Congressman and retired U.S. Marine Col. Paul Cook, Supervisor Dawn Rowe, and Rialto Councilman and former State Assembly Member Joe Baca, Jr. will take the oath of office and begin four-year terms on the Board of Supervisors at noon on Monday, Dec. 7.

Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, the oath of office ceremony will be conducted without a public audience. However, the event can be viewed live on the CountyDirect Broadcast Network. It will also be archived on CountyDirect for viewing at a later time.

Supervisor-elect Cook was elected in March to represent the First Supervisorial District, which includes the Town of Apple Valley and the cities of Adelanto, Hesperia, Needles, and Victorville. Cook has served in Congress since 2013 and has also served in the State Assembly and on the Yucca Valley Town Council.

Cook will succeed Supervisor Robert Lovingood, who is retiring after serving two terms on the Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Rowe was elected in March to represent the Third Supervisorial District, which includes the Town of Yucca Valley and the cities of Barstow, Big Bear Lake, Colton, Grand Terrace, Highland, Loma Linda, Redlands, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, and Yucaipa. Rowe has served on the Board of Supervisors since December, 2018, and previously served on the Yucca Valley Town Council.

Supervisor-elect Baca was elected in November to represent the Fifth Supervisorial District, which includes the cities of Colton, Fontana, Rialto, and San Bernardino. Baca has served on the Rialto City Council since 2006 and has also served in the State Assembly.

Baca will succeed Supervisor and Board Vice Chair Josie Gonzales, who is retiring after serving four terms on the Board of Supervisors.

Cook, Rowe, and Baca will join Supervisor and Board Chairman Curt Hagman and Supervisor Janice Rutherford on the Board of Supervisors.

Laura Welch

Lynna Monell

Serving as the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors for nearly 10 years, Laura Welch retires tomorrow, Aug. 2, after more than 31 years of service to the county and its residents. Lynna Monell, a 23-year county employee who served as Chief Deputy Clerk of the Board from 2010 until Ms. Welch’s retirement, has been appointed by the Board of Supervisors to succeed Ms. Welch as Clerk of the Board.

With 13 staff positions and an annual budget of $2.2. million, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors prepares and maintains records of actions taken by the Board of Supervisors, oversees membership of the county’s boards, commissions and committees, licenses businesses operating in the county unincorporated areas, and facilitates the filing and hearing of appeals of assessed property valuations.

Ms. Welch was honored by the Board of Supervisors during its July 23 meeting. She received the County Public Service Recognition Award for Excellence in 1994 and 2007, and served as president of the California Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Association in 2014. Ms. Welch was instrumental in the implementation of multiple computer systems within the clerk’s office, including SIRE, the prior agenda management system; Granicus, the county’s meeting streaming system; and most recently Legistar, the new electronic agenda management system, which streamlined the board agenda item submission and approval process. Prior to her service with the county, Ms. Welch served in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of sergeant.

Ms. Monell holds a master’s degree in public administartion, organizational leadership from National University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cal State San Bernardino. She is a member of the California Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Association and the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials. She has been with the Clerk of the Board’s office since 2006.

Members of the Board of Supervisors today selected 13 applicants as finalists for possible appointment to the Third District seat on the board.

The following 13 people were invited to be available for public interviews during a special Board of Supervisors meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow after receiving support for advancement from two or more board members: Jim Bagley, Tobin Brinker, Ronald Dailey, R. Carey Davis, William Emmerson, Sean M. Flynn, Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre, Dennis L. Hansberger, William E. Jahn, Janice Leja, Chris Mann, Rhodes L. Rigsby and Dawn Rowe.

The Third District seat on the Board of Supervisors became vacant on Dec. 3 when Supervisor James Ramos took the oath of office as a member of the state Assembly. In the event of a vacancy, the County Charter requires the remaining members of the board to appoint someone to serve until December of the next even-numbered year. If the board fails to do so within 30 days, the governor is required to make an appointment.

The county began the appointment process on Nov. 16 in anticipation of Supervisor Ramos’ departure by inviting qualified Third District residents to apply for the appointment, 48 of whom responded. Board members submitted their top selections to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors this morning, and 13 received support from two or more board members, qualifying them as finalists.

The Third District includes all or portions of the cities of San Bernardino, Grand Terrace, Colton, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, Yucaipa, Barstow, Big Bear Lake and Twentynine Palms, the Town of Yucca Valley, and surrounding unincorporated communities and areas. A detailed map can be viewed here.

Tomorrow’s meeting will be held in the Covington Chambers on the first floor of the County Government Center at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., San Bernardino. The public can also view and participate in the meeting via interactive video at the Bob Burke Joshua Tree Government Center at 63665 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, or the Jerry Lewis High Desert Government Center, 15900 Smoke Tree St., Hesperia.

The Board of Supervisors has invited qualified residents of the Third Supervisorial District to apply for an appointment to fill the remaining two years of Supervisor James Ramos’ term.

Preliminary results of the Nov. 6 election indicate Supervisor Ramos has been elected to the State Assembly. The voter-approved County Charter requires the remaining board members to appoint a resident of the Third District to serve the remainder of Supervisor Ramos’ term, which expires in December 2020.

An applicant for this appointment must be a resident of the Third Supervisorial District and legally registered to vote in the district at least 30 days prior to filing an application. Persons with felony convictions are not eligible.

The Third District includes all or portions of the cities of San Bernardino, Grand Terrace, Colton, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, Yucaipa, Barstow, Big Bear Lake and Twentynine Palms, the Town of Yucca Valley, and surrounding unincorporated communities and areas. A detailed map can be viewed here.

Persons interested in being considered for this appointment must submit a cover letter, resume, and completed application to the Clerk of the Board’s office before 2 p.m. on Monday, December 3, 2018. The Clerk of the Board is located at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., Second Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92415. Applications are available at the Clerk of the Board’s Office and on the clerk’s website. Applications are also available at County Library branches in Barstow, Lucerne Valley, Mentone, Big Bear Lake, Twentynine Palms, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley, Highland, Grand Terrace, Loma Linda, and Joshua Tree. Library locations can be viewed here.

Prospective applicants should keep in mind that the position of County Supervisor requires a time commitment equal to, and usually exceeding that of, full-time employment.  In addition, the successful applicant appointed by the Board will be required to take an oath of office, file mandatory forms disclosing financial interests, comply with the County’s Ethics Ordinance, and participate in State-mandated ethics and sexual harassment awareness training.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a special public meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13, to discuss the process for filling a likely vacancy on the board.

Preliminary results of the Nov. 6 election indicate Third District Supervisor James Ramos has been elected to the State Assembly and, as a result, a vacancy for the remaining two years of his current term on the Board of Supervisors will occur. The voter-approved County Charter requires the board to appoint a qualified elector (individual residing in the Third District and registered to vote 30 days prior to the application period) to fill the remainder of the unexpired term, otherwise the responsibility for the appointment transfers to the governor. The charter does not specify a process for the board to follow in making an appointment.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss and determine the process it will follow in making an appointment assuming the vacancy occurs in the Third District, which includes all or portions of the cities of San Bernardino, Grand Terrace, Colton, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, Yucaipa, Barstow, Big Bear Lake and Twentynine Palms, the Town of Yucca Valley, and surrounding unincorporated communities and areas. A detailed map can be viewed at http://www.sbcounty.gov/Main/Pages/BOSDistricts.aspx. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the process the Board of Supervisors will follow for making an appointment.

Tuesday’s special meeting will be held in the Covington Chambers on the first floor of the County Government Center, 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., San Bernardino.

The Board of Supervisors invites residents of the West Valley Water District to apply for an appointment to the district’s Board of Directors.

The November election created a vacancy on the five-member water board. The remaining water board members were unable to reach a consensus on who to appoint to the vacant seat and asked the Board of Supervisors to make the appointment, which the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to do at its March 7 meeting.

The West Valley Water District provides drinking water to customers in portions of Rialto, Colton, Fontana, Bloomington and other unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County, and a portion of Jurupa Valley in Riverside County. District boundaries and other information about the district are available here.

Water district residents are invited to apply for consideration to be appointed to the open seat by 5 p.m. on Feb. 24. The Board of Supervisors created a special advisory committee consisting of Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford and Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales to interview the applicants and recommend an appointment to the full Board of Supervisors.

The person appointed by the Board of Supervisors to the water board on March 7 will have the option of running for election to the remainder of the seat’s full four-year term in the Nov. 7 election. The term for the vacant water board seat expires on Dec. 6, 2019.

The application and other information about the appointment are available here.

Application forms are also available at:

Clerk of the Board of Supervisors/County Government Center/385 N. Arrowhead Ave. – 2nd Floor/San Bernardino, CA 92415-0130

West Valley Water District/855 West Base Line Road/Rialto, CA 92376

Applications must be received physically or electronically by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 24. Physical receipt must be at the above San Bernardino address of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Electronic receipt must be at COB@sbcounty.gov. Applications that fail to comply with this procedure cannot be considered.

Additional information is available by calling the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at (909) 387-3841.