Here's the PE's story on Assessor Postmus' plans. It seems clear now that Assessor Postmus will not finish his term--the only question is how he will leave the office. Speculation has centered around the possibilities of resignation, removal by the Board of Supervisors, or recall.

Red County San Bernardino blogpen members have heard rumblings that Assessor Postmus may be exploring some form of medical leave or retirement, which is consistent with the reports published in the San Bernardino Sun and The Press-Enterprise. We will continue to monitor the situation, and provide updates as they become available.

Beleaguered assessor said weighing leave

07:21 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By DUANE W. GANG and MICHELLE DeARMOND
The Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus is considering taking a medical leave and temporarily stepping down from his post, government and Republican sources said late Tuesday.

Postmus, a former county supervisor who has served as assessor for 18 months, has faced intense scrutiny recently. In June, one of his top deputies was charged with six felonies, including presenting false evidence to a grand jury and destroying public records.

Ted Lehrer, a spokesman for the assessor's office, said Postmus' status as assessor remains unchanged.

"Postmus is still serving as county assessor, and there are no plans at this time for that to change," Lehrer said late Tuesday.

San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said he could not comment.

If Postmus did take a medical leave, Assistant Assessor Harlow Cameron would likely take over as acting assessor.

Voters elected Postmus county assessor in November 2006, turning out longtime incumbent Don Williamson. Postmus took office in January 2007.

He previously served as county supervisor in the 1st District, having been first elected in 2000.

Postmus has long been active in Republican politics, serving as a staff member to elected leaders and as chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

Former Assistant Assessor Adam Aleman resigned July 8 in the wake of his June 30 arrest on six charges. He faces a July 30 arraignment and has declined to comment. The charges include destroying a hard drive on a laptop computer assigned to Postmus when he was a supervisor.

Aleman's arrest came the same day that the county's grand jury released its annual report.

The grand jury criticized the operations of Postmus' office, concluding that top members of his staff were hired without proper experience and that political activity took place using county resources, which is contrary to county policy and state law.

The grand jury reviewed thousands of e-mails as part of its investigation and found that some included "instructions to move campaign monies from one campaign fund to another."

Some of those e-mails were written by Mike Richman, a consultant whom Postmus hired last year.

In an interview earlier this month, Postmus said Richman should never have had a county e-mail address. Postmus said he has taken steps to ensure that future contractors are not given access to county e-mail. He has said he is working to implement other recommendations from the grand jury.

Most recently, the Board of Supervisors has discussed what options it has under the county's charter to remove another elected official from office, and it has asked Postmus to come before the board Aug. 19 to explain the recent troubles in his office.