The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to accept the resignation of their embattled colleague Nadia Lockyer, who has been in a substance abuse treatment program and alleges that she is a victim of violence.
Lockyer, 41, who was elected to office in November 2010 after being endorsed by top state Democrats including her husband, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer, now-Gov. Jerry Brown and former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, announced her resignation on Friday.
In her letter of resignation, Lockyer said she isn't able to be a good mother to her child and represent her 325,000 constituents in District 2 "while also trudging the waters of early recovery from addiction and the aftermath of interpersonal violence."
Lockyer apparently was referring to an incident at a motel in Newark on Feb. 3 in which she alleges that an ex-boyfriend assaulted her.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office initially investigated her allegations but then turned the probe over to the California Attorney General's Office because Lockyer formerly worked for an agency connected to the office and she was endorsed by District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.
Her District 2 seat encompasses Hayward, Newark and Union City and parts of Fremont and Sunol.
After missing several board meetings, Lockyer announced on Feb. 14 that she was at a wellness and recovery center.
She began participating in board meetings again on March 20. Lockyer didn't attend today's board meeting, at which the board formally accepted her resignation. Board President Nate Miley said the board will decide next week on the process for accepting applications by candidates who want to fill Lockyer's seat.
The board has two months to try to agree on a temporary replacement for Lockyer. If they can't agree on anyone, it would then be up to Gov. Brown to name a replacement.
Supervisor Keith Carson, the board's longest-serving member, proposed today that the board appoint former Supervisor Gail Steele, who represented District 2 from 1992 until 2010, to replace Lockyer until November, when an election would be held for someone to fill the last two years of Lockyer's term.
Carson said appointing Steele for about eight months would be "good government at its best" because she is an experienced board member and knows county government well.
He said if the board appoints someone who wants to later be elected to the position that person "would have a political leg up" on other candidates for the office.
Carson noted that Steele chose not to seek re-election in 2010 and said he doubts she would want to run for the office again.
He said he spoke to her on Sunday and she said she would be willing to return to the board position on a short-term basis.
But Jose Duenas, the president of the Alameda County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the board shouldn't appoint Steele and instead should appoint another Latino to replace Lockyer, who is Latino.
Duenas said, "You should appoint another Latino to replace her because the Latino community deserves it. There are a number of qualified Latino candidates."
Supervisor Scott Haggerty, who endorsed Lockyer, said accepting her resignation was "one of the more difficult things I've ever had to do."
He said, "I remember when she was running for office and the amount of energy she had. Her heart was in the right place and I enjoyed working with her."
