Plumas Supervisors Vote Intention to Appoint Hermann as Sheriff

QUINCY — The agenda for the July 1 meeting of the Plumas County Board of Supervisors stated that the Board would “choose the methodology in which the appointment will be made” to replace Sheriff Todd Johns, who will retire July 28. County Counsel Joshua Brechtel framed the issue by explaining that the Government Code does not allow the county to call a special election for the Sheriff’s position, but otherwise gives the Board wide latitude in appointing an individual to serve as Sheriff until the next scheduled election in 2028.

Board Chair Kevin Goss began the discussion by reading a letter from the Sheriff’s Office Employees’ Association expressing strong support for appointing Undersheriff Chad Hermann as the next Sheriff. Association President Chandler Peay explained that the letter endorsing Hermann reflected a unanimous vote of the employees. Sheriff Johns also voiced strong support for appointing Hermann as his successor. “It would be seamless for Chad to step into my shoes,” he said. Supervisor Engel praised Hermann’s long service, dedication and integrity and introduced a motion, seconded by Supervisor Goss, to appoint him, effective on Johns’s retirement.

In response to the motion, Supervisors Ceresola, Hall and McGowan all said they had heard from some members of the public who wanted the next Sheriff to be chosen through a competitive, public process open to other applicants. Supervisor Hall questioned the need for a process open to outside candidates, despite public interest, especially when Herman had the employees’ unanimous support. Sheriff Johns strongly advised against opening a competitive selection process: the last election for Sheriff had been “brutal,” he said, so he feared a process involving other applicants could be bad for employee morale and destructive for the candidates. Registrar of Voters Marcy DeMartile reminded the Board that the process for appointing a new Sheriff is not an election, and that they alone are responsible for it.

Board members remained united in their intention to appoint Hermann as Sheriff following the discussion. However, in light of the agenda language stating only that they would choose the method of appointing the next Sheriff, the original motion was amended to state that the Board will appoint Chad Hermann as Sheriff at their August 5 meeting (the first after Sheriff Johns’s retirement) and that no other candidates will be considered. The amended motion passed by a split vote with Supervisors Engel, Hall, and Goss voting for, and McGowan and Ceresola voting against.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the motion of intention to appoint Hermann passed unanimously, when in fact the motion passed with a split vote of 3-2 described above.