Longtime San Diego County employee Ebony Shelton was the unanimous choice of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to be the new chief administrative officer, board chair Nora Vargas announced Wednesday evening.
The decision likely ended once and for all a nearly 18-month quest by Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who had been the top choice for the post a year ago.
Earlier this month, a lawyer for Chavez threatened to sue her San Diego counterparts for the way she claimed she was treated as an applicant for the $400,000 post. She had been vigorously and publicly supported this spring in a renewed bid for the CAO post by San Diego Democrats and public employee unions.
The San Diego supervisors voted in closed session May 23 to select Shelton, the deputy chief administrative officer/chief financial officer, but held off identifying the appointee until it completed contract negotiations, according to City News Service, a southern California regional wire service.
A vote to approve Shelton’s contract is set for June 4.
Vargas, who had been the target of attacks by union leaders for allegedly dropping Chavez as a finalist for the position, pointedly praised Shelton as “a highly regarded and eminently qualified candidate from our own community…with a deep understanding of our community,” in a statement reported by City News Service.
Shelton, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer/chief financial officer, has been a San Diego County employee for nearly 30 years.
According to a statement from Vargas’ office, Shelton is a native San Diegan “and proud Afro-Latina of Black and Salvadoran ancestry, (who) understands the impacts of history on Black and Latino communities.” Vargas’ rejection of Chavez had been criticized by some union leaders for allegedly ignoring a “woman of color.”
Crystal Irving, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 221, this week appeared to walk back his earlier criticism of the county’s CAO search, saying Shelton’s appointment “concludes a challenging process.”
In a statement to City News Service, Irving said Shelton “will be the first Black woman selected as CAO by the county, and for that, we recognize real progress.”
“Unfortunately, the opaque selection process did not create an opportunity for Ms. Shelton to share her vision as an applicant, including what changes need to be made in the culture and operations and how to execute them,” Irving said.