San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus today announced his intention to change jobs next year. He will be running for County Assessor in the June 2006 countywide primary. Postmus, who’s also Chairman of the County GOP Central Committee, said he plans to transform the Assessor’s office into a "model operation whose mission will be to protect taxpayers and property owners and help bring better-paying jobs closer to San Bernardino County’s residents.
"I intend to take the experience I’ve gained from reforming county government, improving public services and getting the county’s financial house in order and put that knowledge to work in the Assessor’s Office," Postmus said. The County Assessor’s primary responsibility is to determine the assessed value of the county’s current $130.7 billion worth of real and personal property for tax purposes in the state’s fourth most populous county of almost 2 million residents. Using his leadership experience as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors as well as his knowledge of county government, Postmus said he plans to provide better coordination with other county departments to expedite economic growth in the fast-growing county. He said he also plans to professionalize the department’s efforts to educate taxpayers about their rights and potential exemptions.
Three-term incumbent Assessor Donald Williamson has so far indicated he plans to run for re-election. (Disclosure time: I’m Postmus’ chief of staff.) Williamson narrowly won re-election in 2002, edging Linda Foster by a half percentage point — 1,315 votes. Adding to Williamson’s worries should he decide to run could be his lack of campaign funds. In fact, he is in debt to the tune of more than $80,000. This compares to Postmus’ war chest of more than $700,000. Since 2000, Postmus has raised more than $2 million.
Currently serving his second term representing the First District on the Board of Supervisors, the 34-year-old Postmus represents most of the Mojave Desert region in the largest county in the contiguous United States. He said he plans to use his influence in Sacramento to seek increased protections against identity theft. He recently helped create a new Identity Theft prosecution unit in the District Attorney’s Office. He also wants legislation to limit state and local governments’ ability to take private property using the power of eminent domain except in cases of clear public necessity. Postmus said he has not and will not support efforts to take property for private development projects. Having recently proposed reforms to improve the amount of county information available to the public online, Postmus said if elected Assessor he will work to modernize the department’s computer systems and improve online customer service capabilities.
Postmus and former Board of Supervisors Chairman Fred Aguiar (now Governor Schwarzenegger’s Cabinet Secretary) are largely credited with revitalizing the county’s Republican Party over the past few years by dramatically improving its fundraising, voter registration and voter-contact efforts. Aguiar and Postmus’ efforts resulted in the County’s Republican registration numbers increasing from 30,000 registrations below the Democrats to a 33,000 registration advantage. In the 2004 Presidential election, San Bernardino County posted the largest upswing for President Bush among California counties. In 2000, Bush carried the county by 1 percentage point, but in 2004, he carried the county by 12 percentage points. As County Party Chairmen, Postmus and Aguiar together raised more than $1.1 million.
The San Bernardino County Central Committee now includes three members of the Board of Supervisors and several local elected officials. Postmus plans to continue serving in Republican Party leadership should he be successful in the Assessor’s race. Interestingly, Aguiar had considered running for the Assessor’s job himself before he was tapped by the Governor two years ago. He opened an Assessor committee, which is still open with more than $400,000 in the bank. Aguiar has not announced any intentions to run for Assessor in the near future.
Postmus said he feels the timing of his move is right. "I feel that after six years on the Board of Supervisors and two years as Chairman, I will have accomplished what I had set out to do when I decided to serve the people of San Bernardino County as a Supervisor," he said. Those accomplishments have included punishing former corrupt county officials, increasing property tax dollars cities receive from the county, and updating the county’s economic development efforts with a new strategic plan and a new Economic Development Agency.
Postmus points to public safety upgrades as the truest signs of his success, including adding fire personnel, building new fire stations, adding new Sheriff’s deputies to patrol unincorporated areas, purchasing six new Sheriff’s helicopters, and initiating a $4.6-million "War on Gangs" through the Sheriff’s, D.A.’s and Probation Departments. To alleviate overcrowding in the County’s jail system, the county this year is opening a new jail in Adelanto. To further deal with overcrowding, the Board approved a new program to help the Sheriff identify illegal aliens in county jails to help ensure deportation and maximize federal reimbursement for the cost of jailing illegals. Another new program tracks sex offenders in the County’s Probation system using global satellite monitoring devices.
Postmus said that if elected Assessor, "I will put the same energy and commitment that I’ve put into being a County Supervisor into being an outstanding Assessor." Regardless of the outcome of the June election for Assessor, Postmus would continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors until January 2007.