Supervisors to Begin Discussion of How to Fill DA Position

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/012810_supervisors_to_begin_discussion_of_vacated_da_position/

By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer

The board will meet Tuesday to consider its options, a time line and course of action

This year’s election for Santa Barbara County district attorney just got more interesting.

The Board of Supervisors will meet in open session Tuesday to discuss what to do about the pending retirement of Christie Stanley.

County counsel Dennis Marshall said the board has the authority to appoint someone to a vacated seat such as DA, but he’s unsure what will happen.

The agenda item will be for discussion only, board chairwoman Janet Wolf said.

After talking with county counsel and the county Human Resources Department, Wolf said she wanted to put it on the agenda as soon as possible.

“It is of interest to us and the community to get it resolved,” she said.

Wolf said the board was not notified directly of Stanley’s intended retirement nor her appointment of Joshua Lynn as acting district attorney, but received a news release and a phone call from Stanley’s husband.

“It’s a sad situation,” Wolf said of Stanley’s health.

Stanley’s health problems have plagued her throughout her term, and she announced she wouldn’t run for re-election about the time she endorsed Lynn in the race against Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley.

Stanley has been battling cancer and had hip surgery last fall, which prompted her appointment of Lynn as acting DA.

Lynn said that amid all the attention given to the political implications of Stanley’s retirement, one important part has been overlooked — her health problems.

“My heart goes out to her,” Dudley said.

Supervisors will discuss their options, a time line and normal course of action — if there is one.

“It’s going to be murky,” Lynn said.

Each candidate has an interpretation of the law regarding a vacant position.

Dudley is in favor of an appointment by the board, saying that the day Stanley retires, Lynn loses his proxy position.

The appointed person would keep the position until January 2011, unless it could somehow be changed to right after the election, she said.

Lynn argues that the appointment should wait until after the June election, so the winner could immediately take office and the issue is decided directly by voters.

“There’s no void,” he said of government codes calling for appointments to fill vacancies. “I’ve been instrumental in running the office for close to two years.”

Although unsure whether it’s politically advantageous to be in an interim DA position going into an election, Lynn said the post would at least show the support of the people who run the office.

The only way for voters to speak now is by appointment, since all supervisors are elected, Dudley said. By not having an appointment, the supervisors would essentially be appointing Lynn — the acting DA — to the position of interim DA, she said.

Neither candidate seems to want to be appointed to interim DA — but doesn’t want the other one getting that position either.

Dudley hasn’t had the experience to lead at this point, since she’s never had a management position in the office, Lynn said. And while he’s heard a few people complain of lack of leadership during the past few years, he’s never heard specific examples — and most people are worried about the prospect of more change, he said.

“I rarely see him,” Dudley said of Lynn.

She said she’s in favor of appointment over having Lynn continue in the leadership position, and said he has been a candidate — and campaigning — the whole time he’s been doing Stanley’s job.

“If I thought he was the best person for the job,” she said, “I wouldn’t be running against him.”

If it comes to appointment and it’s someone other than the two candidates, both suggested that there are many hardworking, longtime employees of the office who could fit the bill — although some candidates have recently retired.

Both say the upcoming budget issues facing the office need to be a priority, and that whomever ends up in charge in coming months needs to be able to handle the necessary cuts.

The county has predicted 7 percent cuts across the board, and the office is down 10 deputy district attorneys out of 44. Dudley stressed that restructuring was vital to ensure the public safety of the community.

Each person can take only so many cases to court, Lynn said. “They’re all at the breaking point now,” he said.

The supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the board hearing room on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building, 105 E. Anapamu St.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/012810_supervisors_to_begin_discussion_of_vacated_da_position/