Zane takes leave from job

Shirlee Zane, candidate for Sonoma County supervisor in the 3rd District, has taken a leave of absence from her position as Council on Aging chief executive officer until Election Day on Nov. 4.

Zane confirmed Wednesday that she has been on unpaid leave since Monday.

She said the leave was initiated at her request and that her governing board agreed she would resume the post after the election. If successful in her election bid against Sharon Wright, Zane said, she would resign the agency post before supervisors take office in early January.

"I know that I have to be protective of the nonprofit status of my organization," Zane said. For the past nine years, she has headed the agency that delivers senior services such as Meals On Wheels across the county.

She said the agency's chief financial officer, Mare O'Connell, would fill in during her absence.

The agency is governed by an 11-member board headed by president Corrine Lorenzen, a Kaiser Permanente executive who also has a role in Zane's campaign as a leading adviser and member of Zane's steering committee. Lorenzen, who directs volunteer services at several Kaiser facilities in Sonoma and Marin counties, was not immediately available for comment late Wednesday.