Board of Supervisors appoints new Sonoma County ag commissioner
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is set next week to appoint Andrew Smith as the next agricultural commissioner, selecting the deputy to the former commissioner to oversee the county farming sector that produces $1 billion worth of crops annually.
Smith will replace Tony Linegar, who retired in mid-February after working as ag commissioner since 2012. The supervisors are expected to make Smith’s appointment official on Tuesday. His annual salary would be $148,769.
A Sonoma County native, Smith has been deputy commissioner since July 2017 and has worked in the commissioner’s office since May 2002, starting as program assistant and performing such duties as pest detection and trapping. He could not be reached on Wednesday to comment on his appointment.
“If appointed by the board, Andrew will draw from a wealth of local knowledge and experience to promote and protect some of Sonoma County’s core economies and values, including agriculture and the environment,” Susan Gorin, board chairwoman, said in a statement.
By opting for Smith, supervisors gave the nod to a candidate who is closely familiar with the culture, policies and agricultural issues of Sonoma County and will not have any learning curve on the job, said Tawny Tesconi, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau.
He will follow in the footsteps of Linegar, noted for being instrumental in drafting local regulations for cannabis and hemp cultivation after the legalization of such products. Linegar also took action when local vineyard owners violated environmental rules.
“Our county is very diverse in its ag products. The fact that he has been part of this is helpful. He knows our crops and he knows our land use issues,” Tesconi said.
Smith graduated from the Santa Rosa Junior College agriculture and natural resources program and earned a bachelor’s degree in agroecology — the study of agriculture within ecological principles— from the University of British Columbia.