EVERETT — A Snohomish County corrections manager was promoted Tuesday to head the county jail under Sheriff John Lovick.
Mark Baird, who has been chief of administration at the county Corrections Department for more than two years, will be corrections chief beginning Thursday. Doug Jeske, a lieutenant in the sheriff’s office, will act as corrections major.
Baird will replace Steve Thompson, who resigned as the top official in the Corrections Department in late October. Jeske will replace Susan Clawson, the deputy director who resigned along with Thompson.
“Twenty-eight people applied, and we went through and interviewed 10 of them,” Lovick said. “These two were just right.”
The two men are Lovick’s first hires since taking over the Corrections Department in November. The Snohomish County Council voted then to place the department under Lovick’s supervision. Before then, Thompson, who answered to County Executive Aaron Reardon, ran the department independently.
Both Thompson and Clawson resigned just weeks before the council dissolved the department. Thompson opposed the plan, even though Lovick said Thompson could be considered for a top job under the reorganization.
Lovick said he could improve morale among jail workers, and save money by merging the Corrections Department with the sheriff’s office.
“There are great people in corrections, but we need to create an environment where they want to come to work,” Lovick said. “That will cut down on overtime and the use of sick leave, and we’ll realize savings.”
It’s not clear what Baird and Jeske’s new salaries will be, Lovick said. Baird currently makes $93,000, and Jeske currently makes $103,000. Thompson made $142,200 before his resignation, and Clawson made $129,000.
Lovick said he intends to save money by paying Baird and Jeske less than Thompson and Clawson were paid, but the county’s human resources officials must perform a salary review to determine the new salaries.
Baird will supervise more than 360 corrections workers. He has worked for sheriff’s offices in Florida and in Pierce County, and has been a crime analyst for the Portland, Ore., Police Bureau. In Snohomish County, he has managed a $21 million payroll for the Corrections Department.
Jeske has worked for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office since 1987. He was an original member of the county’s SWAT team.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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