John Sterling, who served as Santa Maria’s police chief from 1998 to 2003, died Nov. 14 at Stanford Medical Center due to complications from a liver condition. He was 60 years old.
City Councilmember Mike Cordero, who worked under Sterling at the Police Department, confirmed his former boss’ passing to the Sun on Nov. 15.
“I got a phone call on Saturday morning and left almost immediately to be with him,” Cordero said. “He was in a lot of pain and distress—he was not doing real well.”
Cordero said he spent about an hour at Sterling’s bedside, then left so Sterling could be alone with his family.
When asked what made Sterling a good police chief, Cordero said: “He reached out to the community and created relationships with people so they could address the issues together.”
Sterling, he said, went out of his way to reach out to Santa Maria’s Latino community, and even made a trip out of state to learn Spanish.
“He made me—and I’m sure other people—feel like my problems were his problems, and if he could be a part of the solution, he would do everything possible to take care of it,” Cordero said. “He really knew how to motivate his people, to get out of them even more than they thought was possible.”
Cordero also alluded to controversy that plagued Sterling’s time as chief. Sterling retired from the position in 2003 after reaching a settlement with the city. He later told the Sun the action resulted directly from a management disagreement with City Manager Tim Ness.
“In a city position, not everyone is going to be satisfied—you can’t meet everyone’s needs,” Cordero said. “But as far as I was concerned, he was fair to me, and he always treated me the best.”
Sterling commented on the matter in a 2008 interview with the Sun when he was running against incumbent Joni Gray for the 4th District Supervisor seat.
When asked if he thought his former history with the city of Santa Maria could have an effect on his being elected, Sterling said he hoped it would have a positive impact on his campaign.
“Before I came to Santa Maria, I had already established a very successful management style and philosophy,” he said. “City Manager [Tim Ness] and I just had management styles and philosophies that were 180 degrees different from each other.”
Ness and the City Council offered to buy out Sterling’s contract in 2003. Sterling received compensated pay and benefits.
“I have no negative feelings on how I conducted myself,” he said.
Sterling ultimately lost the election to Gray, but he continued to serve his community outside of the public spotlight, volunteering at local organizations and championing various community issues.
“I don’t think anyone cared about this community more than John—and there are a lot of us who care about this community,” said Karen Cordary, a fellow volunteer and former executive director of the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way.
Cordary recalled when Sterling visited the local Boys and Girls Club where she was working.
“He’d get down on his hands and knees to talk to these kids because they were so scared of him. He was 6-foot-7, and he was a police officer, so they were scared to death of him,” she recalled. “He was so wonderful with kids.”
A Lompoc native, Sterling started his law enforcement career in Oakland in 1972. He went on to serve at the East Palo Alto Police Department and later became police chief and interim city manager of Ridgecrest in Kern County. He is survived by his wife Carol and children, Emily and John.
Service plans had yet to be announced as of press time.
This article appears in Nov 18-25, 2010.
