County? g. The supplemental application will also indicate that eight candidates will be interviewed by the Board of Supervisors in public session and that the final candidates' State Summary Criminal History Information may be available for review by the Board and, therefore, be a public document. 6. After the final filing date, .copies of the application will be circulated by the County Administrator to selected legal , judicial and other appropriate professional individuals approved by the Board. Those individuals will be asked to review all applications and rank their top ten recommendations, based on the criteria identified above. The selection of reviewers will take affirmative action into account. 7. Each reviewer should be asked to return their recommendations to the Director of Personnel , along with any additional comments they wish to include by November 5, 1984. 8. The Director of Personnel should combine the rankings of all reviewers, determine the eight (8) highest ranked applications and forward those eight applications to the Board of Supervisors. 9. The County Administrator will do a criminal history check of the eight candidates to be interviewed, and report to the Board at the time they interview the candidates which will be on or about November 26, 1984. If the Board wishes to narrow the group to the top three candidates and reinterview them, those interviews could be conducted December 3, 1984. 10. The Board should announce its tentative decision on December 3, 1984. 11. The Board's selected candidate should be appointed to the Office of District Attorney on January 8, 1985 or once a vacancy in the Office actually exists. 00341 .. -Board of Supervisors August 23, 1984 Page 4 The following time frame is suggested: - Issue press release September 11, 1984. - Final filing date October 12, 1984 at 5:00 pm. - Review of applications by selected screening panel between October 19 and November 5, 1984. - Ranked applications due back from screening panel by November 5, 1984. - Director of Personnel to forward combined ranking to Board of Supervisors by November 9, 1984. - County Administrator to check background of candidates and make his report at the time of the interviews. - Interviews to be conducted on or about November 26, 1984. - Additional interviews, if desired, to be conducted on or about December 3, 1984. - Board to announce their selection on or about December 3, 1984. - Appointment to be made on Tuesday, January 8, 1985 or upon vacancy of office. It is my recommendation that the Board approve this process and authorize my office and the Director of Personnel to take the steps necessary to carry it out in a timely manner including preparation of the press release, application brochure and related documents which the Board will need to approve on September 11, 1984. Respectfully, Phil Batchelor County Administrator PJB:blw cc: Director of Personnel County Counsel 00342