Santa Barbara County selects new CEO
Santa Barbara County has reached a tentative deal to hire a new CEO.
The Board of Supervisors said it has selected Mona Miyasato, the former chief assistant county administrator since 2008 of Marin County in the Bay Area. Miyasato would succeed Chandra Wallar, who came from San Diego County and has served as county CEO since 2010.
The board opted not to renew Wallar’s contract after news broke that she was pursuing the county CEO job in Orange County. Wallar pulled out of the Orange County application after salary talks – in which Wallar demanded higher pay and Orange County officials balked – became public. Santa Barbara County’s Supervisors subsequently opted not to renew her contract.
Miyasato’s tentative agreement will come up for approval at the supervisors’ Oct. 8 meeting in Santa Maria. Before her stint in Marin County, Miyasato served in various positions with the city of Santa Monica from 1998 to 2008, including her final post as deputy city manager. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
