City manager running for sheriff walks thin ethical line
In the past 38 years, only two people have served as Marin County sheriff.
From 1982 and until retirement in 1996, Charles Prandi had that duty. The current sheriff-coroner, West Novato’s Bob Doyle, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 1996 to replace Prandi. After being reelected six times, Doyle will not seek reelection in 2022, creating a wide-open race to determine his successor.
The sheriff isn’t literally Marin’s top law enforcement officer but he is surely the county’s most visible top cop. In addition to coroner, the sheriff is police chief for the county’s unincorporated communities, manages the county jail and provides court bailiffs. Doyle has 207 sworn deputies, 114 other law enforcement personnel and manages a $68 million budget.
Marin’s sheriff has no duties within incorporated municipalities where chiefs of police run the show.
Pursuant to California’s constitution, the sheriff is directly elected countywide. As such, the post is not answerable to the Board of Supervisors but cooperates with them to craft a budget.
Transparent California indicates Marin’s sheriff-coroner earned $239,489 during 2019 in regular pay, additional compensation of $18,186 and $99,237 in benefits for a total compensation package of $356,912.
The first candidate out of the gate is Adam McGill, Novato’s former police chief and now its city manager. Undersheriff Jamie Scardina of Marinwood will also be running. He has yet to officially declare his candidacy. I look forward to speaking with him.
McGill, a Modesto-area native, spent three years as Novato’s top cop before moving up to city manager 18 months ago. He previously served as police chief in Truckee (Nevada County) and Newman (Stanislaus County).
He is Novato’s first city manager since 1992, when the legendary Phil Brown retired, to earn the support of all of Novato’s famously divided council members.
It was McGill’s tenure as police chief that enabled him to quickly understand the desires and quirks of the five council members while earning the confidence of the town’s multiple factions. That’s an accomplishment his most-recent predecessors never achieved.
It’s unusual for an active city manager to run for elective office. I asked McGill, a member of the International City/County Managers Association, about Tenet 7 of ICMA’s Code of Ethics. It reads, “Members shall not run for office or become involved in political activities related to running for office or accept appointment to elected office.”
McGill replied, “The Code of Ethics is a guideline not the law. Before I decided to run for sheriff, I spoke to all five councilmembers. I wouldn’t have run without their approval. That should resolve any ethical question.”
The issue remains that city managers sit on a three-legged stool: the council, city staff and Novato’s public. Addressing potential conflicts with city employees and the community is Job 1 before McGill assembles his campaign.
While most of Marin’s unincorporated neighborhoods have overwhelmingly supported the sheriff’s office and its policies, its biggest controversy stems from immigration issues.
Activists on the political left banged Doyle for being overly cooperative with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. They contend he has disclosed names of soonto-be-released prisoners enabling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to arrest those undocumented immigrants with outstanding warrants. That fight is likely yesterday’s news now that the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration is revoking ICE’s more punitive practices.
McGill indicates he’s “left of center on policing issues.” In Novato he instituted Barack Obama’s much-praised 21st Century Policing Blueprint well before George Floyd’s murder prompted other jurisdictions to belatedly promulgate policing reforms.
While those mostly White activists calling to “defund the police” have drastically diminished in influence, there remains a need to reimagine American policing.
When campaigns for sheriff get going early in 2022 it’ll be instructive watching McGill, Scardina and perhaps other candidates propose their vision for Marin law enforcement.