Assessor-recorder post to be filled in stages

An appointed successor will fill out this term, then another will be seated for a two-year stint

Filling the seat of Bob Dutton, San Bernardino County’s late assessor-recorder, will come in two stages.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors will appoint a successor in the coming weeks to serve out the rest of Dutton’s current term and then, later this year, appoint someone to fill the first two years of his next term.

Dutton was elected to serve a third four-year term in June, after running unopposed. The new term begins in January, but the person appointed to fill the post will serve only until January 2025.

That means the assessor’s seat would be on the November 2024 ballot with the winner of that special election serving the remaining two years of what would have been Dutton’s third term, according to a county report on the matter.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors considered putting the assessor’s seat on the Nov. 8 ballot or holding a special election at another time — at an estimated price tag of $1 million — before unanimously deciding to go the appointment route.

“Generally, we always want to give the people the opportunity to elect their own representatives, but they will get an opportunity to vote on assessor in 2024,” Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca Jr. said.

Applications will be available starting today and taken through the end of day on Aug. 18. At the Aug. 23 board meeting, the supervisors are scheduled to select up to three candidates. The candidates will be interviewed and an assessor selected at the Sept. 13 board meeting.

Dutton, 71, died July 23 after a battle with cancer. He was a former state assemblyman, state senator and Rancho Cucamonga City Council member. He spent nearly eight years as assessor-recorder. A public celebration of his life will be held Aug. 19 in Ontario.

Dutton