By Gina Cuclis

While this post digresses somewhat from this blog's usual subject matter — public relations and communications in the changing media environment — the post is about communication.

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Announces New Chief Administrative Officer


Sonoma County Supervisors yesterday announced they hired Veronica Ferguson, currently the assistant administrator for Solano County, to become Sonoma County's new CAO. When Ferguson starts her new job Feb. 1, she will be the first woman in the County of Sonoma's history to hold the top management job in county government.

According to a quote by Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Kerns, in today's print edition of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Ferguson is "a consensus builder and a very collaborative person."

Women Changing the Style of County Government

Collaborative is not how most Sonoma County government observers and county employees would describe former Sonoma County CAO Bob Deis. His approach was divisive. He reorganized county government to place more power and control in his office. He was confrontational with county employees and retirees.

Deis resigned in June due to growing discontent among Board members with his performance. It's no secret the two women on the Board, Supervisors Shirlee Zane and Valerie Brown, were particularly unhappy and were a driving force behind his exit.

Prior to January 2009, Supervisor Brown was the only woman on the Board. Supervisor Zane took office after being elected in November 2008 to replace the retiring Tim Smith. Smith was public with his opinion that he thought Deis did a great job.

Better Listening Ahead?

Sonoma County government right now needs management with the communication skills to improve relationships with its employees and the public. Collaboration is a communication style. Good collaborators are good listeners. Good listeners are good communicators. I hope we will see better days ahead for how Sonoma County government operates.

Can't Conclude Without Mentioning Twitter

I found out about the new Sonoma County CAO yesterday afternoon from my Twitter stream. Thanks to this tweet by Supervisor Zane.


If you have an opinion about male versus female management communication style, or the communication style of Sonoma County government, I would appreciate your comment.