James Gore sworn in as newest Sonoma County supervisor

James Gore was sworn into office Tuesday as Sonoma County’s newest supervisor, with the 36-year-old 4th District representative calling the moment the “proudest day of my professional career.”

The short ceremony at the start of the first Board of Supervisors meeting this year featured Gore, a former White House appointee and first-time public officeholder, speaking to a standing-room-only crowd.

Gore noted that the past year had been a busy one for his family, with his campaign in full swing and the birth of his second child.

“That’s a long time to interview for a job,” he said.

Gore is taking over the north county seat previously held by Mike McGuire, who resigned in late November after being elected to the state Senate. The 4th District stretches from northern Santa Rosa to the Mendocino County line, encompassing the cities of Healdsburg, Windsor and Cloverdale and the communities of Geyserville and Larkfield-Wikiup.

In a routine annual reshuffling, supervisors also voted Tuesday to make Supervisor Susan Gorin board chairwoman, replacing Supervisor David Rabbitt, who held the position for two years.

Three other county officials were also sworn in Tuesday, including District Attorney Jill Ravitch and Sheriff Steve Freitas, who both won re-election in June. Also sworn in was David Sundstrom, the county auditor-controller-treasurer-tax collector, who was first appointed in late 2011 and won his seat in a June election.

Ravitch called her first tenure an “incredible experience,” but alluded to the backlash against law enforcement agencies following the death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez, who was shot and killed by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy in 2013.

Ravitch in July cleared the deputy, Erick Gelhaus, of any criminal wrongdoing.

“I’m hoping this will be a nice and quiet, calm, peaceful term to come,” Ravitch said to the crowd after being sworn in.

Gore, who left Sonoma County nearly 20 years ago to join the Peace Corps, remained relatively quiet during his first meeting as a seated supervisor.

“It’s time for me to listen and go deeper into the issues,” Gore said in an interview. “I feel excited.”

Gore defeated longtime Windsor Councilwoman Deb Fudge in November, claiming 58.3 percent of the vote to Fudge’s 41.2 percent.

Gore’s appointees to the county Planning Commission and zoning board also were sworn in Tuesday.

Willie Lamberson, a ceramic tile contractor and member of the Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce, will represent the 4th District on the Board of Zoning Adjustments, and Tom Gordon, a former probation officer and past president of the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association, will serve on the Planning Commission.

Supervisors on Tuesday outlined their agenda for the year ahead, while looking back at last year’s policy initiatives.

“Our biggest task is to improve the lives of each and every resident, and that’s certainly been a struggle the last four years,” said Rabbitt, the outgoing chairman.

Rabbitt referenced the ongoing work of a county task force looking at law enforcement oversight and community relations in the wake of Lopez’s death. He also called out passage of the county’s new ordinance creating protective buffer zones along 3,200 miles of streams outside city limits.

On the agenda going forward, supervisors discussed additional measures to curb the cost of employee pensions, fixing the county’s crumbling road system, building affordable housing and strengthening a proposed vacation rental ordinance, which would regulate short-term stays in the county.

Supervisor Shirlee Zane said the board needed to think more creatively and identify future sites for affordable housing.

“That is the highest on my list,” she said. “We need to build some affordable housing this year.”

Gorin said the county must move forward with its response to California’s new groundwater laws, which went into effect Jan. 1. The laws could eventually limit how much water commercial and residential users are allowed to pump from underground aquifers. Local governments around the state are wrestling with how such limits could affect consumers.

“I look forward to working with the (county) Water Agency on how we can implement (this),” Gorin said.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.