The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is the five member non-partisan governing board of
Alameda County, California
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. ...
. Members of the Board of supervisors are elected from districts, based on their residence.
History
The board was created in 1855, with the first supervisor meeting held at the
San Leandro
San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...
courthouse April 2, 1855. From the creation of the county in 1853 to the creation of the first board of supervisors in 1855, Alameda County was governed by a Court of Sessions, a special provisional form, combining executive, legislative and judicial functions.
Districts
Governance
Within the broad limits established by the State Constitution, State General Law, and the Alameda County Charter, the Board exercises both the legislative and the executive functions of government. The Board of Supervisors is also the governing body for a number of "special districts" within Alameda County.
Boundaries are adjusted every ten years through the process called "redistricting" to make the supervisorial districts equal in population. Redistricting was last completed in 2001. Terms of office for the Supervisors are four years.
Alternate elections are held every two years for three supervisors and then for two supervisors. The salary of the Board members is fixed by the Board itself. A President of the Board, chosen from the membership of the Board every two years, presides at all meetings of the Board and appoints committees to handle work involving the major programs of the County.
Duties of the Board of Supervisors
As defined by the Alameda County Charter, the duties of the Board of Supervisors are as follows:
* Appoint most County officers and employees, except elected officials
* Provide for the compensation of all County officials and employees
* Create officers, boards, and commissions as needed, appointing the members and fixing the terms of office
* Award all contracts for public works.
* Adopt an annual budget.
* Provide, publish, and enforce a complete code of rules prescribing the duties and the systems of * office and management, accounts, and reports for each County department.
* Have an annual audit made of all County accounts, books, and records.
* Supervise the operations of departments and exercise executive and administrative authority throughout County government.
* Serve as appellate body for employee grievances, planning and zoning.
Board Meetings
The Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday mornings at the County Administration Building in Oakland, at 1221 Oak Street. Meetings are open to the public.
Former supervisors
*
Tom Bates
Thomas H. Bates (born February 9, 1938) was the 21st mayor of Berkeley, California, and a member of the California State Assembly. Bates is married to Loni Hancock, another former mayor of Berkeley and State Assembly member who served in the C ...
Thomas E. Caldecott
Thomas Edwin Caldecott (July 27, 1878 – July 23, 1951) was a pharmacist and politician. From 1923, Caldecott served in politics in Alameda County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area until 1951. The Caldecott Tunnel which is a key highw ...
Warren Widener
Warren Hamilton Widener (25 March 1938 – 25 June 2013) was a former Mayor of Berkeley, California, and former member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. He was the first African American mayor of Berkeley, serving two terms from 19 ...
*
William Dutton Hayward
William Dutton Hayward (August 31, 1815 – July 10, 1891) was the founder and namesake of the city of Hayward, California.
Early life
William grew up on his father’s farm where he was born, near Hopkinton, Massachusetts. In 1836 he proceeded ...
Francis K. Shattuck
Francis Kittredge Shattuck (March 6, 1824 – September 9, 1898) was the most prominent civic leader in the early history of Berkeley, California, and played an important role in the creation and government of Alameda County as well. He also ...
* Gail Steele was formerly the supervisor of district 2 for 18 years. The Gail Steele Wellness and Recovery Center is named for her. It is located in Hayward, and is a division of the
Alameda County Health Care Services Agency
An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
* Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
* Alameda (Santia ...
and the Behavioral Health Care Services Agency of the county.
*Kent D. Pursel (b 1904, San Francisco), supervisor, 1952-1964+. A section of
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...
was dedicated to his memory.
Nadia Davis-Lockyer
Nadia Davis-Lockyer (Board of Supervisors, November 2010 - April 20, 2012), an Orange County native, has worked as a public interest law attorney since 1997. She previously served as Executive Director of the Alameda County Family Justice Center. In January 2010, she was appointed to the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges System
The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education system in the U.S. state of California.California Education CodSection 70900(added to the Education Code by Chapter 973 of the California Statutes of 1988Assembly Bill No. 1725 secti ...
by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
. She was elected to the Board of Supervisors in the November 2010 election, but resigned her position in April 2012 while undergoing treatment in a rehabilitation center for chemical dependency after a highly publicized incident at a Newark hotel room in which she called police claiming her former boyfriend had assaulted her.
In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News immediately after her resignation, Mrs. Lockyer explained previous statements she made concerning her addiction issues. After "initially claiming" her former boyfriend had "hacked into her email, she admitted she was the author of an email to a reporter" blaming her husband, then-California State Treasurer
Bill Lockyer
William Westwood Lockyer (born May 8, 1941) is a retired American politician from California, who held elective office from 1973 to 2015, as State Treasurer of California, California Attorney General, and President Pro Tempore of the Californi ...
, for "buying and supplying her with drugs years ago -- an allegation his office called "utterly false." Mrs. Lockyer said she "regretted" sending the message," and asked "the public not to hold anything against my husband for actions that happened a long time ago." Later that year, in August 2012, Mrs. Lockyer was arrested in Orange County , charged with felony methamphetamine possession. The Orange County District Attorney subsequently dropped the charges, and Lockyer then completed a rehabilitation program. She has since resumed the practice of law with a firm in Newport Beach, and lives in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporat ...
with her husband, now in private law practice.
Special appointment
Among the candidates being considered for the special appointment to replace Lockyer on the board were local politicians
Alberto Torrico
Alberto Torrico was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004. He served for six years, including two years as Majority Leader.
During his three terms in Sacramento, Alberto served as Chair of the Public Employee Retirement and Social S ...
, Richard Valle, Mark Salinas, Union City Mayor Mark Green and Ana Apodaca. On June 11, the 4 other board members voted unanimously to appoint Valle as supervisor. He served until November 2012, at which time a special election was held to choose who would serve the final 2 years of the 4-year term. Valle won the election, against Mary Hayashi and Green.