Elected county officials back Don Ashton for Chief Executive Officer

Seven elected officials in El Dorado County submitted a letter of recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, backing Don Ashton for the position of Chief Administrative Officer. The county has been searching for someone to take the top spot after a series of people were in the position. Larry Combs came out of retirement to be the Interim CAO on June 29, 2015.

Ashton is the current Director of Health & Human Services.

Here is the letter sent to the Chair of the Board of Supervisors in its exact original state:

Dear Supervisor Mikulaco:

We, the undersigned elected officials for El Dorado County, hereby submit our unanimous recommendation of and support for Don Ashton as the next El Dorado County Chief Administration Officer.

As you are no doubt aware, over the last few years El Dorado County has experienced a series of transitions in key county management positions. The many transitions in such critical positions as Chief Administration Officer, Assistant Chief Administration Officer, Human Resources Director, and County Counsel create an atmosphere of uncertainty and discontinuity. The citizens of El Dorado County have been promised the highest quality service delivered by an efficient, cost effective county work force. The employees tasked with delivering on that promise deserve stable, competent administrative leadership.

The seven elected department heads are unanimous in supporting Don Ashton as the person to provide this stable administrative leadership. Don has a proven record of fiscal prudence and no nonsense leadership. He was a respected executive officer in Los Angeles County with increasing responsibility over more than 10 years. Since moving to El Dorado County, he has served admirably for 6 years, first as the Sheriff's CFO, then as Principal Analyst in the Chief Administrative Office, and most recently as Director of Health & Human Services, the County's largest department. As the HHSA Director, Mr. Ashton managed the department through a chaotic and tumultuous consolidation, a solid example of his leadership ability. Significantly, Mr. Ashton came to live in El Dorado County not seeking to climb the ladder, he did that quite successfully in Los Angeles, he came here to live and make this the home for his family.

Simply stated, we are confident your Board will have many well qualified candidates for CAO from which to choose; however, none will possess the depth of quality in character, competence, and community as Don Ashton.

Respectfully submitted,
Sheriff John D'Agostini, Auditor Joe Harn, District Attorney Vern Pierson, Assessor Karl Weiland, Tax Collector Cherie Raffety, Recorder-Clerk William Schultz, and Surveyor Rich Briner