Berryhill, released from hospital, takes Stanislaus County oath of office

Tom Berryhill, who arrived in a wheelchair and looked somewhat frail, took the oath of office Wednesday to start a four-year term as Modesto’s representative on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.

Berryhill, 64, missed a swearing-in ceremony for county elected officials Monday and was absent Tuesday from what should have been his first board meeting, once again raising questions about his physical ability to fulfill the duties of the office.

To explain his absence, the former state senator said he had been in the hospital being treated for dehydration. Berryhill has said he began experiencing intense back pain early last year and then suffered a slow-to-heal hip fracture in July. To make matters worse, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in August, which served to explain the months of back pain.

Berryhill stood, placed his hand on a Bible held by his wife, Loretta, and recited the oath in a soft voice. Board Chairman Terry Withrow administered the oath as a handful of county officials looked on.

“I’m just tired,” Berryhill said after the ceremony. “They put me through every hoop and ring (in the hospital) and I came out in good shape.”

After 12 years in a state Legislature controlled by Democrats, the longtime Republican said he looks forward to working with a group of like-minded county supervisors. “I am going to a board that is very conservative, and that excites me,” Berryhill said. “They take care of their money and take care of their people.”

Berryhill, who termed out of the senate in December, captured 53 percent of the vote to defeat Frank Damrell III and succeed former state senator Dick Monteith as the representative for supervisorial District 4, which includes most of Modesto, Del Rio and a small piece of Ceres.

The small businessman and fourth generation farmer drew on support from conservative voters, including those who knew his father, conservative leader Clare Berryhill, who died in 1996.

Berryhill broke ranks with the GOP in 2017 in casting the only vote from a Republican senator for extension of California’s cap-and-trade program through 2030, which is how some explain his appointment last week to the State Compensation Insurance Fund board of directors.

Berryhill said he was undecided about accepting former Gov. Jerry Brown’s appointment to the board, which holds meetings in the Bay Area. He will make a decision on that soon. Berryhill would receive $58,600 for that position on top of a county supervisor salary of $80,000-plus a year.

“We are going to look at that,” Berryhill said. “I am not sure I will.”

Though earlier in the week county leaders wondered about the former senator’s health, Withrow said he was satisfied Berryhill is able to serve. “I think he is going to get past this current situation and we are happy to have him,” Withrow said.

Berryhill has flourished as a politician despite long-term health problems and doggedly continues with his career. His 12 years as a state assemblyman and 8th District senator followed a heart transplant in 2001.

“He will be a great supervisor,” said Jane Berryhill, his sister. “We grew up there (in the Modesto area). He isn’t new to how things work. He will do what he believes is right.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2019 at 6:28 PM.