Sonoma County Board of Supervisors inducts elected officials, marks change in board leadership

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors kicked off the first meeting of 2023 with a bit of pomp and circumstance — the induction of all officials newly elected or reelected to county office.

A large audience filled the board chambers Tuesday to witness new District Attorney Carla Rodriguez and the returning incumbents — Supervisors David Rabbitt and James Gore, and Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar-of-Voters Deva Proto — all take the oath of office.

“It’s quite a day and quite a day for transition,” Gore said in his last few comments as the outgoing board chair.

He also acknowledged the storms that have unleashed havoc in Sonoma County and across the state, with hard rain pelting county offices in Santa Rosa Tuesday. “It seems everything comes in extreme these days,” he said.

The morning also marked a leadership transition for the board.

Its members voted unanimously to select Supervisor Chris Coursey as board chair, Rabbitt as vice chair and Supervisor Lynda Hopkins as chair pro tem.

Supervisor Susan Gorin was next in the rotation for the chair pro tem seat, but nominated Hopkins for the spot instead. Gorin, who was first elected in 2012, does not plan to run for reelection when her term ends at the start of 2025 — when the person serving as chair pro tem this year would be due to serve as chair.

In his first remarks as chair, Coursey noted that Tuesday’s ceremonies were more spirited than when he was sworn in via Zoom in 2021 amid the pandemic.

“There’s meaning in the annual rotation of the chair,” he said.

He’ll be responsible for running board meetings, setting agendas, serving as board spokesperson and spearheading board work with county staff.

A former Santa Rosa mayor, Coursey represents the county’s 3rd District, taking in much of central Santa Rosa and south Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park.

“I want to recognize that I don’t sit up here on this dais without the trust and faith of the voters of Sonoma County,” Coursey said. “I work for you and I thank you for the opportunity to do that.”

He also thanked his fellow board members for their “faith and trust,” Sonoma County’s 4,000 employees, who Coursey described as “the hardest working people I know,” and his friends, daughter, grandson and son-in-law who were among those in the audience.

Following a passing of the gavel and a shuffle of seats, the board unanimously appointed longtime county official Christina Rivera as the new county administrator, the top executive post.

Rivera’s three-year contract for the post has a start date of Feb. 1 and an annual starting salary of $282,116.

“Your passion and love for the county government as well as our county communities is unparalleled,” Hopkins told Rivera before the board’s vote. “It comes out in absolutely everything you do and is one of the reasons I love working with you.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.