Rep. Paul Cook Considering Run for San Bernardino County Supervisor – Press Enterprise
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Rep. Paul Cook considering run for San Bernardino County supervisor – Press Enterprise NEWSPOLITICS Rep. Paul Cook considering run for San Bernardino County supervisor Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley. (Courtesy) https://www.pe.com/...ervisor/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[8/27/2019 7:29:09 AM] Rep. Paul Cook considering run for San Bernardino County supervisor – Press Enterprise By SANDRA EMERSON | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: August 26, 2019 at 4:07 pm | UPDATED: August 26, 2019 at 4:08 pm An unexpected opening on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors may lead to a game of political musical chairs. Supervisor Robert Lovingood’s recent announcement not to seek re-election to the 1st District means the seat will be open in 2020, including to a possible run from Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley. Cook, who represents the 8th Congressional District, which includes most of San Bernardino County as well as Mono and Inyo counties, is considering a return to local politics, but has not yet made a decision, said John Sobel, Cook’s chief of staff. “He is a local government guy originally,” Sobel said. Cook, a retired Marine Corps colonel and Vietnam combat veteran, was elected to congress in 2012, after representing the area in the state Assembly for six years. He served on the Yucca Valley Town Council from 1998 to 2006. The 1st District lies within the footprint of the 8th Congressional District. Both include the High Desert cities of Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto and Needles as well as Apply Valley. While there is much overlap, the supervisorial district does not include the town of Yucca Valley, where Cook lives. Yucca Valley is in the 3rd District, which is currently represented by Supervisor Dawn Rowe, a former Cook aid appointed to the post in December. Cook fully supports Rowe’s election in 2020, Sobel said. Candidates are required to live in the district they are running to represent for at least 30 days prior to the filing deadline, according to the San Bernardino County elections office. The deadline to file to run for the seat is Dec. 11. M https://www.pe.com/...ervisor/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[8/27/2019 7:29:09 AM] Rep. Paul Cook considering run for San Bernardino County supervisor – Press Enterprise Should Cook run for the 1st District seat, that would leave the 8th Congressional District open to his Democratic challenger Chris Bubser, independent candidate Peter Mathisen, or possibly Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake. “Assemblyman Jay Obernolte has a deep respect and admiration for Congressman Cook’s service to our country and state as a Congressman, State Assemblyman and Marine Corps Veteran,” said Obernolte’s campaign manager, Ross Sevy, in a statement. “Should he decide to seek a different office, Assemblyman Obernolte intends to continue Congressman Cook’s advocacy for veterans, taxpayers and small businesses in the 8th Congressional District.” Political maneuvering is not uncommon when a seat opens up, according to Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “It’s pretty common for vacancies to lead to a chain reaction of political decisions,” Pitney said. “It’s what makes it all fun.” While both districts are Republican leaning, the 8th Congressional District is a little more so. In the 1st supervisorial District, registered Republicans nearly equal Democrats at 33.7% and 33.6% respectively. About 24.8% of voters are “No Party Preference.” In the 8th Congressional District, 35.72% of voters are Republicans, while 31.75% are Democrats and 25.31% are “No Party Preference.” “In the case of Cook, he could probably win re-election, but serving in the House these days is pretty tough for a member of the minority party,” Pitney said. Serving in the state Legislature, where Democrats hold a RELATED ARTICLES super majority, can also be frustrating for a Republican Riverside County departments spent $105 Assemblyman, Pitney added. million on overtime, report says If Cook decides to run for lower office, he would not be the Cash-strapped San Bernardino approves first to choose to leave Congress. Since January, about a 3.5% pay raises for police, city manager dozen House Republicans have announced they are retiring or not seeking re-election in 2020. In Temecula, Duck Pond fits the bill for https://www.pe.com/...ervisor/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[8/27/2019 7:29:09 AM] Rep. Paul Cook considering run for San Bernardino County supervisor – Press Enterprise protests “It’s really difficult to serve in the minority in the house, Moreno Valley OKs marijuana dispensary particularly when your party holds the presidency,” Pitney over objections from landlord, neighbors said. “You get blamed for everything bad, but you can’t do anything good.” Assemblyman Chad Mayes’ anti-racism resolution might face pushback within GOP Want local news? Sign up for the Localist and stay informed SUBSCRIBE Tags: government, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun Sandra Emerson Sandra Emerson covers San Bernardino County government and politics for the Southern California News Group. Follow Sandra Emerson @ReporterSandraE SPONSORED CONTENT A Reality Check for One Person With Type 2 Diabetes By How 2 Type 2 I knew diabetes was in my family, and I knew how devastating it could be. https://www.pe.com/...ervisor/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[8/27/2019 7:29:09 AM] Riverside County departments spent $105 million on overtime, report says – Press Enterprise LOCAL NEWS Riverside County departments spent $105 million on overtime, report says By JEFF HORSEMAN | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise PUBLISHED: August 26, 2019 at 2:14 pm | UPDATED: August 26, 2019 at 2:16 pm Riverside County departments spent more than $105 million on overtime in fiscal 2018-19, up $22 million from the previous fiscal year, according to a new report from Auditor-Controller Paul Angulo. Seven of eight departments with overtime costs exceeding $1 million spent more on overtime compared to last fiscal year, Angulo’s office found. Some of these agencies, including the Sheriff’s Department, said grants and other outside funding sources paid for overtime and lessened the impact to the county’s bottom line. The surge in overtime spending worries Supervisor Kevin Jeffries. “After several years of declining costs for overtime, the recent overall increase is very concerning,” he said. “It appears that a majority of the departments incurring significant overtime were attempting to meet state-required services and mandates.” County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said the county “welcomes this opportunity each year to https://www.pe.com/...ort-says/?utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[8/27/2019 7:30:04 AM] Riverside County departments spent $105 million on overtime, report says – Press Enterprise review overtime practices. County departments proactively manage overtime based on mission critical needs, particularly in departments that run 24-hour operations. We regularly work with departments to ensure that overtime is properly managed.” The annual overtime report, which is on Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors agenda, comes as the county continues to grapple with rising costs that outpace revenue growth. Labor costs for the county’s 20,000 or so employees make up the biggest expense of the county’s $6.1 billion budget. An elected official who serves as the county’s fiscal watchdog, Angulo’s overtime monitoring program started in 2013. “Appropriate overtime is a cost-effective response to short-term labor shortages or spikes in service demands as compared to hiring additional employees,” the overtime report reads. Riverside County Auditor-Controller Paul “However, long-term overtime or uncontrolled uses of overtime Angulo (File photo by Kurt Miller, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG). represent significant risks of increased direct and indirect costs” such as increased turnover, lower productivity and higher S likelihood of fatigue leading to errors that could prompt lawsuits. C By Collectively, the county spent almost $83 million on overtime in fiscal 2017-18, according to last year’s M report. Three-hundred fifty county employees earned at least 50 percent of their base pay in overtime last year, up from 139 in 2017, Angulo’s office found. The sheriff’s office spent the most on overtime – $61.4 million – of any county department last fiscal year, the report read. The sheriff’s overtime costs were $43 million in fiscal 2017-18. In a response included in the report, sheriff’s officials said: “A review of gross numbers fails to https://www.pe.com/...ort-says/?utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[8/27/2019 7:30:04 AM] Riverside County departments spent $105 million on overtime, report says – Press Enterprise appropriately reflect the fact that 45 percent of Sheriff’s Department overtime spending was reimbursed through grants, court security funding, special events charges, and payments from cities that contract with the sheriff for law enforcement.” “Approximately $25.7 million of overtime costs were anticipated and built into the budgets approved by each jurisdiction reimbursing those costs,” the response reads. “So, the overtime for those operations caused no ‘budget overruns,’ or unanticipated charges, and did not impact Net County Cost” or the bottom-line cost to county government. The report touches on other departments with overtime RELATED LINKS costs in excess of $1 million, including: At $6.1 billion, Riverside County budget • The Department of Public Social Services, which saw its will force ‘hard decisions,’ including overtime costs rise about $634,000 to $6.07 million. possible cut to animal services Department officials blamed the increase on higher caseload levels for Medi-Cal, food stamps, In-Home Riverside County ends fiscal year with $22 million shortfall.