After Brief Ventura Stint, Official Resumes Old Job

David Baker, the county government’s short-lived chief administrative officer, was back at his old desk this week after San Joaquin County’s governing board reappointed him as top manager.

“It feels fine, just fine,” Baker said from his Stockton office. “I’m glad to be back doing good things for San Joaquin County.”

As part of his new contract, Baker worked a deal that would make it very difficult to be fired--changing the majority necessary for removal from three-fifths to four-fifths. “It gives more stability to the position,” Baker said. “I believe it’s in the best interest of the county to keep that a stable relationship.”

Ventura County officials said they wished Baker well.

“I would imagine he would have a difficult time getting a job,” said Supervisor John Flynn. “Doing what he did to Ventura County would not go over well with other counties. So I’m happy he got his job back.”

Baker left his job in San Joaquin County last month for a similar position in Ventura County. But after only four days in Ventura, Baker resigned and fired off a scathing six-page assessment of county government, which he deemed “near financial chaos.”

He returned, unemployed, to his home in Lodi. A few potential employers called him over the past two weeks. But he did not seriously consider any offers, he said, until San Joaquin Board Chairman Robert Cabral gave him a call last week. That feeler led to a meeting Tuesday in which the board voted 4-1 to take Baker back.

Though the new offer came with no increase in his $128,000 salary, Baker was granted a few extra benefits. Among them, extra days of personal leave to be with family in Southern California.