As names emerge, Newsom could take time filling Stanislaus County Supervisors seat
Stanislaus County leaders will operate shorthanded until Gov. Gavin Newsom fills a Board of Supervisors seat left vacant by the death of former state senator and supervisor Tom Berryhill.
Newsom is busy with a bill-signing period running through Sept. 30, as well as managing crises of coronavirus and wildfires. He won’t likely consider local office appointments until October at the earliest.
Berryhill’s death on Aug. 29 vacated the District 4 seat that represents most of Modesto, Del Rio and a small part of Ceres. California’s Democratic governor is expected to choose a person from his own party to complete the unexpired term ending Jan. 2, 2023.
Board Chairwoman Kristin Olsen, who served six years in the state Assembly, said it usually takes time for the governor to appoint because candidates are vetted and a number of appointments are considered around the state. Newsom also needs to fill a board seat in San Luis Obispo County following a supervisor’s death Aug. 6.
Olsen suggested that challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires could further delay the process.
The local vacancy leaves the Stanislaus board without a tie-breaker vote if the four supervisors — Olsen, Vito Chiesa, Jim DeMartini and Terry Withrow — are split 2-2 on a matter before them. A four-fifth’s vote is required for things like property sales and adoption of the county budget, so any supervisor has veto power over those items until a fifth member is appointed.
Names surfacing: Irizarry, Grewal, Damrell
Some names of possible appointees for the local seat have already surfaced, including former Modesto Councilman Balvino Irizarry, Modesto Councilman Mani Grewal and Frank Damrell III, who lost to Berryhill in the November 2018 election. Grewal is not seeking another council term in November and would need to move his place of residence to the fourth district.
Damrell said Thursday he’s applying for the board seat and intends to run in 2022. The staff member for state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, captured 47 percent of the votes in the 2018 loss to a physically ailing Berryhill, who had a state senator’s power base and deep family tradition in Valley politics.
Damrell said the 15,166 votes he received is the third highest vote total for a supervisorial candidate on record, next to Berryhill and Kristin Olsen, who was unopposed in the 2016 election.
Serving as supervisor “would be an extension of the work I’ve been doing for Cathleen Galgiani for eight years,” Damrell said. “I have a perspective and commitment that is unparalleled and would be perfect for the district.”
Irizarry a former Modesto council member
Irizarry was on the Modesto City Council from 1987 to 1991 and ran for the District 4 board seat in 2010, losing in the primary.
Irizarry said Friday he has experience at the city, county and state levels and would bring diversity to the board. A county resident for more than 60 years, Irizarry said he grew up in Modesto’s airport neighborhood and also has associated with wealthy people at Del Rio. He previously served on a state regional transportation board.
“We have not had diversity on the board,” Irizarry said. “Over 50 percent of the students in our schools are Latino and the majority of the county is Latino. We’ve just had a major crisis with coronavirus that affected thousands of Latinos and there was no representation on the board.”
Grewal did not a return messages from The Modesto Bee.
Olsen passed when asked to comment Thursday on any potential appointees. In an email, Olsen said she hopes the person appointed has a background in community service, a can-do attitude and a vision for improving the quality of life across the county.
“I’d like to see someone who has a record of getting things done in the private and public sectors and has worked collaboratively with others,” Olsen wrote.
The governor’s office will most likely talk with state representatives from the Northern San Joaquin Valley before making the appointment.
“It’s good for the governor to have a lot of quality choices,” said Supervisor Vito Chiesa, who believes the appointment process will take two months.
The Stanislaus County board, a nonpartisan body, has been dominated by Republican supervisors for years. But the governor’s appointment and the November election could add political diversity to the board.
Ceres Councilman Channce Condit and city attorney Tom Hallinan, both registered Democrats, are running to succeed Jim DeMartini in District 5, which includes Ceres, part of south Modesto and western Stanislaus County. A former longtime chairman of the Republican Central Committee, DeMartini is retiring from county service after four terms.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 9:43 AM.
