With more than two decades of serving as a County Counsel, including about six months as the interim in Marin County, attorney Steven Woodside was deemed the top choice to remain in his Marin Civic Center role for the foreseeable future.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to hire Woodside during Tuesday’s regular board meeting at the Marin Civic Center Administration Building, following a recommendation by Marin County Administrator Matthew Hymel.
Woodside, a Santa Rosa resident, served in the interim capacity since the December 2012 following the retirement of Patrick Faulkner in March 2012. Woodside served as Sonoma County Counsel from 1999-2011 and Santa Clara County Counsel from 1989-1998. Previously he spent 15 years as the assistant and deputy counsel in Santa Clara County.
“With the decades of experience he has, Steven is well-respected throughout the state, and we are very fortunate to have him on board,” Hymel said.
District 5 Supervisor and Board President Judy Arnold added, “He’s such a pleasure to work with because he understands government as well as the law.”
Woodside’s department renders legal advice and affords legal representation to the County Board of Supervisors, County departments and many special districts. The County Counsel serves as legal counsel in civil matters; prepares contracts, resolutions and ordinances; files and litigates civil cases; and renders opinions on legal issues to departments.
Woodside is a 1973 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Among his notable cases as a County Counsel was Johnson v. Transportation Agency, a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Santa Clara County’s affirmative action plan, which led to the appointment of the first woman to hold a skilled-craft job position in the Transportation Agency. Also, he represented 56 of 58 counties in a challenge
of the State of California’s shift of property taxes away from counties, cities and special districts. The challenge prevailed in trial court and lost on appeal, but the effort contributed to the drafting and passage of Proposition 1A in 2004 that was designed to prevent further state raids on local property tax revenues.
“I am excited to be representing a well-managed county that, with the assistance of intelligent and involved residents, seeks creative solutions to challenges faced by local governments,” Woodside said.
Woodside’s base salary will be $207,662, the same rate he received as Interim County Counsel. He signed a four-year contract.