In the absence of a County Supervisor the Governor of California picks the replacement, not the voters, according to state law. After the untimely passing of Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan in late March it was up to Governor Jerry Brown to appoint his replacement. Enter new Marin County Supervisor member Kathrin “Kate” Sears.
Sears is a Marin County native with an impressive resume of legal and government work. She is not known for her work in Marin County, but is known for her work with the former State Attorney General. As Supervising Deputy Attorney General she extracted an $8.6 billion settlement from Bank of America on a predatory lending lawsuit. Yes – Her boss at the time was current Governor Jerry Brown.
While whispers of cronyism may exist, Supervisor Sears will likely earn the respect of Marin County quickly. As a 3rd District native, former Sausalito Planning Commissioner, and top-ranked litigator all signs indicate Sears will do well. Some in the press are predicting Sears will be an “intellectual surprise” for the Board and push them to up their game – Let’s hope. I am sure having the Governor on speed-dial will help her and Marin County tremendously.
We wish the best of luck to Supervisor Spears. But knowing the hectic and personal nature of local government she may prefer suing big banks instead. We will know soon enough since next March she must decide to run as an incumbent Supervisor or move on.