Novato City Manager Adam McGill has changed his mind about running for Marin County sheriff next year.
McGill posted his decision to drop out of the race on his campaign website on Wednesday.
“With a heavy heart, Adam McGill has come to the decision that he must step away from the June primary race for Marin County Sheriff,” the posting states.
According to the posting, the decision was due to “unforeseen health issues.”
The announcement quotes McGill as saying, “This is not an easy decision. At this point though, I cannot give the race the energy and focus it needs and deserves.”
McGill goes on to express appreciation to the people who supported his candidacy.
“Now, I need to spend some time with my family, prioritize my health, and focus on what’s ahead,” he said.
According to the posting, McGill will continue to work as Novato’s city manager. McGill declined to elaborate on Friday.
“I have nothing to add beyond my issued statement,” he wrote in an email.
McGill, who was Novato’s police chief for nearly three years before becoming city manager, announced his candidacy in January. Marin County Sheriff Robert Doyle, who is in his sixth term, previously said that he would not seek re-election in 2022.
“I wish him well and I hope he has a speedy recovery from whatever he is suffering from,” Doyle said in response to the news.
Doyle has announced he is backing Undersheriff Jamie Scardina, the second-in-command at the department, to be his successor. Scardina announced his candidacy soon after McGill jumped into the race.
On his Facebook campaign page, Scardina wrote, “First and foremost, I wish Adam a speedy and healthy recovery. Whether it is physical or mental health, we cannot and should not take anything for granted.”
Scardina added, “We will keep up the momentum and build upon the tremendous progress we have made thus far.”
In the posting announcing his withdrawal, McGill wrote that he entered the race to “drive a shift within the department, modernize systems, create a contemporary training structure, and build a department that was more responsive to the community.”
During an online public forum in June on whether Marin should establish a civilian board to oversee the sheriff’s office, McGill promoted his candidacy and said, “Law enforcement must do a more intentional job of building relationships and trust with communities of color.”
Before becoming Novato’s police chief, McGill was chief of police in Newman, a city in Stanislaus County, and the town of Truckee in Nevada County. Prior to that, he worked for more than seven years at the Modesto Police Department.
In 2009, a jury ruled in favor of an African American man who said that McGill, then a Modesto police sergeant, struck him for no reason while clearing a downtown nightclub in 2005, according to the Modesto Bee.
Other officers named in the suit then hit the man, Wendell Jones, a lawyer, in the leg and abdomen using a flashlight and baton. Jones was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
McGill was quoted in the story as saying that Jones pushed him first and other officers corroborated his version of the conflict. Other witnesses, however, said that Jones never touched McGill.
“This 20-year-old case had absolutely nothing to do with withdrawing,” McGill wrote in an email. “This has always been a public record and is not uncommon in a 30-year career in policing. I’m proud of my record on use of force, de-escalation, and crisis intervention all of which speaks for itself.”
As of June 30, McGill had received $34,782 in campaign donations while Scardina had raised $118,234. One of McGill’s largest donations, $1,500, came from a San Francisco law firm — Bertrand, Fox, Elliot, Osman & Wenzel — which, according to its website, “is renowned for its litigation of police liability claims.”
Among McGill’s other campaign contributors was retired Marin County public defender Jose Varela.
“I am disappointed that Adam McGill’s life situation does not allow him to continue the campaign,” Varela wrote in an email. “I supported Adam because he truly understands that protecting the community means listening with empathy and concern to all members of the community.”
“Contested elections allow for a true choice,” Varela wrote, “and for an airing out of the current practices. With Adam leaving the race, the concerns of many in Marin County will be filed away as irrelevant and unimportant.”
In April, McGill was the only candidate to attend a candidate forum sponsored by the Action Coalition for People of Color.
Cesar Lagleva, who helped organize that event, wrote in an email, “I highly encourage any county residents who meet the eligibility criteria to be a candidate for this very important elected position. Democracy in action is the ability to have a choice. Having only one candidate to run for this seat severely limits that choice.”