With the ongoing refrain of “what did they know and when did they know it,” echoing throughout Windsor, the town has released its official statement regarding its investigation of previous accusations of wrongdoing against Mayor Dominic Foppoli. With a town meeting looming on the matter of the Foppoli’s resignation following a myriad of sexual assault allegations, it appears that what may happen next is still unclear.
In a statement dated April 12, the town of Windsor stated that town officials first learned about the accusations in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 8, including a copy of an email sent to then-mayor Debora Fudge in 2017 about an incident between Foppoli and a person who had rented his guest house in 2013.
“In November of 2017, then-Mayor Debora Fudge received an email from an individual whose name has not been released by the town to protect her identity. The email, which was published online by the Chronicle, accuses then-Councilmember Foppoli of inappropriate behavior in 2013 at a guest house at his winery. Upon receipt, then-Mayor Fudge took the appropriate action of forwarding the email to the then-town manager and then-town attorney for review and guidance. She also contacted the individual who submitted the email letting her know that she appreciated her bringing this email forward, acknowledging how difficult it must have been and letting her know she was forwarding to the appropriate people within town hall. The 2017 email was sent to all councilmembers, including councilmember Foppoli, who denied the accusations,” reads the town statement.
With a different set of staff at the helm, another email received in 2020 was handled somewhat differently, and the 2017 email received a second look from law enforcement.
“In February of 2020, the town manager received an email from a member of the public regarding an upcoming town council agenda item that included a statement that the mayor (had) been accused rape,” the statement continues. “The town manager promptly shared the email with the town council and forwarded it to the town clerk for inclusion in the public record. The town manager also inquired with the mayor about the accusations and the mayor denied they were true. Follow up conversations with individual councilmembers were held by the town manager and town attorney.
“Shortly thereafter, with the support of the town council and in consultation with the town attorney, the town manager presented the 2020 email and the email received by the town in 2017 to the police chief for review. Based on the facts known at the time the 2020 email was received, the police department determined the incident did not rise to a level of a crime to open an investigation. Both emails and all related information were also shared with the Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Sexual Assault sergeant, who came to the same conclusion as the police chief.
“In addition, the town manager requested that the Human Resources director follow up with several employees who had become aware of this email and the alleged accusations that the mayor (was) a rapist. After interviewing each employee, the Human Resources director determined that no further action with respect to the safety and well-being of town employees was needed at that time.”
Fudge, herself under some scrutiny in the wake of that 2017 email, went on local radio station KSRO on Monday to discuss what happened then and what may happen in the future.
According to Fudge, when she received the email in 2017, she forwarded it to then town attorney, Robin Donoghue, and town manager John Jansons. Donoghue retired in May of 2019, and was replaced by current town attorney Jose Sanchez. Jansons resigned in December of 2018, under something of a cloud, as assistant city manager Camille Kazarian left at the same time.
A Times article dated Dec. 12, 2018 states, “After rumors about his departure spiraled on social media, councilmember Sam Salmon clarified in an email that ‘the town, through the town council accepted Town Manager John Jansons’ resignation last week. His resignation was negotiated by Mayor Bruce Okrepkie per the terms of his employment agreement with the town. I personally thanked (him) for his work and wished him well in his future endeavors. I know of no wrong doings or misfeasance in (Jansons’) performance of his duties or as a person.”
Jansons is currently the city manager for Kerman, California, in Fresno County.
“I received the letter, and I submitted it immediately to our town attorney and town manager, who both are not here right now so we’re trying to piece together our memories of what happened because that was about three weeks after the (Sonoma Complex Fires), so we were trying to piece together who was there, who remembers what,” Fudge said in the interview. “I did contact … the victim (and) that was in (the San Francisco Chronicle article) and she thanked me for my response.
“The town council did have a discussion, but what people don’t understand — and it’s difficult because none of this is acceptable — is in government your hands are bound by certain things,” she continued. “There were no charges filed, the incident happened before he was on council, not when he was on council, so there were certain things we could do and certain things we couldn’t do.”
She added that the impression she had from the author of the email was that she just really didn’t want him to be mayor, and Fudge pointed out that in fact he was not made mayor that year.
Fudge reiterated that the council’s ability to act was, and is, limited by law. She said that while the current allegations are certainly reasons for a recall, any other action requires the purview of a court of law.
“That would be for (District Attorney Jill) Ravitch and … and (Sonoma County Sheriff Mark) Essick to say, and we don’t have that purview,” she said. “There are different functions of government, separation of powers if you will, and we can do some things, but we can’t do everything we would wish as a town. We’re trying to do as much as we can.”
There will be a Windsor Town Council meeting over Zoom on Wednesday, April 14, but what exactly can be accomplished is still uncertain. At minimum, it will be a community meeting to allow residents to share their thoughts and feelings, but whether or not there will be a quorum of council members to actually pass any resolutions remains to be seen.
According to Fudge, since they are already down a council member, and it’s unknown at this time whether Foppoli or Esther Lemus will show up to the meeting. If they do, they will be required to recuse themselves, since Lemus is the sixth person to accuse Foppoli of assault. Without them, the council is reduced to two members, Fudge and Vice Mayor Sam Salmon, which is not a quorum.
“We can only demand, we can’t force (him to resign), it’s not within our legal (purview), and I’m interested in making a motion to censure him, which is something else the council could do,” she said.
Fudge said that she’s been asked if the council has the authority to put the recall of Foppoli on the ballot, and that it can’t. “I think it’s imperative it occurs if he doesn’t resign, and I would imagine all the council members would help with that in our capacity as individuals,” she said.
A recall effort was launched Monday, but the process will take several months. Sanchez is looking into the recusal issue, Fudge said, and is also trying to determine how the mayor’s seat would need to be filled should Foppoli resign or be recalled.
“We don’t know yet and we’re going step-by-step, the town attorney is trying to figure it out now,” Fudge said.
“What I personally want to do is end our elected mayor position,” Fudge continued. “Be done with that, take time, go back to the table, redraw the districts, have five districts and have a rotating mayor. So, I’d like to see how quickly we could do that. It would have to go back on the ballot for the people of Windsor to decide. Meanwhile, you need another council member. I’m assuming we would appoint because we’ve been through so many elections recently, but who we would appoint, how we would appoint ,what their qualifications would be, we haven’t determined that yet. We we need to get through Wednesday night, and I’m sure the attorney is thinking a little bit ahead, but the attorney is swamped, We just need to deal with this emergency before we determine what the deal with our next mayor is going to be.”
Fudge also shared her own shock and uncertainty in the wake of these allegations.
Fudge said she sees the town, its residents, it’s staff and electeds, going through a trauma.
“We are shocked and disturbed and going through the stages of grief and thinking of the victims and feeling unmoored. It feels like I’m living on another planet, this isn’t the world I knew last Wednesday. I don’t even know what to say, it looks ridiculous that none of us knew, but none of us knew. If any of us had known, somebody would have turned him (in) and nobody did,” she said.
