San Luis Obispo county has a new interim county clerk recorder. The special meeting proceedings opened with an announcement from county staff.
Several people spoke before the interview process got underway, including former county clerk recorder, Julie Rodewald. She encouraged the supervisors to make a selection.
After lengthy interview processs, the board selected former assistant county clerk Elaina Cano. She introduced herself to the board as part of the interview process.
Cano will serve as county cleark recorder for the final year of Tommy Gong’s term. That ends in January of 2023. Voters will elect a new clerk-recorder in 2022.
Cano lives in Arroyo Grande. She is currently Santa Barbara county elections division manager. She previously served as an assistant clerk-recorder in San Luis Obispo county. She was also city clerk in San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. She was selected over current acting clerk-recorder Helen Nolan, who has run the department since Tommy Gong resigned back in July. The vote was 4-1. Supervisor Debbie Arnold cast the lone dissenting vote. She expressed frustration that the board’s screening committeee returned only three finalists, as the board had requested seven candidates.
Before the interview, several members of the public agreed that the elected officials should dictate the process, not county staff.
