Supervisors to condemn sexual violence

Calling out recent sexual misconduct scandals implicating local public leaders, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is expected to pass a resolution condemning sexual violence, supporting survivors and toughening vetting processes used to hire county employees and appointees.

Neither the resolution nor its summary report mention the names of officials embroiled in accusations of sexual misconduct. But it comes as allegations against embattled Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli continue to mount.

On Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported a troubling encounter six years ago between Foppoli and former Sonoma City Councilmember Rachel Hundley.

Hundley said that during a January 2015 California League of Cities conference in Sacramento, while in a hotel room, Foppoli climbed on top of her and exposed himself to her in an attempt to have sex with her, the newspaper reported. Hundley told the paper the move was “nonconsensual and unwanted” and that it came even after she made it clear she did not want to have sex with him.

Hundley on Sunday declined to answer questions about the account she shared with the Chronicle. Foppoli could not be reached for comment.

In all, eight women have now have now publicly accused Foppoli, 38, of sexual assault, abuse or misconduct over a period stretching from 2020 back to 2003. The first four women came forward in an April 8 story in the Chronicle. Foppoli has proclaimed his innocence against all of the allegations.

At the same time, two other former elected officials in Sonoma County have been embroiled in criminal cases involving child sexual assault. David Cook, the former mayor of Sonoma, last month pleaded no contest to a felony count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14. He faces up to eight years in prison at a July sentencing. Robert Jacob, the ex-mayor of Sebastopol, last week pleaded not guilty to 11 felony charges.

The two cases and the Foppoli scandal have rocked the local community, said Board of Supervisors Chair Lynda Hopkins.

“It’s concerning to me to think that in the past year we’ve had three leaders in our community face sexual assault allegations and charges,” she said.

When such allegations are made public, women and men who are survivors of sexual violence are “re-traumatized” all over again, she said. The resolution up for consideration by the board is aimed at both providing support to local survivors as well as ensuring that past or future predators are not put into positions of leadership, she said.

“Unfortunately, the local community has seen too many public leaders who are alleged predators and perpetrators of sexual misconduct and assault and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors cannot remain silent on this issue,” the prepared text states.

The county’s resolution cites national statistics that show one in five women will be raped at some point in their lifetime, while nearly half of all women will experience some form of sexual violence. For men, one in seven will be raped and one in five will experience some form of sexual violence, according to the resolution text.

The resolution affirms the county’s “commitment to making our community a safe haven where sexual violence in any form will not be tolerated.”

The resolution also calls on county government, the largest local employer, with a workforce of more than 4,000, to evaluate and implement policies and procedures to more thoroughly vet community appointees, including commissioners.

“It felt like the wool had been pulled over all our eyes and then it was lifted,” Hopkins said of the Foppoli scandal. “How can we make sure that a planning commissioner or a department head...how can we prevent someone with a history of sexual assault from reaching that kind of level of authority.”

Hopkins said the county’s current vetting process does involve a background check that examines an employee or appointee’s possible criminal history. But she said more can be done to investigate someone’s character, citing vetting process used for judges and attorneys who must submit names of people who can vouch for that person’s moral character.

Hopkins said the vetting process could also involve scanning or searching social media platforms for credible allegations of sexual misconduct.

Christina Cramer, the county’ human resources director, said her department has not yet become involved in discussions about what further steps could be taken to vet county employees and appointees. Those steps will be part of future county discussions, she said.

Hopkins said the genesis of the resolution came out of conversations she had with Chris Castillo, executive director of Verity, Sonoma County’s rape crisis and trauma center, and with Peter Rumble, CEO of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber.

“Chris really felt that having a simple resolution that could potentially be adopted by the county and all the cities in the county would be a really powerful statement acknowledging survivors and acknowledging that we see this problem and acknowledging that we want to do something about it,” she said.

The resolution is on the consent calendar for Tuesday’s supervisors meeting and is expected to be easily adopted, Hopkins said.