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CLERK OF THE BOARD - Clerk of the Board Sean Houghtby
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Requested Action(s)
recommendation
a) Declare a vacancy for the position of District 3 Supervisor
b) Board discussion and direction to staff regarding the candidate selection process to fill vacancy created by the resignation of Supervisor Pati Nolen, effective 10/28/2025
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Financial Impact:
No financial impact associated with this item.
Background Information:
On October 28, 2025, Pati Nolen resigned from her office as District 3 County Supervisor, effective immediately.
In 2014, following a vacancy that was required to be filled by the Governor, Tehama County voters approved an amendment to the County Charter that allowed for local control of the appointment. Under Article II, Section 7 of the Charter, whenever a vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the Board may fill the vacancy within 90 days after the vacancy occurs. If the Board fails to make an appointment within this time period, the appointment power reverts to the Governor. The appointee, regardless of whether by Board or by the Governor, would hold office until the following election and qualification of their successor. The election would be scheduled for June 2, 2026 (filing deadline March 6, 2026), with a run-off election in November, if necessary.
Board precedent is to formally post the vacancy on 11/19/25 through 12/9/25 (21 days) and invite applications from interested residents of District 3. Pursuant to Government Code 25041, each applicant must have been a registered voter of the district which they seek to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for documents for the office and shall reside in the district during their incumbency. The application will include a Declaration of Candidacy and a Candidate Statement of Qualifications. Interviews of eligible candidates are planned be conducted as follows:
1) A Special Meeting will be set to avoid time constraints on a date selected by the Board. Staff recommends 12/16/25 beginning at 5:00 p.m. If there are more than 7 applicants, an additional meeting may be needed to conduct all interviews.
2) Public Comment will be received at the beginning of the meeting, with the standard 3-minute time limit.
3) Candidate statement of interest and qualifications, not to exceed 3 minutes per candidate.
4) A facilitator will ask questions of each candidate in a round-robin style format
5) The Board will publicly vote to appoint a candidate.
Please note, this process is not defined by the Charter and is therefore at the discretion of the Board. This candidate selection process follows the process used to fill similar vacancies for other elected positions as allowed within the Charter.
Staff is requesting Board direction on how to proceed if there is no candidate selected after interviews are conducted.