Merced County Supervisor Kelsey won’t seek re-election

Merced County Supervisor Deidre Kelsey, who has been in office for two decades, confirmed Wednesday she will not seek re-election in 2016.

“I have decided not to (run),” she said in an interview. “I’ve served five terms. That’s 20 years ... That’s a long time. I am interested in doing some other things.”

Kelsey serves District 4, which includes the areas of Ballico, Gustine, Cortez, Cressey, Delhi, Hilmar, Snelling, Stevinson, Winton, portions of Atwater and parts of the eastern county. She is in her fifth term, which ends Dec. 31, 2016, said Mike North, a county spokesman.

Kelsey said she plans on traveling on her sailboats, planting flowers in her garden and spending time with her family, including her two grandchildren and two rat terriers. She also wants to write a book.

Kelsey said she pondered the decision for about one year. “I’m a long-range planner,” she said.

Kelsey was appointed to a vacancy on the board in 1995 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson, North said. She took the place of Dean Peterson, who resigned. She was elected to the seat in 1996 and has been re-elected ever since.

“Having the trust of the voters to have been elected to five terms as a county supervisor for District 4 is a humbling realization,” she said in a prepared statement. “I truly do enjoy serving the residents of Merced County, and I am grateful for their continuous trust.”

Kelsey also serves in a variety of roles for the county, including as chairwoman of the Merced County Association of Governments and a member of the Merced County Employees Retirement Association board of trustees, Merced LAFCO and the Central California Alliance for Health.

In her early years as a supervisor, Kelsey hoped to modernize the library, update the general plan and preserve farmland. She said she believes those goals were achieved.

In the time before her term ends next year, Kelsey has a list of items she’d like to accomplish: completing the zoning code update, the Winton community plan and the Snelling Courthouse restoration. She said she also would like to possibly put in some stoplights in Hilmar, add deputies to the Merced County Sheriff’s Department and expand mental health services in the county.

“I’m not going anywhere for a while,” she said.

Kelsey said there are some red flags with the county’s current budget regarding roadwork and employee health and retirement benefits. “It’s difficult to meet the expectations of taxpayers with the current situation,” she said.

Last year, Kelsey’s daughter, Eloise Kelsey Souders, filed a claim with the county seeking $200,000 in damages and a public apology after a personnel investigation involving Souders and the former public defender, Eric Dumars, was released to the public. The claim was denied.

Kelsey, at the time, criticized Merced County CEO Jim Brown and county counsel James Fincher. Kelsey described the decision to release the report publicly as “a failure of the county administrative leadership” and said they “treated the investigative process not as a search for the truth, but as a means to eliminate an outspoken advocate for his department.”

Kelsey on Wednesday declined to discuss the issue or say whether it played any role in her decision to retire from office.

“That had nothing to do with me,” she said.

John Pedrozo, chairman of the board, said he is saddened to see her go and that she will be missed. “She has represented District 4 very well,” he said. “If you talk to her constituents, they have the utmost respect for her. She has always taken pride in her district.”

Pedrozo said Kelsey was a big help to him when he was first elected as a supervisor and “steered me in the right direction. I wish her all the best in the world.”

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said Kelsey was instrumental in hiring four new people after he was elected last year. “We expressed the need to combat the gang problem, and she recognized what our county needed on that,” he said. “She’s really worked a lot of years for the county and the citizens of this county.”

Kelsey has long expressed a desire to see more women and minorities appointed to boards and commissions in the county.

“The board should continue additional appointments of women and minorities,” she said Wednesday. “It shouldn’t be all white men.”

When her seat is up for election, she said she hopes women will run. “I’m not sure who will come forth,” she said. “I hope it’s someone who is familiar with ag, and I hope it’s a woman – though that’s certainly not a prerequisite.”

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Merced County Supervisor Kelsey won’t seek re-election."