Training Continues for First-Term Supervisors
CSAC New Supervisors Institute Provides Strong Foundation for Newly Electeds
First-term county supervisors from around California came to Sacramento Thursday and Friday for the second session of the in-depth CSAC New Supervisors Institute.
The group, which first came together during the CSAC Annual Meeting in Los Angeles County in November, will undertake more than 30 hours of classroom instruction. In this week’s session, the supervisors focused on a number of key issues, including leadership, the county budgeting process, the county-state fiscal relationship, land-use, and health and humans services. The newly elected county officials also were given time to network and be updated by CSAC’s legislative representatives on current issues being discussed at the State Capitol and their impacts on our 58 counties.
“The Institute has been great; I’ve learned a lot about the tremendous differences between our 58 counties,” said San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts. “I found the count-state fiscal relationship discussion to be especially helpful and that information will be very valuable to my success as a county supervisor.”
Assembly Member and Former CSAC President Rich Gordon kicked off the afternoon with a candid presentation about the “strange life in the Capitol” and how county supervisors can most effectively work with their local legislative delegations. He compared working in the Capitol to being on a “small high school campus.”
“It’s not a world my constituents are in,” he said, explaining how legislators work out of their districts for most of the week. “We are no longer grounded in the community they way you are. Make sure you help your legislators get grounded again. … Help them stay connected to the community.”
Assembly Member Gordon, who served three terms as a San Mateo County Supervisor, called California counties a “unique level of government. It’s a fascinating place to work.”
The Institute will wrap up its training on April 11 in Sacramento. CSAC is also recommending to these members of the “Class of 2013” to take additional courses taught by the CSAC Institute for Excellence in County Government that will help further their preparation in year one.