Court Official Is Finalist for L.A. Job

Ventura County’s chief court administrator is one of two finalists for a similar job in Los Angeles County, an official said Thursday.

Sheila Gonzalez will find out Wednesday if the 234 Superior Court judges in Los Angeles County selected her for the post there, spokeswoman Rosie Ruiz said.

Gonzalez, considered to be one of the top court administrators in the country, was among 49 people who applied for the Los Angeles County job. The first tally of judges’ ballots narrowed the field to Gonzalez and John A. Clarke, Superior Court administrator in Essex County, N.J., Ruiz said.

Judges are voting a second time to make the final decision.

Gonzalez was hired in 1987 to run the Ventura County Municipal Court. Two years later, the county became the first in the state to combine its Municipal and Superior court administrations.

Gonzalez was appointed to head the combined operations as clerk, executive officer and jury commissioner.

Her work has been widely praised both within and outside the county. In particular, she is credited for saving the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in court costs, while at the same time making the system more efficient through the use of technology.

She became embroiled in controversy earlier this year, however, when the county’s judges raised her pay by 12.85%, for an annual salary of $109,000. Several judges who favored the raise said they did not want Gonzalez to be lured to another county.

The Los Angeles County position pays a maximum of $150,000, officials said.

Gonzalez said through her secretary Thursday that she will have no comment on the Los Angeles County job until she finds out if she will be offered it.