Sonoma County names Christina Rivera as new top administrator

Maria Christina Rivera, a veteran official from inside the ranks of Sonoma County government, has been named the next county administrator, the top job overseeing daily operation of the North Bay’s largest local government and biggest single workforce.

Rivera, a Santa Rosa native, has worked for the county for 26 years, including the past five years as assistant county administrator under Sheryl Bratton, who is leaving for a position in the Napa County Counsel’s Office.

Bratton announced her plans to step down last July, capping more than six years as county administrator and 30 years working for the county.

Rivera, 55, the county’s former budget chief who has a degree in accounting, will be the first Latina and bilingual Sonoma County administrator.

“It is an honor to work for this board because they are working really hard for the rest of us and I want to be part of that,” Rivera said, her enthusiasm brimming in a phone call Tuesday evening. “I want to be able to, in English and in Spanish, help people understand all the good stuff government does.”

The Board of Supervisors is expected to appoint Rivera to the county’s top executive position on Jan. 10.

Rivera’s appointment comes as the county faces labor negotiations with several groups representing county employees, a high 12.3% vacancy rate, a growing emphasis on bolstering homeless and mental health services through a countywide network and a need to replace its aging offices.

She will be tasked with overseeing more than 4,000 employees and an annual budget of roughly $2 billion.

Rivera said she finds reassurance in her years of experience working for the county and in the “strong, experienced department heads” working at the county.

“It’s a big job,” Rivera said. “But it is not a job that is shouldered just by one person but by many subject matter experts.”

Rivera’s salary will be $282,116.

Supervisor James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors, touted her years and depth of experience working for the county.

“We are so fortunate to have someone with Rivera’s policy experience, knowledge of county operations and commitment to our community to assume this critical leadership role,” Gore said in a county news release.

Rivera's career with Sonoma County started in 1996 as a management trainee, according to the county.

She has since worked for multiple departments, including Transportation & Public Works and as emergency operations director, before joining the County Administrator’s Office in 2006. There, she served as an analyst managing the parts of the county budget and its capital projects planning. In 2013, she was promoted to deputy administrator, overseeing the full budget and fiscal projections.

Born in Santa Rosa, Rivera grew up in Mexico when her family moved back to Mexicali, Baja California.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico, Rivera returned to Sonoma County.

She was one of 45 applicants for the county administrator post, and one of eight candidates to move through the interview process. That process included multiple interviews with the Board of Supervisors as well as department heads and a select panel of community and government leaders, according to the county.

Rivera’s appointment comes at a pivotal time as the county welcomes several new leaders, including Sheriff Eddie Engram and District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, and prepares to fill other leadership positions including human resources director and director of the Community Development Commission, which tackles affordable housing and development needs.

“I feel so fortunate to come in at this period of new leaders,” Rivera said. “The benefit of that is the collective opportunity for renewal and for validating how we do things.”

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