After a 50-year career, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor Karen Mitchoff bid farewell.
Mitchoff began her public service career in 1981 in the sheriffs office before being elected to the Pleasant Hill City Council in 2008 then being elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2011.
On Tuesday, Mitchoff offered commentary and reflection over her career, urged people to create opportunities for others, and to seek out facts versus just sharing out opinions with nothing backing it up.
She also offered her concerns of public comments and the attitudes towards elected officials which she says is preventing good candidates from even wanting to run for public office.
With Mitchoff opting to retire, Pleasant Hill City Councilmember Ken Carlson will replace Mitchoff after he won election gaining 53.93% of the vote per Contra Costa County Elections who certified results.
Supervisor Mitchoff made her remarks highlighting how some of the public speakers today only reiterate what she was about to say. She said she would have to insert humor to her comments or she would not be able to get through it.
Here is a transcript of Mitchoffs comments:
“I’ve had the most terrific career and what is interesting is I think the only decision regarding my career was the one I made 50-years ago to become a legal secretary. From there, everything else was serendipitous. My role was to take advantage of every opportunity that came my way and I was so fortunate to receive so many opportunities.
I was a then 17-year-old who went to work for two attorneys in Martinez right out of High School. I had had a wonderful opportunity in summer school was still a thing and they had occupational summer school and I took a course in being a legal secretary. A year and a half later I was ready and I knew everything, as most 17 and 18 year old’s do.
But I was fortunate to meet the legal secretary in the office and her name was Pat Calkins and she took this pretty confident teenager and really taught me the ropes and most of all what I didn’t know. I always think fondly of Pat because I always wondered what I would have done in that situation being a 45-year-old woman who worked for a law firm downtown, one who was a United States Congressman and here comes this pretty confident individual. For two-and-a-half years I had her tutoring and mentoring and really teaching me along the way without being condescending.
From there I went to work at a law firm in Walnut Creek and Kent Brewer saw potential in me and he trained and mentored me in family law, eventually making me a paralegal in his office.
His confidence and belief in me was such a gift… which led to my first serendipitous opportunity, which was an introduction through another legal secretary to then Sheriff-Coroner Richard Rainey, which was at the time where the board allowed our elected department heads to go outside of our merit system to hire individuals that may not have had any loyalties to any of the other elected individuals. So, I was lucky to work there for 5-years.
But I did return to the private sector for a very brief time because I was offered something that seemed to be too good to be true and it really was. I recognized that several months after I had left. So that pull, which I really didn’t know at the time, returned to public service, was what brought me back because I began working for former Supervisor Sunne McPeak and then on to Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier.
I gotta point out folks, I am smarter than both of them. That is because they are older, I am the one who is retiring and they are still working. And Sunne is in the audience and Mark will hear that comment too. They do great work on behalf of all of us and I commend them for their energy, especially after I am sure former Supervisor McPeak had the pleasure of listening to all of those wonderful public comments.
We have been called communist, today we got a new one, domestic terrorist. I am keeping a list, it’s the only way you can get through some of these comments.
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District presents Mitchoff with a token of their appreciation.
And while I continued working for the county, serendipity intervened again and I was appointed to the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District, then elected in the next election cycle, then someone had decided to retire from the Pleasant Hill city council, and I ran for that office and was successful. Believe me, at that point, it was all icing on the cake. Then serving as the District 4 Supervisor for Contra Costa County for the last 12 years.
I believe I am the only supervisor who has served in elected office in a special district, a city council, and a county office—I am sorry, Supervisor Burgis, East Bay Park District, Oakley City Council and Board of Supervisor.
As I have been giving you these remarks, I keep talking about the serendipitous moments. But it’s really been for the fact that God wanted me to serve in these positions. And I’m so very humble and appreciative for that opportunity to serve Him in these various capacities.
Many have asked what I will do in retirement and other than take some time to decompress, continue reading as many books as I can, as of this morning, I check, its 58. I am in the middle of the next one so I can confidently say I will have completed 60-books. I only hit that mark one other time during my tenure here by December 31. So other than the decompression and the reading, I am going to adopt a Bernedoodle and I want to travel to national parks, consistent exercising because I want to be healthy and feel strong in my body to do all the things I want to do. Whatever those may be.
And while a recitation of my career is important to this moment, it’s really the time for me to acknowledge and thank my incredible and loving friends, my staff, my fabulous colleagues, John, Candace, Diane and Federal, and their staffs, my brother and sister elected officials in other jurisdictions, and they many county employees who have been the reason for any success I might claim.
I would not be in this position, nor would I have had the many wonderful and exceptional experiences I have had, without those who have surrounded and supported me for my 50-year professional career.
Photo posted by Karen Mitchoff
One of my colleagues may comment on this, but there is going to be a real special event tonight, the Administration Building, is going to be bathed in purple light. You don’t have to come down and watch it, I am going to take a picture and post it to Facebook. But they told me this at the event on November 30. There is just so many expressions of love.
So I bid you all a loving and fond farewell. I know our paths will cross again in new ways. Until then, I quote, that I actually stated on April 9, 1994, at Sunne’s retirement. Its from my favorite Tina Tuner song, you are all simply the best, better than all the rest, better than anyone I’ve ever known, you’re simply the best.
I am going to make one more remark and some of you are going to cringe. Actually, that is the hope.
One of the things I’ve heard the most these last several weeks and I appreciate it very much is Karen tells it like it is, Karen doesn’t pull any punches. You know where Karen stands. Well, this morning, I read another lovely letter to the editor. Actually by someone I respect and admire but there have been several in the last several weeks from a decision we made weeks ago. But it doesn’t just relate to letters to the editor and some of those interesting comments we have heard today.
We have all heard the Daniel Patrick Moynihan quote about you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own set of facts. And I think for those of us elected or in other roles in public service, we deal in facts and you can say whatever you want to us and you can tell us how wrong we are or how we don’t know this, actually if you listen to public comments, you would think we are pretty stupid.
But, Plato said opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance. And I think that was on full display this morning in public comments by some. And if people don’t like me saying that. Too bad.
I am very concerned about the future of those willing to serve at the local elected and appointed office. We all know individuals who we believe would be great public leaders, but when we go out and ask then would they consider, it used to be I don’t know if I could raise the money to be able to launch a viable campaign, now its I wouldn’t do that for anything. Then the caveat, I don’t know how you do it either.
Supervisor Diane Burgis offering comments to Mitchoff
Well we are not special, and I am not claiming that we are. But, it takes a lot for any of us, and those in the office doing the day-to-day work.
You know the sad thing is, I don’t know what it is, but I would say 97% of individuals are kind, courteous, have good hearts and are not angry all the time and not using their vitriol to take it out on public officials.
We remember when we leave that dais every Tuesday, we leave here and we go back to our offices, family or friends, and we deal with literally verbal trauma, at least I do, and since we have come out of COVID, it seems to have gotten worse. And that is sad.
We are going to need people to step up who are wiling to do the hard work. That is okay that it is hard work. To move forward with how we govern our cities, special districts, our county, and participate at the State and Federal level. One other quote I love, your opinion matters, especially if its supported by the facts and observations. And we heard from a former presidents staff person about alternate facts, there are not alternate facts, there may be different lenses or pieces of information to a fact, but I also thought about what is the definition of a fact, well to me a fact is a statement that contains truth about a situation now, the past or the future.
This is a new county administration building and the interior has blue walls and blue chairs. That is a fact. An opinion is what shade of blue that might be and I think we can come up with a number of different definitions for that.
But I wish my colleagues well and my successor. As you move forward, this is a fabulous county to work in and fabulous county to get things done. I give you my best wishes for heart, courage, stamina and anything else that is out there to help you deal with those who wish to sometimes impede the function of government because they think what they have to say is the most important thing that there is and that is okay to think that folks, but you gotta have the facts and you gotta have information.
I am thinking of the speaker earlier today who was attempting to give us a science lesson. But, I didn’t learn anything did any of you and I don’t even know if anything that was said about carbon and oxygen was true. We listen because we have to. But the more you make those kind of comments, the more I have tuned you out. Your message doesn’t resonate. Your message doesn’t do what you had hoped it would do.
I don’t want to end on a down note, that was not the intention. But in leaving here and thanking you all and telling you how wonderful this has been, I just felt that it was incumbent to share with the public how important it is to be courteous, to be factual, to agree to disagree agreeably and to value different perspectives in order to accomplish what the common goal is.
Other Comments Made
“On behalf of the health department and its 4700 employees, I want to thank you for your many years of service on various committees including both the Contra Costa Health Plan and the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center JCC. Your leadership on Measure X, support on behavioral health, and really helping to shepherd much of that work with the cities. You have also led the first lunar New Years celebration last year which will be carried on going forward. For your many morning phone calls in the early months of the pandemic. Your guidance and counsel to many of our staff as well as my staff throughout the years. I was reflecting on your comments and you mentioned serendipity, that may be the case, but I also want to talk about a couple things that I have encountered and admire about you. One is your talent and capability that I have encountered along the way in many arenas that you and I have worked. Your fearlessness, your candor and tenacity and your commitment to the truth, science and leadership against misinformation, it has been critical, partially these last couple of years. You have helped save many lives and ease so much suffering. Members of our community, particularly those in the most vulnerable and most marginalized communities have benefited from that leadership.” – Anna Roth, County Health Services director
Debbie Toth, Choice in Aging, thanks Mitchoff for her work for the aging community.
“I am really grateful that the world got to see the Karen I know, the soft, the sensitive the human who has a sole and a heart inside that wants to do right and led by a moral compass that many people never got to know. I am glad you shared that this morning. Your leadership, your lifting up of older adults, your investment in time policy, energy and effort has been unparalleled…. Your leadership has saved lives, your leadership has made living in Contra Costa better for adults, not just today, but the investments in the master plan for aging in our aging in place campus will be felt for decades to come. I hope your retirement includes some reflection with the satisfaction with the work you have been able to do here knowing you occupied your own space and place, yes you had your own opinion and everyone knew where you stood, but I could have a meeting knowing you would walk away and come back and say okay I learned something, help me understand this better. You are an incredible human and I wish you a lot of love and happiness. — Debbie Toth, President and CEO of Choice in Aging.
“We want to acknowledge Chair Mitchoff for her many years of service and her contribution that has taken place not only within her District but the county as a whole. She has been an individual that has really worked to bring a balance to very tough issues in this county and her opinion that has been one that we have been able to embrace, her ability to be very fact finding and many of the comments and statements that are made by the public and the board has been something very valuable and something that has been important in terms of getting to the balance with her leadership,”– Supervisor Federal Glover.
“I wanted to point out we live in a great experiment, what they call democracy. Which allows people to call in anonymously and say whatever they want to say without any accountability and being in this arena I’ve learned it doesn’t help to hurt someone or send negative things towards that person if you want to be heard. I just want to put that out there, because you talked about that and I think people missed the point. You know, people are not running because they don’t want to deal with people who are confronting, who are hostile, or not accepting facts. Its concerning. But I want to acknowledge the unique path that you had getting to this place and how all of those things you have experienced and learned have really made you contribute to the county in such a unique way. You have lifted up libraries, being the reader you are, you brought that passion and enthusiasm, not only to the most recent library but to all of our libraries. You have been advocate for the delta, and a lot of people don’t see what Karen has been doing, but she has brought the passion and strength and commitment to protecting our natural resources to make sure that the delta is recognized as a place and an economy, a culture and a unique beautiful place that needs to be preserved. She has a really great understanding of what it means to be a county employee. She was able to bring that understanding of all the different departments and the experience of having to deliver the services that we provide. She has some adventures in her future, a dog, and I am looking forward to finding out how she decides to give because someone who gives so much of yourself, doesn’t stop. I also want to recognize how you have grown people. I know you were grown by Sunne, Mark, the Sheriff, and all these people but you have also paid it forward. I loved at your retirement party you got to show that. I want to put that on the record today that you have paid it forward and you continue to pay it forward. You have made me a better leader. So I want to thank you for that,” — Supervisor Diane Burgis.
Supervisor John Gioia was absent due to COVID, but Glover highlighted a comment previously made by Gioia that stood out to him that relates to the entire board.
“Being in a fight, he would defiantly want Karen to be on his side in that fight and I am reminded as the various agencies and government bodies that she has served on through the years. She has been a forceful leader in fighting for those things in what she believed in. One of the things I am reminded of in Johns comment is she is an individual you would want on your team if you are in the middle of a tough fight. So John, I just share that because I think those are comments we all can relate to and have a team player like Karen on your side.” – Federal Glover.
Mitchoff closed by thanking her staff.
Bio
Supervisor Karen Mitchoff was sworn in as Contra Costa County District IV Supervisor in January of 2011.
She began her public service in 1981 in the office of former Sheriff-Coroner Richard Rainey as his Executive Secretary. She served as the Chief of Staff to former Supervisors Sunne Wright McPeak and Mark DeSaulnier (1987-1998); and she served as a fiscal and administrative analyst for the county’s Employment and Human Services Department (1998-2010).
Karen’s elected and appointed public service includes election to the Pleasant Hill City Council in 2008, serving as Mayor in 2010; appointment to the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District Board of Directors in 2003 and election to that Board in 2004 and 2006, serving as Chair in 2005 and 2006; her appointment to the Planning Commission (1992-1996); and an appointment to the Pleasant Hill Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Redevelopment in 1988.
Her career spans both the public and private sector (legal secretary and paralegal), with great emphasis and dedication to both local community and regional initiatives. Karen represents Contra Costa County on a multitude of regional committees:
Karen was born in Portland, Oregon. Her family moved to Pleasant Hill in 1965. She attended local public schools (Gregory Gardens Elementary, Valley View Middle, College Park High), and then attended Diablo Valley College, earning an A.A. degree in Business. She returned to college in 2000 (while working full time) and graduated from Cal State East Bay with a B.A. in Human Development.
