Ten months after leaving the same job, Gil Solorio accepted the
Board of Supervisors’ offer to fill the county’s top executive role
on an interim basis until a permanent successor is named.
Hollister – Ten months after leaving the same job, Gil Solorio accepted the Board of Supervisors’ offer to fill the county’s top executive role on an interim basis until a permanent successor is named.
It’s unclear how long Solorio will serve as county administrative officer, but supervisors have said they want him aboard at least until January when three new supervisors get sworn in.
The board announced his acceptance of the offer after its closed session meeting Tuesday. Solorio’s contract is month to month, and his salary has not been made public.
Solorio takes over for former CAO Dan Vrtis, who returned to his prior role as the county’s finance director. The board in August requested his resignation – by a 4-1 vote in closed session – after he spent only three months on the job. Supervisor Reb Monaco opposed the decision.
Although Monaco felt Vrtis did well on the job, he also thinks Solorio is a good match for the county as an interim CAO because of his three years on the job from 2000-2003.
“That has to be put behind,” Monaco said of Vrtis’ resignation. “I don’t want this to reflect negatively on Dan.”
Supervisor Pat Loe, who served with Monaco on a subcommittee to find Vrtis’ replacement, thinks Solorio brings a “stabilizing factor” to the county.
There’s no indication whether the board or Solorio may seriously consider his return to the role on a permanent basis. Loe said the decision would be up to Solorio. But with three new supervisors joining Loe and Monaco in January, it may not be the interim CAO’s choice.
Neither Solorio nor Vrtis could be reached Wednesday.
County Clerk John Hodges, who has a close relationship with both Vrtis and Solorio, complimented the new CAO’s experience and intelligence.
“With his experience, the board should listen to him,” Hodges said.
Hodges hasn’t forgotten what happened to Vrtis, though.
“What happened to Dan was a real slap in the face,” Hodges said. “And again, they took him off the shelf, used him and shoved him back upstairs (to the auditor’s office). Now, you don’t treat human beings that way.”
Kollin Kosmicki covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach him at 637-5566, ext. 331 or [email protected].
