Last Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown swore in Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown as treasurer of the California State Sheriffs Association.

The ceremony took place at the 119th annual CSSA conference held in Placer County.

Sheriff Brown first became a CSSA officer last year when he was elected by his peers as the sergeant at arms of the organization. This year, he moved up in rank and was promoted to treasurer.

“It is an honor to be elected by my peers into a new leadership role with an organization that is at the forefront of shaping public safety policy in California and in representing the needs of California’s 58 elected sheriffs,” Brown said.

Brown is working his way through the offices and is slated to become CSSA president in 2017.

CSSA is a nonprofit organization that was created in 1894 for the purpose of giving California sheriffs a single effective voice and to provide a way for the chief law enforcement officers in each county to communicate and share information with each other. In addition to the 58 state sheriffs, there are thousands of citizens that are members of CSSA as well. The goal of the organization is to speak as a collective voice on matters of public safety and to improve the delivery of law enforcement services to the citizens of California.

— Kelly Hoover is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.