Governor Jerry Brown has appointed Kathrin “Kate” Sears, a Sausalito resident and a supervising deputy attorney general in the state’s Attorney General’s Office, as the District 3 representative on the Marin County Board of Supervisors, representing Mill Valley and its unincorporated neighborhoods.
Brown made the appointment early Sunday, notifying the 58-year-old Sears and county officials.
“I think the Governor made an excellent choice,” said Susan Adams, president of the Board of Supervisors, in a statement. “I look forward to working with Dr. Sears as we tackle our county's issues together.”
Sears, a 1969 Tam High grad whose family moved to Mill Valley in 1955, will fulfill the term of the late Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who after a skiing weekend in the North Lake Tahoe area. Sears has not yet said if she would seek the seat in the 2012 election. Mill Valley City Councilwoman Shawn Marshall, for the appointment before she , has indicated that she might run for the seat in 2012.
spoke to Sears a few days ago and said she came away impressed.
“She seems very clear and calm and focused,” Misseldine said. “Just like a lot of Charles’ supporters, I’m really hopeful that she'll stay really close to Charles’ vision and cast votes that would implement that vision on issues like Zero Waste and habitat protection and alternative transportation.”
In a statement, Sears said she was quite in tune with the values and priorities that McGlashan had established in his six years on the board.
“I am keenly aware of what makes Marin County special – extensive open space, an agricultural heritage in West Marin, a shared commitment to environmental and economic sustainability, to protecting the bay and to enhancing educational and cultural opportunities,” she said. “Transit, housing, health services, and public safety are all important issues in Marin as elsewhere.”
Sears has worked in city and community affairs for the past 18 years. She served on the Sausalito Planning Commission from 1993 to 1997. In 2002, she was appointed by the Sausalito City Council to chair the Public Safety Facilities Steering Committee, as well as the Sausalito Parking Policy Task Force in 1999.
She has also served on the board of the Marin Conservation Corps from 2003 to 2007, deeply involved in countywide recycling, park service and youth-at-risk issues, and provided pro bono legal advice to the Corps from 1995 to 2005. Sears has been a Sierra Club member since 1991 and a long-time supporter of the Natural Resource Defense Council and Defenders of Wildlife.
Sears worked for a number of private law firms prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office in 2005. She holds a master’s degree in China Regional Studies from the University of Washington, a doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Harvard University.
Sears is expected to be sworn into office in mid-June.
