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By Wendilyn Grasseschi
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 submitted photo Mono County District 4 Supervisor Bill Reid, far left, died suddenly on Oct. 21. The rest of the board, from left to right, includes Tom Farnetti, Vikki Bauer, Hap Hazard and Byng Hunt. It’s going to be hard to fill Bill Reid’s shoes. That was the sentiment echoed repeatedly by the Mono County Supervisors when they met formally for the first time without Reid.
Reid died unexpectedly in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, following a full day of supervisor duties. Official cause of death was a blood clot in the lung.
The board chairman’s seat was conspicuously empty, with only a bouquet of yellow roses on the desk where Reid had sat for much of the past year. The long list of vacancies on the boards and committees that Reid served on made it obvious just how active the supervisor had been in representing not only northern Mono County but the rest of the county as well.
Adding to the sense of loss was the fact that it is still unclear about how and when Reid’s seat will be filled.
By state law, the governor of California has the right to appoint someone to a county supervisor’s seat if he so chooses.
The other option, according to county attorneys, is to wait until June for the next election cycle, when someone could run for Reid’s seat.
The board was unanimous in wanting to stay as far away from the succession process as possible.
“I’m not interested in suggesting names (to the governor),” said Supervisor Hap Hazard. “It would be better to allow the people who might be interested in this seat to start the process, maybe begin attending meetings and get involved in the process.”
The rest of the supervisors agreed, saying they would much rather take on Reid’s responsibilities until June than get involved in what would inevitably be a very political decision.
Audience members applauded the board’s intent.
“I support Hazard 100 percent,” said Claudia Bonnet, a Walker resident. Several other northern Mono County residents, including Chris Lizza, a Lee Vining business owner, echoed Bonnet, and urged the board to keep the election process as open and free of influence as possible. They also urged the board to continue to give North County strong supervisorial attention.
The board ultimately agreed to send a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger urging him either to make an interim appointment “as soon as possible” or not to make an appointment at all and to “allow the citizens of District 4 to elect their new supervisor in June of 2010.”
The board also made it clear that it wasn’t going to hold its breath waiting for an appointment.
“Given the state of California affairs, I expect this will be a very low priority for the governor,” said Supervisor Byng Hunt.
In the meantime, Reid’s many responsibilities will be divided among the supervisors, with each of the four taking on at least one of Reid’s appointments.
The supervisors also chose a new board chair – former vice chair Hunt – as required by law, although they also agreed to leave Reid’s actual seat at the head of the dais empty until January, when Reid would have vacated the revolving chair position.
“By leaving Bill’s chair vacant, I feel a greater responsibility to North County, to be sure their needs are met,” Hazard said. “And it honors the missing man idea.”
Supervisor Tom Farnetti was appointed new vice chair of the board.
But all the activity couldn’t obscure the reality: Reid is gone and it’s going to be very difficult to fill his seat with someone with both Reid’s experience and commitment.
“As I reflect back on my 14 and a half years on the board... Bill Reid was the one person that had the largest influence on me,” Farnetti wrote in an e-mail earlier this week. “He had high ethical standards, strong values and worked very hard for his district. He would always say to me during difficult issues, ‘Look what you got me into, Tom,’ and smile. I knew he really enjoyed what he was doing.”
“He stood by his principles unfailingly and he taught me to do that, too,” said Supervisor Vikki Bauer. “Previous to his coming, we were more likely to all be in agreement and we really tried to work to consensus. We still do, but I think we all learned something from Bill and he learned from us. He learned that it was possible to not agree, but do it politely. And he allowed the rest of us to feel better about taking the scary step of not always agreeing if it was something we felt strongly about.”
“I will miss him.”
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