Supervisor Arnold to to interview SLO County administrator candidates
March 17, 2024
By KAREN VELIE
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors met last week to interview the final candidates for the empty county administrator position, however, Supervisor Debbie Arnold was unable to attend. The board then elected to provide Arnold an opportunity to interview the candidates.
At a special meeting on Monday, Arnold will have a chance to interview candidates. The five supervisors then plan to discuss the appointment in closed session.
The candidates include Grover Beach City Manager Matthew Bronson, and two other male candidates. It is likely the board will select a new administrator on Monday. During the past year, two administrators left the county.
In March 2023, two members of the new board majority called for a performance review of then Administrative Officer Wade Horton. County officials are not disclosing which of three county supervisors – Bruce Gibson, Jimmy Paulding or Dawn Ortiz Legg – requested the review.
As required by his position, Horton then placed the closed session performance review on the agenda leading supervisors Gibson and Paulding to claim Horton “voluntarily chose” to put his review on the agenda.
Horton, however, announced plans to resign before the controversial review.
In Nov. 2023 , the SLO County Board of Supervisors voted to fire then Administrative Officer John Nilon because of allegations of sexual misconduct. During his short tenure, multiple county employees and others accused Nilon of inappropriate touching.
Nilon, whose first day was May 1, 2023, was appointed on a 3-2 vote, with supervisors Debbie Arnold and John Peschong opposed. Arnold felt the county had not properly vetted Nilon, while Peschong felt his salary was too high.
The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not. Comment Guidelines