(August 9) Fourth District Supervisor Gary Ovitt has quietly removed Larry Enriquez as his chief of staff and replaced him with Joy Chadwick, who had previously served Ovitt in the capacity of deputy chief of staff.
Brian Johsz, who had previously held the position of district director for Ovitt, was elevated to deputy chief of staff.
Enriquez was moved into the position of policy advisor, which pays nearly as much as the chief of staff job.
Enriquez was chosen by Ovitt to be his chief of staff in the wake of the resignation of Ovitt’s former chief of staff, Mark Kirk, who was indicted in 2011 and charged with receiving bribes in exchange for influencing Ovitt in his November 2006 vote to approve a $102 million settlement of a lawsuit brought against the county over flood control issues at the Colonies at San Antonio residential and Colonies Crossroads commercial subdivisions in northeast Upland. Kirk’s indictment occurred in conjunction with the indictments of Colonies Partners principal Jeff Burum, who was charged with furnishing bribes, and former assistant assessor and sheriff’s deputies union president Jim Erwin, who was charged with facilitating the acceptance of the bribes, and former county supervisor Paul Biane, who was alleged to have accepted one of the bribes and who voted with Ovitt and former supervisor Bill Postmus to approve the settlement. The indictment came after Postmus, who had previously been indicted with Irwin, pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe from Burum.
Enriquez had been the pastor at Ovitt’s church, the Community Christian Fellowship, an Evangelical Christian Church in Ontario he had headed for 17 years. The elevation of Enriquez to that position had been roundly criticized because of his lack of governmental experience. Ovitt and his defenders cited Enriquez’s 14 years experience as the executive director of the Ontario/Montclair YMCA, in which he had interacted with both the cities of Montclair and Ontario, as the basis for his hiring.
A graduate of Christian Associates Seminary from where he received a Masters in Christian Studies, Enriquez remains the pastor of the Community Christian Fellowship. He is also a chaplain for the Ontario Police Department.
Chadwick has been employed with the county since 1998, originally with the department of behavioral health, before moving into the human services division. She began working on the staff of the Fourth District Supervisor’s office, first for Fred Aguiar and then for Aguiar’s wife, Patty, after she succeeded her husband when he went to work with the administration of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. When Ovitt was elected in a special election to succeed Mrs. Aguiar in 2004, Chadwick remained as one of his staff members.
Chadwick has had diverse duties within Ovitt’s office, including collecting, analyzing, and presenting data relating to community issues and governmental programs, responding to requests for information on governmental functions and community activities and programs, performing special assignments such as researching new programs and evaluating services, representing the supervisor at meetings and conferences, and acting as a liaison between the community and various county departments and agencies.
She received her BA in business administration from Tourou University in December 2004, and her masters in public administration from Cal State San Bernardino in 2012.
As district director, Johsz was responsible for constituent communications, investigating concerns raised by the public and assisting groups and individuals in obtaining services or resolving complaints. He represented Ovitt at meetings.
A native of Huntington Beach, Johsz attended Mater Dei High School and U.C. Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor of arts in political science. He has since obtained a master of public administration degree from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.
Chadwick’s total compensation package as chief of staff is $190,716 annually, with a base salary of $110,873 and benefits of $79,843.
As policy advisor, Enriquez will earn $105,548 per year in salary and receive another $84,883 in benefits for a total compensation of $190,431.
Johsz as deputy chief of staff will receive total compensation of $189,057, including a salary of $105,548 and benefits equal to $83,509.