Governor Promotes Temecula Councilman to County Supervisor

By PAUL J. YOUNG, City News Service:

Temecula City Councilman Charles “Chuck” Washington was appointed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown to fill the vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

“It is wonderful to once again have a full complement on the Board of Supervisors, and a representative for Third District residents,” said Chairman Marion Ashley. “And it is truly momentous because Chuck is the first African- American to sit on the board. I’m sure he’ll do a tremendous job.”

The Third District has been without a supervisor since Jeff Stone was elected to the state Senate in November.

Washington, a Democrat, has served on the Temecula City Council since 2003 and has been mayor twice -- in 2007 and 2012.

Washington, 62, worked as a Delta Air Lines pilot between 1987 and 2014, with an intervening career as a bank executive between 2005 and 2008. He also served on the Murrieta City Council from 1995 to 1999 and was a U.S. Naval officer from 1981 to 1990.

“All the board members and the county staff will help the new supervisor in any way possible to quickly learn about county operations,” Ashley said. “I want to thank ... Third District staff for their efforts in managing district operations while we have waited for an appointment.”

The three-month gap during which the board had only four supervisors was reminiscent of 2009, following the death of Supervisor Roy Wilson, who represented the Fourth District. Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took just over two months to formally appoint John Benoit, then a state senator, to fill the seat.

Like then, the board ran into difficulties when there was no quorum to handle county business, stopping one meeting in January before all agenda items could be reviewed because only two members were available. It takes a minimum of three to form a quorum.

It’s unclear how many candidates submitted their names to Brown’s office for consideration. The governor’s appointments secretary, Mona Pasquil, told Benoit in December that the vetting process to find a suitable candidate would be expedited.

Ashley, who represents the Fifth District, was appointed oversight agent for the Third District when Stone departed for Sacramento in late November. The district encompasses the Temecula Valley and portions of central Riverside County.

Washington has appeared before the board on multiple occasions, and was among hundreds of people who testified during public hearings at the County Administrative Center in 2011 and 2012 to express opposition to an unpopular mining operation proposed on a 414-acre space just west of Temecula. The plan was scrapped after the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians bought the property.

Washington is expected to be on hand for the board’s next regular meeting Tuesday.

He will serve out the balance of Stone’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2016, and will be paid $147,688 a year.