Rasmussen named chair, Paiske vice chair; Thomas Feimer sworn as chief public defender; advisory appointments approved

At its Jan. 6 meeting the Lake County Board of Supervisors completed routine organizational actions for 2026: the board elected Supervisor Rasmussen as chair and Supervisor Paiske as vice chair; both motions passed 5-0. The outgoing chair presided over the election and the board then swapped seats to reflect the new leadership.

The board also administered the oath of office to the county's incoming chief public defender. The oath was administered by Chief Administrative Officer Susan Parker. During the ceremony the appointee spoke his name aloud as "I, Thomas Feimer," and then took the oath to "well and faithfully discharge the duties of the chief public defender of the county of Lake." (Transcript contains an earlier reference to the appointee as "Thomas Beamer" in the agenda language; the swearing-in transcript records the appointee stating a different surname. The board and staff congratulated the new chief public defender and took photographs.)

In consent and subsequent agenda items the board also approved multiple advisory-board appointments including members of the Building Board of Appeals, Cobb Municipal Advisory Council reappointment, East Region Town Hall appointments, Lake County Agricultural Advisory Committee reappointments, Vector Control District board appointments, and Western Region Town Hall appointments. Votes on these appointments were typically unanimous where recorded.

These routine organizational and personnel actions will be followed by standard onboarding and clerical steps such as recording oaths, updating committee rosters and distributing contact information to staff.