Orange County’s largest municipal union changes general managers

Jennifer Muir Beuthin is stepping down in February as the general manager of the 18,000-member Orange County Employees Association, ending her three-year tenure as the first woman and youngest person to lead the large union.

Beuthin, 38, said she is leaving because she is expecting twins and doesn’t want to “miss these years.” A former Orange County Register reporter, Beuthin came to OCEA at age 30, recruited by then-General Manager Nick Berardino. She expects to continue her bi-weekly column for the Register opinion section.

Beuthin will hand the baton to current Assistant General Manager Charles Barfield, who was approved by the union’s 19-member board of directors. Current organizing director Tim Steed was promoted by Beuthin to move into the assistant general manager’s role.

“This is a smooth transition and an exciting transition,” Beuthin assured. “We’re not going to miss a beat.”

OCEA is the largest municipal union in the county, representing county workers, some cities and special districts.

Barfield did not return a telephone message Tuesday seeking an interview. Beuthin would not disclose how much the top job pays.

One of the main accomplishments claimed by the OCEA was the re-election Nov. 6 of Chris Prevatt to the Orange County Employees Retirement System board, where he has served since 2012.

Beuthin also is credited with helping to force officials to address the county’s homelessness problem and its effect on county workers at the civic center, where many transients were encamped.

The union’s ranks were thinned in October 2017 when it let go of about 800 members of the Probation Services Unit and the Probation Supervisory Management Unit, which were preparing to hold an election on whether to withdraw from OCEA. The probation groups were picked up by the sheriff’s union.