Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive
Eleven months? That’s all Beth Johnson could take? Color me disappointed. I expected Novato’s top cop to make longer than that.
Less than a year ago, Novato announced that Beth Johson would be the town’s new police chief. She was hailed as the town’s first female police chief.
Now, today, we find out that she’s leaving. She wrote the daily newspaper to say she was hanging it up after 29 years in California law enforcement to “focus on my family.”
That’s it? The old “focus on the family” trope? To add to the intrigue, the town’s mayor and city manager have no comment?
Look, a person has a right to call it quits. But after 11 months? You don’t take a city’s top job and not give the citizens longer than that.
Even Councilwoman Pat Eklund, who has been in office since Abe Lincoln’s inauguration, didn’t see this coming. She said the announcement came as a surprise to her.
Something’s off, if you ask me (which of course no one did, but, that’s what newspaper columnists do).
(“Properly Subversive” is a commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick for Marinscope Community Newspapers, the “mother ship” of the Novato Advance, San Rafael News-Pointer, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, Twin City Times and the Sausalito Marin Scope. Mr. Frederick is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
Sarah says
She said she wouldn’t serve here in Novato unless Meg Brizzolara were on the PARB
Jenette says
🤣🤣🤣
Mycroft Holmes says
If I had to guess, I’d recall that Watergate-era mantra to “Follow the money.” As in:last year on the job+big salary boost=sets retirement pay at boosted, top-dollar level. Asking: what’s her salary been this last 10 months? What will retirement (pay & benefits) be as she “spends more time with family?”
Craig Belfor says
Double dipping, the new craze to retire from one job. take another, and stack up the benefits.
Znu says
Zero
Mannish says
“ been in office since Abe Lincoln’s inauguration”
😂
Mike says says
Not surprised at all, unless the culture over the past 20 years has changed. This department has been a mess for a long time! Lawsuits, payouts and discontent has been prevalent for some time. Sounds like the same old song here. And of course no one is saying why, again!
Nora Frank says
Maybe she will have 30 years when all is said and done.
This is not a great time to be in Law Enforcement…,