Paperwork filing was made ‘for technical reasons’
According to the Town of Windsor, former Windsor mayor Dominic Foppoli, who resigned from his position in May following allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, has filed paperwork signifying his intent to run for the at-large mayoral seat he vacated. The election for the seat will be held in November 2022.
Foppoli’s resignation came after a month of public outcry and refusals to step down. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported in April on allegations against Foppoli by four women, spanning over a decade. Following the scandal’s publication, more women, including current sitting council member Esther Lemus came forward with further allegations of sexual misconduct.
According to a Sept. 1 press release from the Town of Windsor, the town received a “candidate intention statement” from Foppoli for the November 2022 general election on Aug. 31, almost one year ahead of the filing period for formal nomination papers, which begins mid-July 2022.
“Filing this statement is not a formal commitment to run for elected office. It is a preliminary step that allows a candidate to establish a campaign committee and start accepting campaign contributions,” the press release reads.
According to Mayor Sam Salmon, who assumed the seat in May after Foppoli resigned, Foppoli may have filed the “candidate intention statement” (Ca. Form 501) and the “statement of organization recipient committee” (Ca. Form 410) with the Town of Windsor on Aug. 31 ahead of a 90-day deadline since he left office that would have had implications for previously raised campaign funds.
Foppoli filed the forms with the town under the committee name “Friends of Dominic Foppoli for Mayor 2022” with no explanation to city officials or the public. The San Francisco Chronicle first broke the news of his potential 2022 campaign, sparking public outcry.
Salmon said he heard secondhand a statement of Foppoli’s stating that the filing was a “technical” move to maintain funds in accordance with election law, and that Foppoli likely does not have plans to run again.
“Dominic may have substantial funds,” Salmon told SoCoNews. “He was a prolific fundraiser. We’ll have to see.”
On Sept. 1, Foppoli issued a statement to KCBS Radio, who reported that Foppoli said “the move was purely made for technical reasons and that he has ‘made no decision to run at this point.’”
“It is a legal requirement to ensure the appropriate use of previously donated campaign funds,” Foppoli told KCBS.
Foppoli, whose family owns Christopher Creek Winery, was first elected to the Windsor Town Council in 2014. In 2020, Foppoli became Windsor’s first mayor selected at large for a two-year term as part of the town’s new district elections system.
“What the form does is allow him to keep his campaign funds alive so he could donate them to another campaign in the future, or to nonprofits, or to run again himself. I have no idea what his real attempt is, but I can’t anticipate any support in Windsor to run again,” said Councilmember Debora Fudge.
According to Fudge, campaign financing laws only permit candidates to maintain campaign funds if they are in office or actively campaigning. Declaring a statement of intent, whether that intent is true or not, is enough to legally keep the funds he raised prior to his fall from grace.
Fudge said filing the statement of intent, still nearly a year away from the beginning of the mid-July 2022 candidate nomination filing period, would allow Foppoli to donate the campaign funds to another active campaign or else donate it to an eligible charitable organization. If no action is taken, the funds may be lost to Foppoli.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Vice Mayor Rosa Reynoza told SoCoNews that despite the accusations that have been levied against him, Foppoli is still eligible to run for either the mayoral seat or the seat for the fourth district in which he resides, both of which are up for election in November 2022. The current terms of Reynoza, Salmon and Lemus all expire in December 2022. They will have to run either for the mayoral seat or for open districts to remain in office.
“I think it is unfortunate that the Town of Windsor has to go through this again, but he is a resident of Windsor, he qualifies to run, as far as I know,” Reynoza said. “I hope our residents can focus on the positive stuff and move forward and use their vote to hopefully for once let him know how they feel, or if he’s someone they want to represent the people of Windsor.”
Reynoza said that it is typical for Foppoli to announce his candidacy early of the nomination period, which can give candidates time to raise funds and strategize.
“He always campaigned early, he always announced early,” she said. “It’s not going to be official until the papers are drawn next July. People do this early to start raising money and getting a feel for who will be behind them. This could be a strategy to see how he wants to position himself in the community.”
Windsor residents, according to Reynoza, have been reacting in disbelief, some asking on social media if this was a joke.
“I was shocked when I first heard about it today,” Reynoza said. “We always knew it was going to take time to heal as a community. This will add on to that time.”
Fudge and Salmon both criticized Foppoli’s actions, given he did not attempt to communicate his motives to the public. Many in Windsor are still emotional after the town was turned upside down by the scandal this spring. Salmon mentioned a woman calling him in tears over the news.
Foppoli’s been keeping a low profile since his resignation, although council members said he’s been sighted in Windsor and is thought to still be living there.
Fudge said Foppoli should not run again, and assuming he has no real plans to, he should make that known to the public.
“I would call on him to designate the funds to another campaign or a nonprofit organization and let Windsor go. Let us move into the future,” Fudge said.
Foppoli did not respond to requests for comment.
