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PREVIOUSLY

• Humboldt County Supervisors May Remove Bushnell as Chair and Censure Her for Mistreatment of Employees
• Following Misconduct Complaint, Supervisor Bushnell Hires Private Attorney to Challenge the County’s Investigation Process

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This afternoon, at an emotionally intense meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell was censured by her colleagues and removed from her role as board chair in response to sustained allegations that she mistreated two county employees.

The board also voted to draft a letter asking the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury to review the board’s Code of Conduct and Ethics. Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone proposed taking this step after Bushnell hired a private attorney to challenge that code’s prescribed process for investigating and addressing complaints of supervisor misconduct.

The board chose not to go one step further and remove Bushnell from her other assigned roles on various boards and committees, a step Madrone had proposed. 

Bushnell’s removal from the role of board chair will only impact the remaining three supervisor meetings of 2025. Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson, who has been serving as vice chair, will take over the chair’s responsibilities.

As previously reported, an independent investigation, which included interviews with six witnesses, found that on May 5 of this year Bushnell raised her voice, spoke in a hostile manner, and cursed at two employees. The investigative report concluded that she likely repeatedly accused a county employee of being a liar, accused another employee of being a liar and slammed a door after yelling and cursing at the employee.

Today, supervisors repeatedly described their discussion about these matters as “uncomfortable.” Bushnell offered an emotional reflection on her behavior, and over the next hour or so, as her colleagues continued to deliberate what to do about the whole mess, her discomfort clearly accumulated.

“I just want to get through this,” she said at one point. Later, she beseeched her fellow supervisors to hurry up. Her voice trembled as she said, “I need to get off this dais.”

During the public comment period, several speakers voiced support for Bushnell. Former county supervisor Johanna Rodoni described her as “the epitome of a public servant.” Laura Lasseter from the Southern Humboldt Business & Visitors Bureau said she is “vital to Southern Humboldt and to all of her constituents.” Cannabis farmer Craig Johnson said, “What I look for in leadership is exactly what Supervisor Bushnell displays in every facet of the job.”

Bushnell’s appointee to the Planning Commission, Thomas Mulder, also expressed support for her, though he admitted to being really confused about “the censorship,” apparently mixing that word up with “censure.” (Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo later explained that the latter means a formal expression of disapproval.)

Wilson said the proposed censure was “not about Supervisor Bushnell’s performance as a supervisor in her community.” Rather, he said, “We’re here to to address a specific incident that occurred.”

Given the chance to address the public and her colleagues, Bushnell said, “I am regretful that the incident that happened … made everybody very uncomfortable. I was very loud. I felt wronged, and I reacted bad. I also made staff very uncomfortable, and nobody should have to feel that way in their workplace.”

‘I sometimes get heated when I feel wronged.’
—Michelle Bushnell

By way of explanation — though not an excuse — Bushnell said she has a “fight or flight personality” sometimes.

“It comes from past traumas of a very abusive relationship, and I work really hard, and I’ve been in counseling for it for a lot of years,” she said. “And I sometimes get heated when I feel wronged. In no way, though, should I ever make an employee feel uncomfortable in their work.”

She went on to say that she would respect whatever action the board chooses to take and move forward.

“I do not have the right to raise my voice, slam a door or cuss, and it’s something I work on continually and will continue to work on,” Bushnell said. She then added, “Again, to the employees, I am regretful and wish I would have handled it different.”

Arroyo made a motion to censure Bushnell. Madrone seconded it. Before a vote was taken, Wilson took issue with Bushnell’s framing of the incidents of May 5. He said that being “regretful” and “uncomfortable” is different than being sorry and that a county supervisor bears extra responsibility.

“When … we as people in power are doing or are behaving in this way, it actually is often perceived as threatening; it’s not just uncomfortable,” he said. “People are concerned about their job, about their livelihoods. They’re concerned about their place in the community.”

Wilson added that Bushnell is not the victim in this situation.

Bohn kept his comments brief. He took issue with Wilson’s dissection of Bushnell’s apology and said, “I hope this is a teaching moment and we move forward from here.”

The vote to publicly censure Bushnell was unanimous. Next up was Madrone’s proposal to take further actions he said were “designed to restore public confidence, ensure a safe and respectful working environment and uphold the standards of ethical governance expected by and owed to the residents of Humboldt County.”

Nearly all of the public commenters who’d previously voiced support for Bushnell did so again. While some said it would be fine to refer the board’s code of conduct to the Civil Grand Jury for review, they argued that removing her from her position on various boards and committees would deprive her constituents of the representation they chose.

Madrone countered that while there’s no doubt that Bushnell is a strong advocate for her communities, the code of conduct points out, “We’re supposed to be looking out for the the interests of the county as a whole, the public interest, above and beyond any constituents’ interest.” He also pointed out that Bushnell had a similar instance of losing her temper in 2022, which included a sustained finding of misconduct.

‘I have a growing, increasing concern over that pattern of bullying, intimidation and retaliatory conduct and abusive treatment of others.’
—Steve Madrone

“I have further witnessed similar behaviors towards staff, the public and community partners … ,” Madrone said. “I have a growing, increasing concern over that pattern of bullying, intimidation and retaliatory conduct and abusive treatment of others.”

Madrone brought up his own sustained allegation of misconduct, from 2023, and said he has apologized for it over and over.

After Madrone wrapped up his comments, Bushnell, shaken, asked, “Can the board decide what they’re going to do?”

But Wilson had a bit more to say. If any of the county’s non-elected directors, supervisors or managers had acted the way Bushnell did, they likely would have been immediately placed on administrative leave to protect the employees who’d been subjected to such behavior, he argued. In this case, he continued, the right thing to do would have been to ask the Human Resources Department for recommendations and immediately implement them.

“That’s not what happened,” Wilson said. “HR did have recommendations for Supervisor Bushnell, and there were two of them. And one of them was partially done and the other was completely ignored. … That was what happened in May, and we are now in November, right? So there wasn’t much that really occurred in terms of the workplace environment response from that incident until now.”

That five-month delay has left employees vulnerable, Wilson said, adding, “We are responsible for maintaining a safe working environment, free of threats, free of violent behavior. The employees are scared.”

As the discussion continued, the majority of supervisors agreed that the Grand Jury should take an independent look at the board’s code of conduct to see if its procedures can be improved upon. 

Bohn then proposed asking Bushnell to step down from her role as chair for the remaining three meetings of the year but not stripping her of her committee assignments. He also suggested that the board should refrain from asking the Grand Jury to weigh in Bushnell’s conduct, but Wilson and Arroyo wanted to keep that included in the motion at hand.

That motion, proffered by Arroyo, was to remove Bushnell as chair and have two supervisors (Arroyo and Wilson) draft a letter asking the Grand Jury to review Bushnell’s conduct and to provide recommendations on changes to be considered for the Board of Supervisor’s Code of Conduct.

Arroyo, Wilson and Madrone voted in favor. Bohn voted “no” and Bushnell abstained.

Another Effort to Address Homelessness

During the morning session, the board spent 90 minutes grappling with the ever-intractable matter of homelessness.

The discussion was prompted by a proposal from Bushnell to ban overnight camping on county-owned properties. The ensuing debate focussed largely on whether such an enforceable measure would offer county personnel another “tool in the toolbox” — an oft-repeated phrase — or be a waste of resources that doesn’t get to the root of the issue.

Bushnell said she’d spoken with both Sheriff William Honsal and Public Works Director Tom Mattson, and her intent was to create an enforcement option that could encourage otherwise recalcitrant squatters to seek out sanctioned housing options.

Referring to issues near Dean Creek in her own district, Bushnell said, “We’re finding some folks that feel very comfortable on those county properties, and so they don’t feel the need to even try to seek that help, even when it’s offered.”

Honsal said his office has responded to about 1,500 calls in the last five years to address illegal camping. 

“We lead with compassion in these circumstances, where we’re trying to steer people towards services … to try and care for their needs and provide them housing, food [and] medical care,” he said. “I think people would be shocked if they actually walked with us into these unsheltered areas where people are are struggling and see how we treat them … and also [see] the deplorable conditions that they’re living in. We don’t treat animals the way that people are leave living in some of these areas in Humboldt County.”

Unsanctioned camping on public land has led to persistent trespassing and pollution problems on the McKay Tract by Redwood Acres, off Lucas Street in Myrtletown and near Palmer Boulevard north of Fortuna, according to Honsal.

Mattson said the county spends between $50,000 and $150,000 per year disposing of illegal waste. He noted particular problems at the Fields Landing boat ramp and said a public ordinance banning overnight camping “would probably be very helpful.”

Regarding the problems associated with homelessness, Mattson said, “It’s beyond public works, it’s beyond the sheriff, it’s beyond DHHS [the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services]. This is an entire-community issue. It’s all hands on board.”

But some county supervisors were skeptical. Bohn worried that the proposed ban would just push illegal campers onto private property, setting off a game of Whac-A-Mole.

Madrone said homelessness is probably the most difficult issue the board has to deal with. “So I don’t know what the solution is. I really don’t,” he said, adding, “This [proposal], to me, is just going to make it even harder for people to find a place to just survive. So I have issues with it.”

Arroyo said she’s been “down this road before” when she helped to establish camping restrictions during her time on the Eureka City Council, “and I have, frankly, very little appetite to kind of go down that road again.” She argued that there are plenty of existing rules on the books to deal with illegal behavior, and she hasn’t seen broad punitive measures be effective in alleviating homelessness.

During the public comment period, two people called in to urge the board not to enact a camping ban, with one saying, “Criminalization only serves to further marginalize individuals, to further push them into more desperate situations.”

Michelle Stephens, assistant director of administration at DHHS, said a camping ordinance could be a “tool in the toolbox” and asked that her department be included should the board choose to have such a policy drafted.

Ultimately, Madrone made a motion to have staff work with a pair of supervisors — Bohn and Bushnell — to put together what he called a “compassionate assistance ordinance,” something that combines an enforcement mechanism with outreach for public services. 

The board approved the motion by a vote of 4-1, with Arroyo dissenting. She said the county already has “a lot of irons in the fire” and she’s not convinced that this particular approach would be the best use of staff’s time.

What Else?

• The board considered making changes to the county’s 11-member Human Rights Commission — discussing options to alter its membership, quorum requirements and/or focus — but decided to leave things as they stand.
• Following a bit of discussion, the board modified the county’s zoning ordinance to address density bonus provisions. Ford explained that the changes were “largely done to make our ordinance consistent with state law” when it comes to incentives for developing housing with above the maximum density that could otherwise be allowed, just so long as a percentage of the units are reserved for underserved demographics. The board unanimously supported the proposal.