None of the candidates in the June 2010 El Dorado County sheriff's race will bear the title of "incumbent."
The Board of Supervisors will wait until January to decide who will lead the Sheriff's Department following Sheriff Jeff Neves' retirement Dec. 26. But supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday not to select anyone seeking election, saying they didn't want to give one candidate an advantage.
Since Neves announced that he would not run for a third term, seven people have declared their candidacy. Last week, Neves announced that he would retire with a year remaining in his term.
County Counsel Louis Green said a special election is not an option, and it is up to the board to decide how to fill the position.
Board members said appointing a candidate would appear to be an endorsement.
"The citizens of El Dorado County should make that choice since the election is so close," Supervisor John Knight said.
Green said the only way to ensure that an appointee wouldn't enter the race would be to delay the appointment until the filing period for the election closes in March. In the absence of a sheriff, the undersheriff would be in charge.
Neves, 56, has declined to elaborate on his reasons for leaving office early.
"All I'm going to say is I'm doing fine, and this was a difficult decision made for personal reasons for my family and I," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Neves, who was elected in 2002 and 2006, said he ran for re-election intending to serve four more years. He took exception to comments by board Chairman Ron Briggs that his departure is an added financial burden for the county.
"My retirement is something I've earned," he said. "It's not an extra cost to the county."
Neves has spent his nearly 31-year law enforcement career with El Dorado County.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.
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