Sandra Jean Johnson, born February 22, 1941, passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at home with her cat and dog by her side on February 19, 2022.

Mom was born in Logan, Cache County, Utah on a dairy farm in College Ward that also grew hay and beets. She helped her dad, Nick Johnson, tend the fields and shoo the cows to other pastures. She said she always struggled getting them to mind, her thin, tan arms waving in the air to get them to go this way or that. Mom’s mother, Rosalie Johnson (nee Marshall), could be found home cooking and tending house. Mom had an older brother, Wendell Johnson, and an older sister, Carol Bowen. Mom developed a deep love of animals on the farm, which carried over to her adult life.

She attended Cache Valley High before moving to California to finish her schooling. It was in California that she met our dad, Jim Lytle, 7 years her senior, jet black hair, Levi’s, white t-shirt and Elvis charm. He played records for her and took her to some of the first restaurants she’d ever been to. They married and had three children, Kelsie (Kelly) Mortensen, James (Jim) Lytle and Lisa Morehouse.

Mom and Dad were married over 20 years before their marriage ended, upon which mom met and married Ken Kilburn. They, too, were married for over 20 years, and she said he was the love of her life.

Mom worked several jobs before retiring from AAA, where she made many friends that remained friends to her final day. In fact, it was because of these friends, who were concerned she hadn’t shown up to a going away party, that they checked on her and found her passed away, looking peaceful. Thank you, Dennis Lewis. We are so grateful.

Mom made dear friends with many of her neighbors, who all kept tabs on each other and always lent a helping hand. Thank you, Gail Dominguez, for also being there that night and calling 911. You were so compassionate and respectful to her in life and death.

Mom made many dear friends from her years of volunteering at the ACS Discovery Shop. She was in charge of the children’s section and boy, you had better not put an adult item in there (the shop ladies will get that!). Almost daily, she would walk a three-mile round trip path from her house in Cutten. Along the way, she would see the same people and many felt they knew her, without ever knowing her name. She made many friends this way, too.

Her walks could have been boring, but not for mom. On her route, she rescued snakes, left notes for strangers, played pranks, looked for coins or collected apples to feed to the horses.

Mom was an avid quilter over the years and could embroider like no other. Her quilts are remarkable and sprinkled throughout the county and even the world!

Mom had a huge love of baseball, particularly the SF Giants. Her dream was to live in San Francisco and walk to every home game. For her 75th birthday, her daughters took her to a spring training game. Her only wish for her birthday was “to touch Angel Pagan.” Well, her wish came true and she also got to tell him he was “a beautiful man.” We joke that that was her first visit to Heaven.

Sandra is survived by her daughters, Kelly Mortensen and Lisa Morehouse, her son Jim Lytle, sons-in-law Wayne Mortensen and Jim Morehouse, nephews Dewey, Marshall and Nicky Bowen, her grandchildren Alexa and Maria Morehouse, Gary Lytle, Clifton, Matt, Michael, Kelsie, Alex, Thomas and Mark Mortensen and her great-grandchildren Holden, Loyal and Davis Mortensen, Grayson Mortensen, Miles and Marshall Martindale and Shiloh Lewis.

Because of Sandra’s love of animals and baseball, we ask that in lieu of flowers, please donate to the Sequoia Humane Society or your local youth baseball league.

A memorial will be held to celebrate Sandra’s life at the Eureka Woman’s Club 1531 J Street, Eureka, CA on Saturday, March 26, 2022, at 2 p.m. Thank you to all who loved her and looked out for her. Life will not be the same without her. She was smart, compassionate and made the world a better place in lots of little ways.

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Our beloved mother went home in the early morning hours of February 7, 2022, at the Vaca Valley Hospital in Vacaville. She had been diagnosed with heart issues in September and had been living with her youngest daughter, DeeAnne, and son-in-law, Doug, in Vacaville since the middle of September.

Mom was born on January 8, 1926, in her grandparents’ log house in the small town of Cokeville, Wyoming, the third of seven children born to Cleo Hoopes and William Branson. The family moved to California in 1945 and made their home on First Street in the little town of Rohnerville. Never wanting to be the center of attention, she married Gerald Abrahamson on June 11, 1948, in a private service in Reno. Mom and Dad eventually bought her parents’ home on First Street and moved there in March of 1955, where they raised their family of three girls.

Mom was a member of the Campton Heights Baptist Church, beginning her lifelong attendance when services were held in the Rohnerville Grange. She was a devote Christian and always said God saw her through the good and tough times of her life.

She went to work in the kitchen at Redwood Memorial Hospital in 1971 and worked there until she retired in 1989. Any time she had an occasion to be in the hospital, she was always warmly greeted by the employees who remembered her from her years working there.

Mom lost Dad after nearly 48 years of marriage in 1996 and lived independently in their home until September 2021. She was also preceded in death by her parents, five of her siblings and their spouses, Francis and Jeanne Branson, Rose and Lamar Thornock, Norma and Zip Gomes, Arlon Branson, Elva Ann and Glenn Gracey, and her sister-in-law, Louise Branson; her daughter, Janet; and sons-in-law, Jim Ross, Chet Craddock and Greg Griswold. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Griswold and DeeAnne (Doug) Green; her granddaughters, Andrea (Ray) Haselip and Rebecca Griswold, her great-grandchildren, Madison, Jacob, Charlotte, Theo and Henry; and a great-great-grandson, River, who arrived just 12 days after her passing; her youngest brother, Darrell (Sandi); sister-in-law, Patti Branson, and many nieces and nephews.

In keeping with Mom’s wishes, we will have an informal Celebration of Life at her graveside at the Sunrise Cemetery in Fortuna on Saturday, March 5th, at 1 p.m. All who knew and loved her are welcome to attend and share their memories. Her favorite color was blue, so please feel free to wear something blue – we will be! Due to the age and health conditions of some family members who will be in attendance, masks will be required and, if not feeling well, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers but please do not attend.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Campton Heights Baptist Church, 1655 Cecil Avenue, Fortuna 95540, or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements under the direction of Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary.

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Rick Armstrong passed away January 22, 2022, at the VA Hospital in San Francisco after a valiant fight. He is survived by his partner in life and wife Sandy Armstrong.

Rick was born in Liverpool, England on March 18, 1960, to Kay and Frank Armstrong. He immigrated to Rio Dell in 1962 and eventually moved to Eureka. The family moved to Myrtletown, Eureka where Rick attended Lafayette Elementary School. Rick was like his father in many ways, and being mechanical was one of them. Rick’s father, Frank, passed away when Rick was just 8 years old. He was taken before he had a chance to see Rick grow up.

Rick had a passion for cars and bought his 1957 Chevy Bel Air when he was 15, before he could drive. He graduated from Eureka Senior High School in 1978. During his high school years, he raced stock cars at Redwood Acres with his friends Richard Marks, Don Cambell, and the Ferguson family. Ann and Fergie Ferguson, (along with their sons Nick and Rick Mitchell), were his second family-taking him in like he was their own.

Eventually, Rick’s mom Kay remarried to Fran Titus, who treated Rick as his son. Rick’s mom passed away when he was 17. Rick joined the Army and served in Germany as a motor mechanic, eventually receiving an honorable discharge. Rick worked for Schmidbauer Lumber. February 1, 2022, would have been his 39th work anniversary.

Rick met Sandy, the love of his life and they married at Ruth Lake on July 2, 2011. They enjoyed working in the garden, cruising the cars, car shows, big NASCAR fans, taking their dogs to the beach for a walk, and staying in Gold Beach.

Rick is survived by Sandy Armstrong, her three children, ten grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. His older brothers Peter and his wife Melissa, David and Debbie Bolton along with nieces and nephews Kate, Jacob and his wife Ashley Bolton, Molly, Alli, Amber and Andrew and Maggie, He is also survived by his cousins Elaine, Raymond, and Brian Ericson.

Rick’s first passion was his wife Sandy, but a close second was his cars. He was known for his strong will, loyalty, and work ethic. He will be forever missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. on March 19, 2022, at Moose Lodge, 4328 Campton Rd., Eureka. We will also celebrate his birthday. There will be a potluck for those that would like to contribute.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Rick Armstrong’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Testimony Wraps in Case of Arcata Man Accused of Biting Off Cop’s Thumb; Defense Attorney Reprimanded For Mocking Officers

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Jurors began deliberating this afternoon on whether Delano Blayze Malang committed mayhem when he bit off half the thumb of Arcata police Sgt. Heidi Groszmann during an arrest on the Plaza in August 2021.

Malang, 22, already has a felony conviction for robbery. He could be sentenced to more than 20 years if convicted of all charges, including mayhem and assault likely to cause great bodily injury.

In closing arguments Deputy District Attorney Trent Timm reminded the jury Malang admitted the mayhem charge when he took the stand in his own defense. Malang, 22, said “yes” when asked whether he lunged toward Groszmann and bit her thumb, and “yes” when asked whether he did it to “really hurt” someone.

Malang’s attorney, Deputy Conflict Counsel R.J. Loehner, said Malang did not make a cognitive decision to bite off the thumb. Malang was a desperate man in a desperate situation, Loehner argued, and police did nothing to de-escalate the incident or “comfort his worries.”

Malang, 22, is from Oregon but had been homeless in Arcata for a few months. He ended up arrested on Aug. 1 when officers came to the Plaza to investigate a report that Timothy Cox, another frequent Plaza visitor, had been squirting people with a water gun during the Arcata Arts Festival.

Officers Joseph Rodes and Jamal Jones then learned Cox and Malang had been in a physical confrontation — the third in a week — earlier that day.

“The little fucker swung at me,” Cox alleged. Later he showed officers his arm, saying, “The little fucker bit me.”

Several people around the Plaza told police Malang was a meth user who was always causing problems.

So while Rodes and Jones were questioning Cox, Malang walked up and sat on a bench behind them and laughed. Prosecutor Timm says Malang was trying to aggravate Cox. Officer Jones asked Malang to leave “so we can do our job.” He asked five times. Malang ignored him until Jones walked toward him.

Ignoring an officer’s order to leave is a violation of the law, Timm said. Police had reasonable suspicion to detain Malang on the spot, but they chose not to. They also had reasonable suspicion that Malang assaulted Cox by swinging at him.

In the meantime, Groszmann had noticed Malang was acting strangely, seeming unable to control his body movements. While testifying, she stood up and showed the jury how he was moving by making spastic motions with her hands. She said Malang was also yelling to himself.

Jones and Rodes decided to detain Malang and began following him up the sidewalk. Jones ordered him to stop and he kept walking. Timm pointed out that was another violation of California Penal Code 148: resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer in the lawful performance of his or her duties.

Loehner said he is familiar with PC148.

“I’ve heard the old 148 line,” he told the jury. “You’re arrested for resisting arrest. That’s cop-speak for a member of the community who does not want to be brought in against their will.”

Anyway, Malang kept walking, right into Cafe Brio with the lunch crowd. He positioned himself behind a table while trying to avoid officers. They each grabbed him by an arm and took him outside, kicking and screaming.

“I didn’t do anything,” he hollered repeatedly.

Timm said Malang had been passively resisting, but now the resistance turned active and then violent. Malang kicked Jones so hard in the chest that his body-worn camera fell off.

Loehner argued that police, instead of grabbing Malang in the cafe, could have just asked him to talk or come outside.

While in the restaurant, Rodes told Malang “Hey my man, come here.”

Outside the restaurant, the officers put Malang on the ground and — with difficulty — got him handcuffed. They tried to put him in the back of a police cruiser and he wasn’t having it. He began banging his head on the side of the car, then on the pavement.

“He brought the APD to its knees,” Loehner said, rather proudly. Three officers were unable to get Malang, a very short and thin person, into the car. Loehner also said Malang wasn’t banging his head on anything before he was detained.

“Imagine the hopelessness, the helplessness he felt.”

Timm said the officers could have “used their muscle” and forced him in, but they didn’t. Instead they brought in HSU Sgt. John Packer, a talented negotiator, to speak with Malang. After 15 minutes Packer gave up, realizing “words wouldn’t work” with Malang. Packer then assisted with loading Malang into a police van.

That’s when Sgt. Groszmann, trying to keep Malang from knocking his head on the van floor, put her hand on his forehead.

“He bit off her thumb and spit it out like it was trash,” Timm said.

“Why aren’t officers trained to keep their hands away from somebody’s mouth?” Loehner said.

Loehner said that during the 15 minutes before a van was brought in, officers could have asked Malang his name, how long he had been in Arcata and other small talk. They didn’t question him at all.

Loehner stopped short of saying police used excessive force, which Timm said would be “absurd” as body camera footage shows they did the opposite.

If any mistake was made, Timm said, it was not using more force to end the incident quickly.

Loehner also stopped short of calling officers bullies. But he asked “Who gets bit? Bullies get bit.”

Not that Groszmann is a bully, he said, but Malang perceived it that way.

Essentially, Loehner questioned why officers arrested someone who didn’t want to be arrested.

As for Groszmann, she underwent two surgeries and had months of therapy. The top half of her thumb turned black and fell off. She returned to light duty (desk work) after three months and is now cleared for full duty. She said the pain level in her severed thumb is “a constant two.”

Loehner told the jury that when Groszmann “showed you her thumb — nails done — I bet mayhem wasn’t the first word that came to your mind.”

Speaking of Loehner, his behavior during trial was an issue on its own. He insulted officers, made sarcastic remarks. ignored Judge Gregory Elvine-Kriess’s admonitions to shape up.

Timm, speaking to the jury about issues they should not consider, said Loehner’s behavior was one of those issues. “HIs demeanor is not evidence,” Timm said.

He also said he had never before in his career had to bring up a lawyer’s behavior.

“There’s an old saying,” Timm said. “If the facts are not on your side, and the law is not on your side, pound the table.”

Loehner responded by saying he’d been “slandered, libeled, heard words I never read in the BiIble,” (Remember that song?) but he was happy to ruffle the feathers of those whose job is to ruffle feathers.

“I’ll wear the black hat,” he said.

Jurors were expected to continue deliberations Wednesday morning.

UPDATE, March 2, 1:50 p.m.:

This story includes some conjecture — primarily from Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez and CAO Elishia Hayes — about the possibility that a “final notice” letter sent by the state Attorney General’s Office (regarding the county’s delinquent 2019-20 financial transactions report) was sent in error.

The reasoning behind this theory, offered by Paz Dominguez, was that the letter was sent on behalf of the State Controller’s Office, an agency that recently sent an audit team to Humboldt County to conduct an investigation into the county’s financial reporting practices. That team has yet to issue its report, and Paz Dominguez said she was under the impression that the report will include instructions on how to proceed with filing the delinquent report. 

Today, we got some clarification from Jennifer Hanson, press secretary for the State Controller’s Office. She told the Outpost via email:

The State Controller’s audits team is conducting a review to determine whether the county’s inability to submit timely financial reports is due to a lack of internal controls. This review does not excuse the county from its responsibility for timely filing of required reports. The letter from the Attorney General was not sent in error. It was sent at the request of the State Controller.

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Original post:

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After nearly two years of gathering virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors returned to their chambers Tuesday morning, and the in-person meeting brought plenty of drama as Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez came out swinging.

She’d been on the defensive in recent months, which saw a succession of no-confidence votes against her, some testy exchanges with county supervisors and, late last week, a final notice letter from the California Attorney General’s Office threatening legal action over her failure to submit a financial transactions report that’s more than a year past due. 

That letter was high up on Tuesday’s agenda, giving Paz Dominguez her first turn at the lectern facing the supervisors. She said there have been some misconceptions about the letter. Chief among them is that, while the A.G.’s office ostensibly sent the notice on behalf of the State Controller’s Office, an investigation team from the latter agency — which had recently spent time in Humboldt County doing a field review of the county’s fiscal management and reporting practices — knew nothing about it.

The implication was that the letter was sent in error — or automatically, at any rate, “probably because we were on a list and the Attorney General has a schedule that they check … and because we were still on the list by that date, they chose to write that letter,” Paz Dominguez said, though she acknowledged that she hasn’t gotten an official explanation yet.

The State Controller’s Office has yet to issue findings from its investigation, and Paz Dominguez said those findings will determine whether the office sends in its own accountant to complete the delinquent report. 

“So it does seem a little bit out of the timeline for the Attorney General to be demanding this report,” she said.

County Administrative Office Elishia Hayes confirmed that this appears to be the case. “That being said,” she added, “I think this just highlights how extremely far behind we are on critical functions of government … and this is, you know, an unfortunate repercussion of being so delinquent on our audit reports.”

The first sparks of the day flew as Paz Dominguez chastised First District Supervisor Rex Bohn, who’d brought this agenda item forward, for allegedly misspelling her name. (A rogue “q” somehow made its way into “Dominguez” multiple times in the staff report.) Bohn, in response, said he didn’t write the agenda item; he merely presented it.

The evident tension between the two was a sign of things to come.

The main event came a bit later in the morning, and stretched into the afternoon. On paper, the matter under consideration sounded mundane: a request for the county to extend its existing contract with outside accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen so that its staff could wrap up work on the county’s past-due 2019-20 single audit.

Paz Dominguez had hinted at deep grievances on Friday when, in the wake of the A.G.’s letter, she composed a letter to Humboldt County taxpayers, which she then issued as a press release. The letter suggests that her partners in the county’s fiscal management — including the Board of Supervisors, the County Administrative Office, county counsel and certain department heads — don’t share her goal of serving the public’s best interests.

The letter further alleged that by decentralizing financial and accounting operations, the county paved the way for rampant mismanagement, including “confirmed cases of errors and fraud,” while leading to “inhumane conditions for County employees and coverups under the guise of confidentiality.”

Paz Dominguez maintained that pugnacious tenor today as she delivered an oral report peppered with serious allegations — or “findings” — against various county departments. Those accusations, in turn, led to a procession of bitter refutations from county department heads and other staffers.

The failure to close the books for fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 lies with the entire county, Paz Dominguez said before getting into specifics. 

“The items I will share with you today will at times be difficult to hear,” she said, “much like medicine can sometimes be difficult to swallow. But it is also necessary if we want to heal.”

Her allegations focused on a few key departments: She said that when her staff reviewed the fiscal management of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) they learned that petty cash was not regularly reconciled; that cash, in one instance, was “accidentally destroyed”; that a case of stolen petty cash was reported to law enforcement but not to the Auditor-Controller; that gift cards were given to employees as travel advances; and that outside bank accounts and advance payments to vendors were not reconciled.

In reviewing the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, she said, her staff learned of other misdeeds: Cash had been deposited “of sources unknown”; the county had made payments for a donated vehicle; and a previously sold vehicle somehow resurfaced for sale.

In reviewing the County Administrative Office, she said, her staff learned that outside investment accounts were not reconciled or recorded in the general ledger and that bank statements from those accounts were not submitted to the Auditor-Controller on time or at all.

In one division of the CAO’s office, she added, there had been an unauthorized loan write-off. (More on that below.)

Her list continued. In the Planning and Building Department, she said, “we learned that sources of cash deposited were not reported to the Auditor-Controller, so we were not able to provide it to our external auditors when they requested it of us. … We also learned that there was a write-off of a home loan that was not authorized.”

The allegations kept coming. The Sheriff’s Office, CAO’s office, Public Defender’s Office and DHHS sometimes failed to submit invoices on time — sometimes years late, she said. There were unauthorized expenditures, non-contractual payments and unapproved timesheets. Inter-fund loan activity was not recorded accurately.

When she informed the CAO’s Office that they’d been misapplying the cost of shared utilities, she was “threatened,” she said, with a reduction in funding for her department. CAO employees were given unauthorized access to financial software, she said. 

Paz Dominguez accused the CAO’s office of forging an actuarial report and sending it to the State Controller’s Office.

At this point, Board Chair Virginia Bass cut in. “Excuse me,” she said, and then she asked Paz Dominguez whether she has proof of this allegedly forged document. 

Paz Dominguez said she does have proof, and she went on to lambaste the CAO’s Office for implementing “an untested and unapproved financial software update,” leading to various difficulties, and for ordering her to release budget blocks during a state of emergency only to blame her later for complying.

The county has “opportunities for fraud,” she continued, including “edited and manipulated records, unreconciled cash, un-recorded cash, the submission of unsubstantiated expenditure claims and the interference by a county supervisor.” 

Here, she accused Bohn of pressuring departments to perform tasks for him and his friends, including requests for rushed payments of invoices, some without contracts, and rushed processing of property tax transactions and permit applications. 

She also alleged that the county is being sued by the state Department of Health Care Services for $1.5 million for submitting un-allowed expenditures for reimbursement a decade ago. 

About 20 minutes into this recitation of alleged wrongdoing, Paz Dominguez accused Bohn of showing her his middle finger. Bohn, who had been holding his glasses by the side of his face, sat up straighter and looked confused. 

“What?” he asked.

Bass chimed in: “He holds his glasses that way.”

Paz Dominguez continued, undeterred, and soon reaching her conclusion. 

“By facing these difficult issues in this way, in the public’s view, we are now accountable to each other to improve,” she said. “I may have lost some friends today, but I am a firm believer in service above self and entrust that we will all benefit from our improvement in the long run.”

Then came the responses.

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Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell asked Paz Dominguez if she planned to submit documentation for these allegations and the auditor-controller said she would.

Bohn

Bohn challenged Paz Dominguez pointedly. He admitted that he hasn’t engaged with her directly of late — not in the 18 or 20 months since she brought charges against him, he said, referencing a previously unreported complaint that the county spent $23,000 investigating and finding no confirmed claims against him.

He then encouraged her to take all of her allegations against him to the District Attorney, who will recuse herself and pass them along to the Attorney General. 

“And I welcome that with open arms — since you just blasted all over with no basis whatsoever,” he said. 

Hayes, the CAO, said she had a lot to say in response to Paz Dominguez’s report, but before she could begin, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson reminded everyone that the matter at hand was whether to approve a contract extension for CliftonLarsonAllen. He encouraged folks to stick to that topic.

But people insisted on responding to the allegations.

“My office was just run through the mud like no other,” Hayes said, “as was DHHS and the sheriff, so I feel compelled to speak somewhat to that.”

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She said none of the matters Paz Dominguez addressed came as news to her. “Every staff member who’s sitting in this office, or in this audience today, has tried to communicate with the Auditor-Controller’s Office to rectify all of these challenges,” she said, adding that the problem she keeps hearing about — from within the county as well as from partner agencies and external vendors — is that there’s a lack of communication from the Auditor-Controller’s Office.

The ensuing inability to discuss critical functions of the county — short of calling Paz Dominguez to report before the board — has led to “disarray and dysfunction,” Hayes said.

“The problem is [that] critical tasks are not being completed,” she continued. “And there is no accountability on behalf of the Auditor-Controller to take responsibility for those functions. … This includes interest apportionment, cash reconciliation, completing the external audits, and the list goes on and on. These are vital functions that your board and my office need [completed] to effectively manage a half-billion-dollar organization, and that work is not being done … .”

Bass then invited department heads to respond to Paz Dominguez. Regina Fuller, the deputy director of sheriff’s administration (appearing as Sheriff Billy Honsal’s designee), said that, unlike Hayes, today was the first time she’d heard the accusations about the Sheriff’s Office. She said her office may have additional information that could clear up any misconceptions, or maybe there were indeed mistakes made, in which case they’ll own up to them.

But she agreed with Hayes about the lack of communication and collaboration from the Auditor-Controller’s Office, despite multiple offers to meet and collaborate in a shared effort to improve processes and become more efficient. 

Planning and Building Director John Ford said Paz Dominguez had correctly identified a “stupid mistake” from his office — an improperly re-conveyed loan in the amount of $19,600. But he added, for context, that the loan portfolio in question amounts to $22 million, making the error rate less than 0.1 percent. 

As for the other allegations, Ford said his department has receipts for all activity, and he’s willing to open the books to Paz Dominguez.

Connie Beck, director of DHHS, said some of the things Paz Dominguez brought up, including the stolen petty cash, happened long ago and have been resolved. She also refuted Paz Dominguez’s claim about a lawsuit from the state, saying it’s merely a routine closeout process that many counties go through. 

Beck also said Paz Dominguez’s presentation was part of a “political game” and that it had no place in a Board of Supervisors meeting.

Treasurer-Tax Collector John Bartholomew said he felt like Paz Dominguez’s report blindsided everyone. He has always wanted her to succeed, he said, but he’s grown frustrated by her “poisoning of public perception of county operations and staff,” such as in last week’s press release. He finds such actions beneath her elected position, he said.

“Why would you say that to the public — to disparage the organization for which we work?” he said, turning to face Paz Dominguez, who had taken a seat at a staff table beside the lectern. He went on to say she has failed to answer a simple question about interest apportionment that he asked at a meeting a month ago, despite several follow-up attempts.

“There’s been millions of dollars of interest accrued over the last couple of years in the treasury,” he said, “but we can’t apportion that interest. And I’m not getting answers.”

District Attorney Maggie Fleming said everyone in the county wants Paz Dominguez to succeed, and her office and others have offered staff to help, but things aren’t working well. 

“People have to be paid; they have to be paid on time, and benefits have to be appropriate,” Fleming said, alluding to problems with payroll. She added that employees have had to go directly to the Auditor-Controller’s Office because they couldn’t get responses any other way. “That’s not fair to staff,” she said, and she stressed that the most important thing right now is closing the books on the 2019-20 fiscal year. 

“Too much is counting on that closure,” Fleming said. “We have too many grants. We have too much at stake, so this has to move forward, and it has to move forward as soon as it can.”

Connie Stewart, the executive director of initiatives at Cal Poly Humboldt, called in during the public comment period. She noted that when the SMART Business Resource Center quit serving the county last year due to chronically late payments, the university took over, confident in its ability to manage workforce development programs with funding from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Alas, things aren’t running smoothly because of the county’s overdue single audit. “It’s very frustrating,” Stewart said. “More importantly, it’s jeopardizing our relationship with the state ongoing, and there’s more than a billion dollars out in California for workforce funding that we would be eligible for if our systems were moving successfully.”

The critiques kept coming. A McKinleyville man named Daniel said, “It feels like we’re losing millions chasing down pennies here, because the basic functions of the office aren’t getting done.” He said Paz Dominguez’s presentation and the letter she submitted as a press release seemed “wildly unprofessional,” adding that it was hard not to interpret them as a distraction from the Attorney General’s letter.

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Economic Development Director Scott Adair said his office would fully comply with any investigation into wrongdoing, though he explained that the loan write-off Paz Dominguez had referenced earlier was issued by the Headwaters Fund, not by the county. He called her understanding of that loan process “uninformed” and her accusations “inaccurate.”

“I feel blindsided and betrayed,” he continued. “Why would your Auditor- Controller’s Office take the time to issue, write and deliver a surprise report but not process $1.89 million in cannabis equity payments to the cannabis community, which our office communicated to the Auditor-Controller back in November?”

There are improvements needed in county functions, he said, but his office has made dozens of requests to her office for guidance, direction and help — “most of which went unanswered.” 

Two public speakers did speak in Paz Dominguez’s defense — both of them employees in her office. Amanda Cherry said staff there has worked diligently to identify broken processes and opportunities for fixes. And Senior Accountant-Auditor Jim Hussey said the office’s staff has taken undue blame for a variety of fiscal problems, damaging their morale. 

“We are human beings,” he said. “We are tired of being the focus of these attacks. This is what happens when toxicity in government is out of control!”

In the end, the board voted to approve the contract extension with CliftonLarsonAllen, and to have Paz Dominguez return at the March 15 meeting with a written report on the allegations she made in today’s oral presentation. The vote was unanimous.

After announcing her resignation from the Arcata City Council last month, Vice Mayor Emily Grace Goldstein officially stepped down today. As such, during tomorrow’s council meeting, the remaining councilmembers will consider electing a new vice mayor and reassigning Goldstein’s various liaison appointments.

Per the council’s usual annual rotation method, Councilmember Sarah Schaefer will most likely be selected as the new vice mayor, as she is the councilmember who has served the longest without having served as vice mayor before. However, the council is not required to follow the rotation method and can technically elect any councilmember to serve in the role. There is also the possibility that, for some reason, Schaefer will decline the vice mayor position. But both of those scenarios seem pretty unlikely here.

The council will also be tasked with reassigning the liaison roles held by Goldstein. According to the staff report, Goldstein served as liaison to the Humboldt Transit Authority, The Humboldt-Del Norte Hazardous Materials Response Joint Powers Authority and the Homelessness and Housing Working Group. She was also an alternate liaison to the Humboldt Waste Management Authority, Redwood Region Economic Development Commission, Arcata House Partnership, Arcata/Camoapa Sister City Committee, Cooperation Humboldt—Board Report Meetings (and CUNA), and Equity Arcata Advisory Team.

However, the staff report states, because a new Arcata councilmember will be elected in June and sworn in by July,  it is not imperative that the council assign all these roles now. Staff recommends that the council review the liaison roles and assign any that they feel concerned about having meeting coverage during the interim period.

And speaking of electing a new Arcata councilmember, we remind you that Arcata residents will be tasked with voting in a new one during the primary election on June 7. The deadline to submit nomination papers is March 11 and Arcata City Clerk Bridget Dory told the Outpost that no one has filed their papers so far. Dory said that four possible candidates have taken out nomination papers. They are: Gregory Daggett, Chase Marcum, Edith Rosen and Kimberley White (who serves on the Arcata Planning Commission and ran for council in 2020).

If you are interested in running for Arcata City Council, you can pick up the nomination papers at Arcata City Hall – 736 F Street. To qualify you must be at least 18 years old, live within Arcata city limits and be registered to vote at your Arcata residence address. Nominees must also obtain at least 20, but no more than 30, signatures of registered voters who reside within Arcata city limits. Easy, right? 

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The council will also receive an update on the Local Coastal Program (LCP), which will help guide development in Arcata’s coastal zone in the coming years. The City’s current LCP includes the  Local Coastal Element of the City’s General Plan, which was adopted in 1989, and the Land Use and Development Guide, which was adopted 1998. The city has been working for the last few years to update these plans and staff is recommending that they be adopted sometime this year.

The council won’t be taking any action on the LCP during this meeting, but will provide staff with direction, if necessary. You can review the City’s draft Local Coastal Element here.

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The Arcata City Council meets on Wednesday, Mar. 2 at 6 p.m. Meetings are now being held in a hybrid fashion and you can attend either in-person at City Hall – 736 F Street – or can attend virtually, if that’s more comfortable for you. You can view the full agenda and directions on how to participate here.

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The message was clear and, more importantly, it was loud: Progressive activists would work to block the California Democratic Party’s endorsement for any lawmaker who did not support a single-payer health care bill facing a crucial legislative deadline at the end of January.

Their threat did not persuade wavering legislators to get on board, however, and the bill was shelved without a vote. Two weeks later, the chairperson of the party’s progressive caucus announced that activists had dropped their campaign to pull endorsements from uncooperative incumbents, blaming Democratic officials for obstructing them.

“The party uses every advantage it has under the bylaws to ensure there is no democracy in the Democratic Party,” Amar Shergill, the progressive caucus chairperson, told CalMatters.

Inspired by the unabashedly leftist presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in 2016, a wave of political outsiders once seemed poised to remake the California Democratic Party. But the momentum of their movement, which coincided with heightened liberal energy in resistance to then-President Donald Trump, appears to have crested.

Sanders supporters organized early on to elect new delegates to the state party, giving the progessive wing more influence to push for policy positions and endorsements for candidates who could challenge establishment stalwarts including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein from the left.

Yet in the five years since, they’ve struggled to achieve their biggest and most consequential goals, including twice failing to elevate one of their own to lead the California Democratic Party. Earlier this month, party officials adopted new restrictions on campaign contributions that fell short of progressive demands to stop taking money entirely from fossil fuel companies, law enforcement unions and health insurers.

As delegates gather virtually this coming weekend for the annual state party convention, nearly all of the sitting legislators who are running again will be endorsed on a consent calendar, while Shergill is encouraging progressives to withhold their donations and volunteer time from the party and focus their organizing energy on outside groups. He has also invited the director of the newly established Working Families Party to address the caucus on Saturday night.

The dissension reflects how the eternal ideological tension within California’s dominant political party has intensified and curdled in recent years. As newly empowered activists, many of them fresh to organized politics, escalated their tactics to demand change, so did party leaders pushing back to maintain a status quo that has largely worked to elect Democrats in the state for decades.

Though the influence of the progressive wing has not entirely waned — several political consultants declined to discuss the dynamic on the record with CalMatters for fear of angering delegates they need to woo to endorse campaigns they are working on — a lack of victories to back up their more aggressive political style has sent a signal to some Democrats to simply ignore them.

Tenoch Flores, a former communications director for the party from 2009 to 2015 who now works as a consultant for progressive causes, said there is more acrimony and hurt feelings over these fights than in the past. He attributed it to the frustration of a movement that has brought increased attention to its causes but has not grown in scope or influence to match, a dynamic that he said it would be important for Democratic officials to manage.

“One of the beliefs is that if you have impassioned speeches and you scream truth to power, you can have policy change overnight,” Flores said. “They’re not able to make good on any of their threats.”

Despite numerous interview requests, the California Democratic Party did not make Chairperson Rusty Hicks available for this story.

Internal division over party’s direction

This is not the first time the California Democratic Party has been through these battles, which are also playing out in the national party and in other states. In neighboring Nevada, top Democratic politicians and their allies established a rival campaign apparatus after the state party elected a left-wing chairperson.

Karen Bernal, a former chairperson of the California party’s progressive caucus for three terms from 2009 to 2013 and 2017 to 2019, said there’s a fundamental conflict over the function of the party between rank-and-file members, who join for ideological affinity, and politicians, for whom it is a conduit for money and other campaign resources.

“It’s always been a struggle between the grassroots and the legislative leadership,” she said.

The party experienced a similar wave of insurgent progressive activism after Howard Dean’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004, Bernal said, then the energy dwindled during the Obama years when identity politics neutralized the philosophical divide.

But the backlash from party officials is more “iron-fisted” this time around, she said. She pointed to elaborate campaigns to elected favored slates of delegates after progressives unexpectedly swept races in 2017 and rule changes when activists have found ways to challenge the power structure.

“It’s always been a struggle between the grassroots and the legislative leadership.”
— Karen Bernal, former chairperson of the California Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus

After progressives called a meeting of the party’s executive board to pursue the ban on donations from groups they consider in conflict with the California Democratic Party platform, the rules committee proposed an amendment to the bylaws that raises the threshold for requesting a special meeting, including by doubling the number of signatures required. It was adopted in late February, during the same weekend when officials approved a scaled-back proposal that gives the party more flexibility on when to reject contributions.

Activists allege that their effort to challenge lawmakers who did not support the single-payer legislation faltered because the party misinterpreted its own bylaws that establish a process for disputing endorsements and shut them down.

Combined, Bernal said, all of these measures demonstrate an establishment desperate to hold on to the status quo — and how far it will go to silence dissent from progressives.

“Their influence is being smashed from the top,” she said. “They’ve been corralled and contained. But does it mean that their fight is not resonant? No, it does not.”

Where do progressives go next?

While this fight is unlikely to resonate outside of a narrow sliver of voters invested in party politics, several strategists said it presented an unnecessary distraction for Democrats in an election year where polls suggest they are facing growing political headwinds and could ultimately undermine progressives’ position in California.

Andrew Acosta, a political consultant who frequently works with moderate Democrats in swing districts, said the single-payer activists had overplayed their hand with the threat to pull endorsements. With voter malaise over pocketbook issues such as inflation front and center, he said it was the wrong year to take on a legislative fight that would require massive tax increases. (Supporters of a single-payer health care system argue that Californians would ultimately pay less than they do now for insurance premiums.)

“When we’re successful, great. When we’re not, it reinforces this message that the party cannot be trusted with your time and effort.”
— Amar Shergill, chairperson of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus

While politicians do respond to party dynamics, Acosta said, they must be cognizant first of their constituents. As Democrats try to defend legislative supermajorities that allow them to raise taxes and qualify ballot measures without Republican votes, they did not want to provide their opponents with an easy campaign attack that they are out of touch with pressing economic concerns.

“People are feeling it, man,” Acosta said, “It’s just hard to tell people they’re not.”

The outsized response by single-payer advocates to the bill’s failure last month — including warnings that they might back a challenger to Assemblymember Ash Kalra, the San Jose Democrat who carried the measure, because he did not bring it up for a vote — also turned off many in Sacramento.

Flores, the former party spokesman, called it a moment of “self-marginalization” for the progressive movement and a message for the dozens of new legislators who will arrive at the Capitol by next year after an unusually high number of resignations and retirements.

“Is that really what they’re going to want to deal with?” he said. “A lot of what’s displayed is not how you build a winning legislative coalition.”

Shergill, the progressive caucus chairperson who frequently criticizes Hicks on social media, rejected the notion that its tactics had weakened the position of the party’s left wing. He said he would continue to advocate for progressives to build their own organizations that could operate freely outside of the California Democratic Party.

“When we’re successful, great. When we’re not, it reinforces this message that the party cannot be trusted with your time and effort,” he said. “For progressives, there’s never a scenario where we lose, because either we win the issue or we’re teaching our members lessons about how to win the next fight.”

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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.