San Rafael, CA – Katie Rice, who represents the Ross Valley as District 2 Supervisor, was sworn in January 14 as President of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. It’s her second time at the helm.
Outgoing Board President Kate Sears (left) and New Board President Katie Rice gather their belongings and prepare to switch seats at the January 14 meeting. Rice, a Marin native and resident of the unincorporated Sleepy Hollow neighborhood near San Anselmo, was voted to the post unanimously during the Board’s first meeting of the new calendar year. She replaces District 3 Supervisor Kate Sears as the Board member who presides over weekly meetings.
Also during the meeting, the Board voted to have Supervisor Dennis Rodoni serve as Vice President and Supervisor Judy Arnold serve as Second Vice President.
“As Board President, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the year ahead to advance County initiatives around equity, resiliency, and sustainability,” Rice said. “It’s critical that these themes must infuse all our work – whether its wildfire prevention, emergency preparedness, homelessness, or health care.”
Rice has represented Marin County’s 2nd District since 2011, when she was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to complete the term of Hal Brown, who retired after 29 years in office. Rice was then elected to represent District 2 in 2012 and re-elected in 2016.
She was raised in Mill Valley, graduated from Sonoma State University with degrees in liberal studies and English. Prior to serving as Supervisor, Rice worked as a journalist and then as aide to Supervisor Hal Brown. She raised her three children in San Anselmo and was deeply involved in her community as the co-founder of an educational foundation supporting public schools of Ross Valley.
As a County Supervisor, Rice’s top priorities are acceleration of countywide wildfire prevention, emergency preparedness and resiliency efforts; flood prevention and sea-level rise mitigation; reduction of traffic congestion and transportation related greenhouse gas emissions; advancing community and environmental health, safety, sustainability, including a focus on housing and homelessness. She is known for her collaborative and listening style of leadership.
As Board President, Rice will run the Board’s meetings to get the business of County government done while continue the County’s ongoing commitment to encouraging public participation. The President speaks for the Board once the Board has acted and works with County staff to set agendas.
The Board is both the legislative and executive body of Marin County government. The Board adopts policies, establishes programs, appoints non-elected department heads, and adopts annual budgets for 22 County departments.
The Board meets most Tuesday mornings at the Marin County Civic Center’s Board chamber, Suite 330, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael. Meeting start times are usually 9 a.m. but are subject to change. Occasionally agenda items are heard by the Board in the early afternoon and special workshops sometimes begin at 5 p.m.
All Board meetings are televised live on Comcast channel 27 in Marin County and streamed live on www.marincounty.org. Videos of the meetings dating to 2005 are archived on the website as well.
All public meetings and events sponsored or conducted by the County of Marin are held at accessible sites. If you are a person with a disability and require information or materials in alternative formats – or if you require accommodation to participate in a county program, service or activity – please contact department staff at (415) 473-7331 or (415) 473-4381 (voice/TTY) or e-mail disabilityaccess@marincounty.org.