Defying calls to step down, Nav Gill says he is not leaving top Sacramento County job
Sacramento County’s top administrator told the Board of Supervisors on Friday afternoon he does not plan to leave his job overseeing thousands of government workers, days after two lawmakers called for him to resign.
County executive Navdeep Gill responded for the first time to an appeal by Supervisors Chairman Phil Serna and Supervisor Patrick Kennedy to vacate the job after a series of bad decisions related to the pandemic. The two summarized Gill’s recent failings in an internal memo — in short, they said he had displayed a pattern of “questionable leadership and decision-making.”
In a brief emailed response, Gill said: “In response to your memo (on) October 20th, and after careful thought, I don’t plan to resign.” The others seated on the board — Vice Chairwoman Sue Frost and Supervisors Susan Peters and Don Nottoli — were copied on the message.
Since August, Gill has come under intensifying pressure — first, after it was revealed that federal CARES Act money intended to ease the burden of the pandemic was used to fund the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s payroll. The news sparked a severe public outcry and the county redirected $45 million of the money for public health.
Another mishap was uncovered last week after Gill presided over an indoor meeting in which several top managers attended without masks. One department head tested positive for COVID-19 afterward and another 10 people had to quarantine. County employees also began to panic about potential outbreaks.
Serna admonished Gill during the supervisors’ regular meeting Tuesday, which was held remotely to prevent the potential spread of cases. Shortly after, Serna sent the memo asking for Gill to leave his post.
To force him out, four of the five supervisors would have to agree. And it’s still unclear how others besides Serna and Kennedy view Gill’s recent performance.
“Both Supervisor Kennedy and I are well aware that even if we express our lack of confidence in his leadership ability, it’s only half of the number of supervisors that are required to end his time with Sacramento County,” Serna said, warning that there could be another public backlash.
“Who’s to say there won’t be a reaction by the community as much as there has been a reaction by two board members.”
Frost and Peters have not publicly expressed an opinion about the call for a resignation. Nottoli said Friday that he has asked Serna to hold a “personnel session” to examine Gill’s latest mistake and “consider where we stand.”
After the budget decision was revealed in August, the supervisors held a similar meeting with Gill to discuss the matter in detail. Nottoli said he also has concerns about Gill, but did not say if he would vote to remove him.
A member of the board since 1994, Nottoli said this was the first time he could recall two lawmakers pressing for the county executive to resign.
“I have asked the chair of the board, much to my belief, that we need to have a personnel session to consider not only the most recent event, and consider where we stand,” Nottoli said. “In this case, this has risen to a level obviously where two members of this board have called for his resignation.
“And that’s serious in and of itself.”
Late Friday, Serna appeared to challenge the three other supervisors to state a position on whether or not they have confidence in Gill as county executive. He said he’s willing to have a closed-door discussion with other supervisors but wants clarity on where his fellow supervisors stand.
“I’m happy to call a closed session meeting to vote up or down confidence in Mr. Gill’s ability to continue as CEO,” he wrote. “What I’m not interested in, however, is entertaining any further ambivalence on the matter; you either believe he deserves to stay or go.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.