Will Sacramento County’s top manager keep his job? Supervisors stay silent on Gill’s fate
Supervisor Phil Serna’s urgent call for the top county administrator’s resignation has been met with silence so far from most of his colleagues on the board. Only Supervisor Patrick Kennedy signed on to the letter but a supermajority of the board will be necessary to remove County Executive Navdeep Gill — if it comes to a vote.
Serna’s appeal is the latest development amid a crumbling relationship between Gill and some county supervisors after a series of missteps related to the coronavirus pandemic. He did not heed calls to resign Wednesday, a county spokesperson confirmed.
The most recent criticism leveled at Gill emerged this week when it was revealed that he presided over an indoor meeting with several top managers present but only a few wore masks, violating rules the county imposes on thousands of schools and businesses.
One of the department heads tested positive for COVID-19 afterward and 10 others had to quarantine themselves for 14 days, The Bee reported. The episode prompted the supervisors to hold a regular meeting remotely Tuesday to minimize the risk of spread.
In a brief interoffice memo to Gill dated Oct. 20, and signed by both Serna and Kennedy, the lawmakers alluded to recent “difficult conversations” with the board about his “questionable leadership and decision-making.”
“The events of the past few days, as well as hearing from county staff, have elevated our concerns,” the memo reads. “Realizing the weight of this situation, and the effect this continues to have on our constituents...we no longer have confidence in you as chief executive officer and call for your resignation.”
On Wednesday, Serna said he has not yet heard back from Gill. An email sent by The Bee seeking comment was unanswered.
If Gill declines to leave, the five-member board would need four votes to oust him for cause, Serna said. It would take five votes to fire Gill if the board gives no cause or reason for the firing.
Supervisors remain silent about Gill
It’s unclear how much support there is for such an action. Questions emailed by The Bee to the other board members — Don Nottoli, Sue Frost and Susan Peters — were unanswered as of late Wednesday. Any two could be the deciding votes.
“We have expressed … our lack of confidence in his leadership abilities,” Serna said Wednesday. “The question is what do other board members do now? That is going to be the most telling, as to whether or not there is at least a simple majority of board members that share our opinion.”
The calls for his resignation represent a sea change for Gill who was appointed to the top job in 2016 after serving as the assistant county executive for about 9 years. As Gill’s contract was about to expire in 2019, the board of supervisors agreed to make him a so-called charter employee. The provision leaves the fate of his employment up to 4 out of 5 of the supervisors.
Supervisors Frost, Peters and Kennedy, who is now trying to oust Gill, agreed to the provision. Nottoli voted against it and Serna abstained.
Kennedy, who was board chairman at the time, said he agreed to the change for “continuity” and because he believed Gill was doing a good job. He had previously been on a contract which allowed the supervisors to terminate him with a simple majority of three out of five votes.
“At the time I was pleased with his performance particularly and the team he had put together,” Kennedy said when reached, “and that was why I opted to vote the way that I did.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2020, 5:00 AM.
