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This week, the executive committee of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council approved a resolution in support of Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara county supervisor, and her application to be the new chief administrative officer. The proposed resolution will now go to the full group of delegates that represent all the unions within the Labor Council. It follows a similar resolution by the San Diego County Democratic Party.
Chavez had been the leading candidate for the job and was nearly finished with the process when the scandal broke over former County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s relationship with an employee at the Metropolitan Transit System. Fletcher vanished from public life and his colleagues halted the hiring process. Former CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer delayed her retirement so the process could restart.
Chavez, who used to run the South Bay Labor Council in the Bay Area, is once again interested in the role but the other applicants are unknown. Robbins-Meyer had been the top deputy to her predecessor, Walt Ekard and there remains interest within some circles and the business community for a leader of the county in a similar vein.
Voice of San Diego Editor-in-Chief Scott Lewis asked the largest union of county employees why it was such a priority for them that Chavez or someone similar get the role.
“We are at a crossroads: We can either cling to the conservative ‘financial experience’ that prioritizes old fiscal policies, or we can embrace a bold, progressive future that truly serves all community members. Our coalition of Democrats, union members and progressives feel Cindy Chavez embodies this much needed change and will deliver on the Board’s pro-worker vision for the future,” said Crystal Irving, president of SEIU 221, which represents over 10,000 county employees.
What’s next: The county is expected to name semi-finalists in May and each county supervisor will be able to nominate two constituents to interview them before finalists are put forward by the end of the month.
Vague. Did you ask for even one let alone three examples of policy differences alluded to in this quote? “We can either cling to the conservative ‘financial experience’ that prioritizes old fiscal policies, or we can embrace a bold, progressive future that truly serves all community members. Our coalition of Democrats, union members and progressives feel Cindy Chavez embodies this much needed change and will deliver on the Board’s pro-worker vision for the future,”