Sonora, CA — There is a shakeup on the Tuolumne Utilities District Board of Directors.
With a 3-2 vote, Jeff Hollis was picked to be the new board president.
The action came right after a 3-2 vote to remove Ron Ringen from the leadership role. The change was requested by Vice President Jeff Kerns, following Ringen’s behavior at an earlier TUD Human Resources Committee meeting.
Kerns stated, “I believe President Ringen overstepped his authority during the HR Committee meeting on March 31, 2026. During this meeting, President Ringen spent significant time discussing items not published on the agenda. President Ringen also spent significant time belittling the board clerk, her assistant, and the Administrative Services Director. Neither the board president nor the board has any authority over these employees. President Ringen also brought up closed session items that had nothing to do with the HR Committee. I believe that this behavior cannot be tolerated by any board member, and certainly not the board president.”
Ringen countered, “Let’s be honest here, this has nothing to do with the HR Committee….What is amazement to me is that three fellow board members don’t even want to listen to, learn about, or even address the real possibility that there are some serious shortcomings occurring involving TUD operations. They are costing real money and adversely affecting the TUD ratepayers.”
Ringen continued by arguing that “turning a back on these issues, and having a blind eye on them, is a dereliction to the fiduciary duty bestowed on us by the ratepayers.”
Kerns then countered, “This is serious stuff, Ron. You talk about the ratepayers and the trust they put in us. You are absolutely right. You are always talking about ratepayers and the ratepayers’ money. You put this district in a very precarious situation with your actions (on March 31). You exposed us to a possible liability, in my opinion.”
Voting with Kerns to remove Ringen from the leadership role were Jeff Hollis and Glen Jacobs (Ringen and Carol Reel were opposed).
Jeff Hollis was then appointed the new President, with him, Kerns, and Jacobs in favor. Kerns was picked to remain the Vice Chair, 4-1, with Reel joining the other three in support, and Ringen in opposition.
