Chriss Street was hired by the five-person board, with a payment set at $40,000 for his work.
Street is known for his ties to a California secessionist movement and the fact that he was almost hired as the county executive officer in 2023. Back then, supervisors rescinded their offer after receiving a background check on Street. They did not provide a reason why the offer was rescinded, and the background check was never made public.
The current CEO, David Rickert, recommended Street out of only two final candidates.
"I took it upon his experience in turning around a medical care company, he had extensive experience with turning that organization around," Rickert said.
The lone dissenting vote, Supervisor Allen Long, was concerned the county was rushing into this decision.
“Let's do it through a formal Request for Proposal when we can reach as large a group as we can to see and hire the person that is the most qualified to help move the needle on getting more doctors here.," Long said. "We all want that same goal.”
This effort began back in November, according to Supervisor Matt Plummer. Plummer said that he's going to be keeping a close eye on Street, and already plans to meet regularly to receive updates on his work.
Street was previously the treasurer for Orange County. He was eventually forced to give up his authority to manage that county’s investments and criticized for wasting taxpayer dollars, according to the .
The members in support of this hiring said it's time to try something new to address the lack of health care providers.
Board Chair Kevin Crye said he expects to have some answers on how to solve this problem within six months.
