Patrick Blacklock reflects on his time with the county
Longtime county administrator moves on to new position
Yolo County Administrator Patrick Blacklock will be leaving his position after 11 years in order to take over as the president and CEO of the Rural County Representatives of California.
Blacklock was hired in 2010 during the Great Recession. He said that he’s proud to have played a part in creating the county’s 2012 to 2025 financial plan. The county’s credit rating went from “B+ with a negative outlook” to “A+ with a stable outlook.”
“When I look back, that’s one of the things that I think I’m most proud of the accomplishments of the long-term financial plan,” Blacklock said. “Because the county is so much more financially resilient now than it was 2010, and it has been evidenced by our ability to navigate through the pandemic.”
In addition to his contributions to the long-term plan, Blacklock drafted the first Yolo County Supervisors Governance Manual in 2015.
Yolo County, Blacklock said, is home. He holds two UC Davis degrees — bachelor of science in agricultural and managerial economics and a master of agriculture and management degree. He said that his position will not take him away from Yolo County and that he will still represent his home, along with the other 36 counties he will represent.
“It’s where I’m from, I get to raise my kids here. And I think there is something really cool about being able to serve your home and being able to live and
work in the same community,” Blacklock said. “Yolo County is just so unique because we’re just a county, surrounded by further urban communities and we’ve been able to preserve our rural landscapes our world, agricultural base.”
Blacklock is also an involved community member. His family has participated in the Yolo Food Bank’s Thanksgiving Day 5k. He’s also participated in a paddleboarding contest at Velocity Island Park. He even had an infamous photo of him taken at the opening of the Charles Brooks Aquatics Center in 2014.
“I made the horrible mistake of doing a cannonball into the pool,” Blacklock said. One photographer at the Daily Democrat snapped a photo of him as he jumped in. “I caught him out of the corner of my eye as I was going into the pool and I thought ‘oh no, I hope that picture doesn’t end up (in the paper)’ and it ended up above the fold, front page. And with the supervisors, friends, colleagues, they have never gotten more joy out of a picture in the paper.”
Former Supervisor Matt Rexroad added text to the photo that read “Take the plunge into Yolo County… and have a great summer,” created a banner, and paid to have it hung up in Costco.
Blacklock said his career with rural counties started right after graduation when he worked for the California Cattlemen’s Association in Sacramento as a lobbyist. He ended up working closely with lobbyists from the Rural County Representatives of California.
It was this lobbyist who recommended Blacklock consider the open county administrator position with Amador County — a county that was looking to hire its first county administrator.
He said he figured that the county wouldn’t hire somebody without county experience.
“And yet I had that interest, I wanted to serve rural counties and rural communities,” Blacklock said. “And so I went up there and was granted an interview and it was a great fit with the Board up there in Amador County and, and they took a chance to hire me as their first CAO. It was really unique because they had never had a CAO before.”
“And so that gave me the opportunity to have the time to learn that position just as their organization was learning how to have that position,” he continued. “So it was a unique opportunity that worked well. And that’s what got me into county life. I discovered on day one, that it was fascinating that every minute or every hour was something different. And this kept me captivated ever since.”
And Blacklock did continue his county work. After he spent time as the Dean of Careers and Technology at Consumes River College, he moved on to be the Assistant City Manager in Elk Grove before taking his job with Yolo County.
“Patrick Blacklock is one of the best administrators that I’ve had the opportunity to work with during my career in public service,” Chair of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors Jim Provenza stated when Blacklock’s new position was announced. “His innovation and hard work have helped us through many difficult times. The lessons we have learned from Mr. Blacklock will benefit us all for years to come and he leaves the county in excellent shape. We are well-positioned to address the challenges ahead, with a stable budget and viable strategic plan. Most importantly, our board, administrative staff and workforce is composed of capable, dedicated and energetic people that I know will move us forward.”
At the Rural County Representatives of California, Blacklock will be focusing on the big issues facing rural counties, such as: broadband access, affordable housing and forest health. He’ll be assuming his position on April 5.
Daniel Kim will serve as the interim county administrator starting March 20 as the Yolo County Board of Supervisors searches for a permanent replacement. Kim was hired as the assistant county administrator in February.