‘Rising Star’ Steps Down

San Bernardino County’s recently appointed human resources chief has resigned amid charges that she failed to disclose a conflict of interest, county officials said Tuesday.

Elizabeth Sanchez, a 17-year county employee, submitted her resignation Monday, citing personal reasons. But county officials said county Chief Administrative Officer Mark Uffer asked Sanchez to resign after he learned about an undisclosed conflict of interest.

County spokesman David Wert declined to elaborate on the conflict of interest, saying it was a personnel matter.

In a memo sent to county employees, Uffer said Sanchez failed to disclose her conflict of interest in a timely manner. He also said in the memo that the county is highly sensitive to such issues and will not tolerate any violations.

San Bernardino County is trying to recover from a tarnished image following a series of corruption scandals in the 1990s involving several high-ranking officials, including a former chief administrative officer and a county supervisor.

Most of the scandals involved county officials who have pleaded guilty to accepting cash and gifts from business owners who were seeking approval for lucrative county contracts.

Sanchez had overseen the county’s employee relations and labor negotiations for four years before Uffer appointed her to run the Human Resources Department in July.

At the time, Uffer described her in a news release as a “rising star” in the county.

Sanchez was the county’s lead negotiator last year when it approved a $27.1-million contract with the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Assn., a labor group that represents about 1,200 sheriff’s deputies, detectives and district attorney investigators.

The contract allows members to retire at age 50 with a pension that pays 3% of their highest salary level for each year of service. The previous contract paid members 2% of their salary at the retirement age of 50, which is the formula provided for most county employees.

County sources said Sanchez’s conflict of interest grew out of that negotiation process. She could not be reached for comment.

Jim Irwin, president of the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Assn., also could not be reached.