At the close of its Dec. 17 meeting the Trinity County Board of Supervisors announced a closed session under Government Code 54954.5(e) for public‑employee appointment (county administrative officer). That announcement touched off sustained public concern during the meeting about whether the county had complied with its own code and the Brown Act when filling the CAO vacancy.

Multiple members of the public — including Lisa Wright Lewiston, who submitted a written Brown Act “cure and correct” demand — told the board there was no publicly posted recruitment plan, no job announcement and no documented outreach to satisfy county code section 2.60.03, which (public comment asserted) requires statewide recruitment and public posting. Those speakers argued closed‑session discussions about filling the position were premature without a lawful, transparent recruitment process and urged the board to seek independent outside counsel and to publicly agendize and disclose recruitment steps.

County counsel and the CAO’s office responded that the county is following a lawful process: counsel said the Brown Act does not require an oral reportout immediately after every closed session when the county makes the reportout available in writing immediately at the clerk’s office and in the board packet; counsel also said closed session may be used to evaluate candidates and that written reportouts are an accepted practice. The board’s legal position, counsel said, is that written reportouts and the county’s internal procedures meet statutory requirements.

Board members and other commenters emphasized an ethical dimension beyond strict compliance: speakers urged that the county not only meet the letter of the law but also preserve public trust by making the recruitment process visible. One public speaker cited recent local examples where interviews had been held in public and asked whether Trinity County could do the same for this senior administrative post. The board did not take further action publicly that day; staff indicated written reportouts would be included in the packet for the public record and that the issue could be revisited as needed.

What happened: the board announced closed session for the CAO appointment and reported in writing that direction was given; public commenters remain unconvinced written reportouts alone satisfy transparency expectations and requested that future steps and any recruitment plan be agendized and posted for public review.