San Bernardino County’s 3rd District has a new supervisor.
Dawn Rowe, an aide to Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, and a former Yucca Valley councilwoman, was sworn in Tuesday, Dec. 18 to succeed former Supervisor James Ramos, who vacated the seat last month when he was elected to the 40th Assembly District.
“I’d like to thank everyone… I look forward to representing all of you with an open mind and with all the energy I have to do an effective job for the 3rd District,” Rowe said after taking a seat at the dais.
The four sitting supervisors picked Rowe on Tuesday only after agreeing to rescind an action they took last week while trying to narrow the list of 48 applicants to 13, then from 13 to five that had been criticized as a violation of the state’s open meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act.
Ruth Musser-Lopez, of Needles, argued last week that the board violated the Brown Act by essentially working in secret to come up with a list of supervisor candidates who were mostly conservative and white. Legislative analysts also said last week that the process — which involved each supervisor creating a personal “top ten” list of candidates and then matching those lists to come up with 13 semi-finalists — probably wasn’t legal.
And though the supervisors on Tuesday agreed to rescind the move that Musser-Lopez objected to, she remained frustrated that the supervisors were not going to give all the applicants an opportunity to be interviewed.
“You can’t just wave a magic gavel and rescind, erase or dial back an act that’s already been done,” Musser-Lopez said.
“You can pretend the finalist list you obtained through cheating is erased from your brains, but the high five is still firmly planted in your minds.”
After formally rescinding the candidate lists they’d each created last week during the narrowing process, the supervisors on Tuesday each selected two or three of their top choices, settling again on many of the finalists they named last week — Rowe, Bill Emmerson, Sean Flynn, Bill Jahn, Rhodes Rigsby. This time, they also picked Chris Carrillo.
Several residents expressed support for Carrillo, Ramos’ deputy chief of staff and chairman of the East Valley Water District Board. About a dozen from Joshua Tree said Carrillo was familiar with issues important to desert communities and would bring continuity following Ramos’ departure. Others said if not Carrillo, then they would support Flynn, who last week, after making the top five, met with residents in Joshua Tree.
Carrillo, who was selected by Supervisor Josie Gonzales, said while Ramos did not officially endorse him he encouraged him to apply for the vacancy.
But, in the end, the board appointed Rowe — making the board majority female for the first time.
Rowe is being sworn in as the new 3rd Distrct supervisor pic.twitter.com/4p0OUq81PB
— Sandra Emerson (@ReporterSandraE) December 19, 2018
“You’ve done an extraordinary job of coming out of the woodwork,” Supervisor Josie Gonzales told Rowe. “You were one of the surprises I was looking for. And I think it commends the years of dedication that you’ve invested.”
In her second interview, Rowe shared what she would be looking for in a new supervisor and why she should be that person. She listed accessibility — to constituents, supervisors and county employees; as well as intellect; creativity and tenacity; and finally, she also suggested she would communicate well and approach decisions with an open mind.
“Having empathy for the citizens of the 3rd District, and to be able to communicate effectively, I think is something I bring to the table,” Rowe said.
While Rowe said she has experience with the issues facing the mountain communities, she also acknowledged that there will be a learning curve when it comes to the district’s inland cities.
Gonzales asked Rowe how she would assure the residents that she would fight for what’s in their best interest, even if it’s in conflict with federal policies or the wishes of her former boss, Rep. Cook.
“I have a party registration, but on this non-partisan seat I’d bring with me certain ideologies, but more of an open mind,” said Rowe, a registered Republican.
“I look forward to working with Congressman (Pete) Aguilar (a Democrat) the same way I would work with Congressman Cook.”