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Riverside County has offered Napa County Executive Officer Minh Tran a job as its county counsel, though it has yet to make the appointment and Tran has yet to say whether he has accepted.
The appointment was to go before the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on July 26. However, as the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported on Friday, the item was subsequently pulled after appearing on the county's website.
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Tran could not be reached on Friday morning or early afternoon to say whether he will accept. That added a touch of mystery to the affair.
The Napa County Board of Supervisors met for a closed session at 2:30 p.m. Friday on an unrelated matter. Resident James Hinton, during public comments, said he had heard about the Riverside job offer. Tran, who sat a desk nearby, didn't respond.
Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon, reached Friday morning, said she didn't know about the matter.
Neither did Napa County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Ryan Gregory.
“I was very surprised learning the news today and I’m disappointed that I’m surprised," Gregory said. "I have asked staff to put a supplemental (closed session) item Tuesday’s agenda so we can sit with Minh and ask him what’s going on.”
Riverside County officials couldn't be reached for comment on Friday. However, The Press-Enterprise reported a county spokesperson as saying the county will announce the appointment of a new county counsel before the Aug. 2 meeting but would have nothing further to say before that point.
A June 10 letter to Tran from Riverside County CEO Jeffrey Van Wagenen, Jr. offered Tran a four-year term as county counsel. This letter was briefly posted on the Riverside County website.
Tran in 2020 had the highest base salary in Napa County government at $299,000 and total pay and benefits of $462,000, according to Transparent California. The Riverside offer is for a base salary of $285,000, a $10,000 relocation allowance and monthly $550 "executive vehicle benefit" allowance.
Riverside County made a nationwide search for a county counsel using an executive search firm, a county report said. The report said the appointment was to take effect Aug. 11, though it's unclear how the delay might change that date.
“On a personal note, I look forward to working with you in this capacity and having your knowledge and skills available for application to the issues and needs of Riverside County,” Van Wagenen wrote to Tran.
For Tran, a move to Riverside would be a return to his roots. He graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a biochemistry degree and worked for the U.S. Forest Service.
Tran later earned a law degree from the University of La Verne in Southern California. After working in private practice, he worked as Riverside County senior deputy county counsel for 10 years.
Tran came to Napa County as assistant county counsel in 2009. He became county counsel in 2012. He became interim CEO in May 2017 after Leanne Link left the post.
“He always said it was his interest to return to county counsel,” Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht said at the time. “He’s a trained, excellent lawyer. He wanted to return to his wheelhouse.”
But the Board of Supervisors in October 2017, after looking at a list of about 60 candidates, said Tran would be the next CEO.
Tran has spent much of his CEO tenure dealing with disaster response. The county has had five large wildfires that destroyed more than 1,300 homes. It led the local COVID-19 response.
The Napa County Farm Bureau recently gave Tran its Distinguished Leadership Award.
Tran ran into some turbulence in 2021 after the Board of Supervisors decided to do a COVID-19 vaccination investigation that focused on Supervisor Belia Ramos.
Ramos had received a vaccination at a county clinic before she was eligible. She said this was an “end of the day” vaccine that otherwise would be thrown out. The incident became controversial after a report on a Bay Area television station.
Tran had staff do what he called a “very quick” check into the vaccine incident. The resulting staff email said Ramos apparently “was simply in the right place at the right time.”
Ramos contended Tran should have shared that information with the Board of Supervisors before it decided to do the third-party investigation. She reported Tran to the State Bar of California. The State Bar website doesn't show any disciplinary action being taken.
Tran sent a memo to the Board of Supervisors later obtained by the Napa Valley Register that said Ramos’s actions “have done permanent and irreparable harm to my reputation and career.”
In the aftermath, Supervisors Ryan Gregory and Alfredo Pedroza, state Sen. Bill Dodd and former Supervisors Mark Luce and Keith Caldwell sent a letter to the Napa Valley Register praising Tran.
"CEO Tran is to be commended for the skilled leadership that he provides to Napa County every day," the letter said. "We are fortunate to have Minh Tran’s leadership as CEO of Napa County and fully support the work that he has done and continues to do for our county."
The rock band Off the Record performed outside a Randolph Street home in the Old Town neighborhood during the opening segment of the ninth annual Napa Porchfest music crawl in July 2019.
Otis & the Smokestacks performed outside an Oak Street home during the early slot of Sunday's ninth annual Napa Porchfest, which brought free performances from more than 100 musical acts to the historic Old Town district.
During their set at Sunday's Napa Porchfest, Mel Bearns (left) and Nancy Northrup of Painted Wind performed "Rolling Thunder," an original composition by Northrup. The duo was one of 113 musical acts to perform at the ninth annual Porchfest, which organizers said drew some 13,500 spectators to the Old Town neighborhood.
Ramble, led by vocalist Patrick Fitzpatrick (left), attracted more than 200 spectators during its set on Seminary Street during the Napa Porchfest on Sunday.
One of the several homes on Randolph Street participating in Sunday's ninth annual Napa Porchfest hosted The Last Resort, with Jenny Valassopoulos on bass and James McGee as lead vocalist. More than 100 acts performed on porches and front yards around the Old Town Neighborhood.
Alexis Gutierrez of Napa dances toward the end of a performance by Skunk Funk during Sunday's eighth annual Porchfest music crawl.
Sweet HayaH performs Sunday during the eighth annual Napa Porchfest musical crawl, which organizers said drew about 15,000 spectators to watch 125 musical acts to local porches and front yards.
Bicycles were the transportation of choice for many Porchfest spectators in Old Town Napa, where streets were closed to motor vehicles Sunday afternoon during a 4 1/2-hour slate of music concerts outside neighborhood homes.
Jeffrey McFarland-Johnson performs on the electric cello in front of an Old Town home during Sunday's eighth annual Porchfest music crawl in Napa.
Hank Collinson (right), 2, gets a mid-performance and up-close greeting from guitarist Dan Sisson of Way Out West during the band's set Sunday at the seventh annual Napa Porchfest music crawl.
While other Porchfest spectators walked, cycled or skateboarded from house to house on Sunday, Napa resident Sven Oja took to the Old Town streets in a wheeled reclining chair he crafted about eight years ago, before the free music festival's inception in 2011.
The band Audio Mynde was one of more than 120 musical acts to turn front porches and yards into musical stages Sunday afternoon during Napa’s seventh annual Porchfest crawl. Organizers estimated attendance at more than 15,000, the most in the event’s history.
Tatiana McPhee (center) is the lead vocalist of Way Out West, one of more than 120 musical acts to perform on porches and yards Sunday for the seventh annual Napa Porchfest.
Singer-guitarist Makena performs for Napa Porchfest fans outside the Migliavacca Mansion on Fourth Street on Sunday.
Gary T. Williams of the band Otis and the Smokestacks performs outside an Oak Street house during the first hour of Sunday’s annual Napa Porchfest music festival.
Bicycles were the favored vehicle in Napa's Old Town neighborhood for Sunday's Porchfest music festival, with several blocks closed during the six-hour event.
Robin McKee-Cant, singer for the band Circus Moon, performed outside a house on Franklin Street during the first hour of the sixth annual Napa Porchfest, which drew thousands of spectators to three city neighborhoods on Sunday.
Among the 64 homes that served as stages for Sunday’s annual Napa Porchfest was this duplex on Oak Street, where Otis and the Smokestacks performed.
Guitarist Dalton Piercey performs a program of Delta blues during Sunday's fifth annual Napa Porchfest music festival.
Porchfest spectators on Oak Street break into impromptu dancing while watching a performance by the Time Riders. Parts of four Napa streets were closed to accommodate the larger attendance, which was several thousand more people than in in 2014.
Don Carrillo (left) and Dalton Piercey perform "Parchman Farm" during their set of Delta blues, one of the performances from Sunday's fifth annual Napa Porchfest music festival. Organizers estimated attendance at more than 12,000.
The Amber Snider Band performs the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" in a tip of the cap to the California drought, before an audience on Franklin Street during Sunday's Porchfest event in Napa.
Spectators at Sunday's fourth annual Porchfest applaud a performer at the McClelland-Priest Bed & Breakfast Inn, on Randolph Street.
Amber Snider sings "A Horse With No Name" at the head of the Amber Snider Band, one of 105 musical acts featured in the fourth annual Napa Porchfest on Sunday.
Guitarist Dennis Kelly performs Sunday afternoon during Napa's third annual Porchfest music festival, which featured more than 80 acts across the city. Howard Yune/Register
Richard Perot, keyboard player for the duo Subliminal Cheeseburger, performs outside Rico’s Auto Detailing during the first hour of Sunday’s Porchfest festival. Howard Yune/Register
Guitarist and singer Mike Howard performs Sunday afternoon in front of the Migliavacca Mansion in Napa during the third annual Porchfest festival. Howard Yune/Register
Paul Steinke of The Valley Gopher plays guitar Sunday outside an Oak Street house during the Napa Porchfest event, which organizers said attracted more than 4,000 people across four dozen sites. Howard Yune/Register
The Benders perform during Porchfest on a porch on Franklin Street. They were among roughly 80 performers to strut their musical stuff Sunday afternoon. Chantal M. Lovell/Register
Acoustic duo Lilly and Hannah perform on the front lawn of a Randolph Street home during Porchfest. Chantal M. Lovell/Register
You can reach Barry Eberling at 707-256-2253 or beberling@napanews.com
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Barry Eberling covers Napa County government, transportation, the environment and general assignments. He has worked for the Napa Valley Register since fall 2014 and previously worked 27 years for the Daily Republic of Fairfield.
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Napa County supervisors on Tuesday dealt with the the future of the county CEO position, as well as a controversial labor issue.
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