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Amy Cooper
By DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A community effort to bring Sonoma County’s former Animal Care and Control director back after her controversial firing in July appears to have hit a wall.
Amy Cooper’s dismissal sparked a public outcry and demands that she be reinstated. But talks between Cooper’s attorney and county officials over the position broke down last week.
Jeremy Fietz, Cooper’s attorney, said County Counsel Steven Woodside informed him that the county no longer was interested in mediation, and that the county will be holding an open recruitment for the director vacancy.
Fietz said he and Cooper were “disappointed and surprised” by the news.
“They explicitly brought up the prospect of mediation for the express purpose of discussing the terms under which Amy might return,” Fietz said this week. “At no time in any of those discussions was it ever told to us that she would have to be in an open recruitment.”
Fietz said Cooper is weighing her options, including whether to sue the county for wrongful termination.
“It’s always been an option,” Fietz said. “But neither us (attorneys) nor Amy are hot-headed. We proceed cautiously and carefully in our decisions.”
Woodside could not be reached for comment.
Other county officials indicated there was never any doubt that hiring a new director for animal care would require a competitive process because the position is subject to civil service rules.
“This is the standard practice for a director of a program of this nature,” said Rita Scardaci, director of the county’s Health Services Department.
She will oversee the selection after county supervisors in September voted to transfer control of the animal care division to her department.
That transfer was sparked by Agricultural Commissioner Cathy Neville’s controversial decision to fire Cooper on July 12, two days before Cooper’s year-long probationary status was to expire.
Neville has never publicly explained why she took the action, which also generated widespread protest among animal control employees and officials at other animal welfare agencies.
Nearly every animal care employee submitted letters to supervisors in which they demanded Cooper’s reinstatement. Members of the public expressed similar sentiment when the subject of animal care came before the board.
These critics said the transfer did not address their contention that Neville fired Cooper without cause and that she should be brought back.
Fietz said he and Woodside agreed to wait until after supervisors moved animal care before making any formal decisions, as Cooper’s interest in returning hinged on her not having to work for Neville again.
Then last week, Fietz said Woodside informed him that Cooper would have to apply for her old job just like anyone else.
Jennifer Murray, the county’s interim assistant human resources director, also informed Cooper via a letter to Fietz on Tuesday that a 2009 list of applicants generated when Cooper originally sought the job was being abolished.
That means Cooper would have to go through the process as if she never had the job before.
“We’re disappointed, but at the same time, we leave room for the fact that perhaps the change could be the result of county guidelines, in terms of it being a new position or an open position in a new department,” Fietz said.
Officials hope to begin the recruitment by the end of the month and offer the job to someone by mid-February.
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Amy Cooper needs to go away and stay away. Bob Garcia needs to go away as well, sans the pension. SCACC needs fresh ideas, not the same antiquated ideas of the likes of Amy Cooper and her predecessor Dori Villalon.
Vicky, no kill shelters are impossible, would you like to place the dogs that mauled the child in San Francisco? Are they just “misunderstood”? Be realistic, Amy Cooper was the best thing that has happened to Animal Reg in a long time, I don’t expect you to understand that.
If Amy Cooper did such a great job. then why won’t the County aka Shelter get back to me about the 575 animals they misplaced some time between January 2010 and June 2010 that was during her tenure? Is that because they are dead? Maybe those numbers that looked like the kill rate was down was inflated. I don’t know. Where did 575 animals go? Into thin air? I doubt it….Vickie from No Kill Sonoma County
I have always found the best revenge after being terminated from a job is to get a better job which pays more.
There are always good reasons for not going back to an old job.
I swear the Motto of Sonoma County govt. should be: “Progress through error!”. Give Cooper back the job she never should have lost!
I don’t see the big deal, since its a govt job, they have to open it up for recruitment, if they didn’t I could sue since I was not given a chance to apply (just an example). Lots of jobs are a foregone conclusion who will get it, but they still have to apply and interview to keep it “fair”. And while it was pretty petty, there was nothing wrong legal-wise to terminating her before her probation was up. You don’t have to give a reason, I can terminate you for wearing blue if I wanted to! I just couldn’t say that was my reason, now if she was past probation, then of course i’d have to have a list of documented infractions and how I attempted to rectify.
And since she pretty much did a good job before, unless some superstar comes in she should get the job. And i’m sure since its public not many people would apply knowing the history of the previous staff.
Who would want to work with those dogs at the County? Cooper should have moved on last summer to a better job working with new dogs.
So whatever happened to Neville anyway? Haven’t heard much out of her lately! …Just give this poor woman her job back, save the county the money and move on. There is work to be done!
According to the county, a year of hard work(getting the staff to like the new boss and running the animal shelter well) and getting canned for no apparent reason (other than Neville not liking you) just before your probation is up, means nothing! What a joke the politicians are.
Amy DESERVES to have her job back and SHOULD have it back. There should be no new process for her to go through.
I know she has been missed, Bob has done a great job while she is gone, but he has his job to do and Amy should be there to do hers!!!!!!
It’s unfortunate that precious tax payers dollars have to be spent on a new recruitment to bring Amy Cooper back, especially during these trying times. The county must be PC instead of doing the right thing by just giving Amy Cooper her job back. The community and staff have made it very clear about how they feel. If this were an elected position the vote was in a long time ago and Amy won!