City Attorney Engaged in Election Interference by Providing Misleading Statements to the Public Regarding FPPC Investigations of Petaluma's Representatives
Petaluma City Attorney Danly stated on record that all 'three' FPPC complaints were dismissed, and later claimed to be completely unaware of the other cases and complaints which remain open
On October 9, 2024, I sent the following email to City Attorney Eric Danly, Council and Staff for the City of Petaluma, California:
Subject: Notice of Intent to Sue / California's Oversight Watchdog Conducting Multi-Year Investigations of Sonoma County Elected & Appointed Officials
Good Afternoon,
Please take a moment to read my new article. https://adinaflores.substack.com/p/californias-oversight-watchdog-conducting?r=1np6xy
I do not appreciate that your City Attorney publicly berated me following my public comment at the Monday, October 7, 2024, City of Petaluma Council Meeting. He stated on record that no active cases or complaints are open regarding Councilman Brian Barnacle and the Building Decarbonization Coalition, and all complaints have been dismissed. The constituents were informed that no clapping was permitted following any public comments, however, the City Attorney permitted racist white men to applaud his defamatory comments about me.
You previously permitted a Tree Committee Member Formby to tell me to 'fuck off', and refused to address this matter.
You have permitted Mr. Barnacle to publicly berate me as indicated in the attached email he forwarded to all campaign contributors. He also found it appropriate to joke about women being 'beat up' at a recent candidate forum. As a domestic violence survivor, this is disgusting.
I have attached an open sworn complaint, submitted October 3, 2024 regarding Councilman Barnacle. He failed to disclose income earned as the Senior Manager of Energy Solutions for all applicable years. Additionally, the FPPC opened a case regarding Building Decarbonization Coalition (Barnacle's current employer) Founder & Climate Action Commission Vice Chair Panama Bartholomy for failing to disclose any reportable financial interests on SEI's for all years.
Please consider this as my formal notice of intent to sue. If I do not receive a response within ten business days, I will proceed accordingly.
Thank you & God Bless.
--
Kindest Regards,
Adina Flores
Attachments:
Yesterday, October 21, 2024, I received the following email from City Attorney Danly:
I responded as follows:
Greetings Mr. Danly,
Thank you for forwarding the attached correspondence that I never received.
You stated on record:
“I'm aware of three that involve Petaluma public officials. All of those have been dismissed by the FPPC because, assuming the facts they include are true, it is clear from the face of the complaints that they could not be a basis for supporting a violation of the ethical laws, either Section 1090 or the Political Reform Act.”
Your statement was misleading to the general public for the following reasons:
Your lack of ‘awareness’ led the general public to believe that all complaints were dismissed, and therefore they berated me on Nextdoor. You did not exercise your due diligence as City Attorney before making a public statement.
You additionally made the following statement:
“First, I would like to briefly comment on what we heard from Ms. Flores, and this is to underscore the City's commitment to transparency and compliance with the ethical laws and regulations that apply to City of Petaluma officials, not just Council Members, but staff and appointees as well.”
You made no mention of the cases opened against appointed Climate Action Vice Chair Panama Bartholomy & Climate Action Commissioner Ann Baker.
You included the rejection of my complaint against Climate Action Commission Chair Ann Edminster in the attached letter as one of the ‘three’ referenced during your previous defamatory statements. Why did you only mention the complaints which were dismissed, and not the ones which were opened into cases to investigate further?
Again, please clarify how this situation will be rectified immediately. You have smeared my name to the entire community. I’m not stupid, Mr. Danly. I’m a domestic violence survivor and one of the most educated women of color in this community.
After two years, my former employer Santa Rosa City Schools just agreed to pay me a large settlement as I was forced out for whistleblowing. Please confirm if you wish to settle outside of court, or I will file this week.
Thank you & God Bless.
Kindest Regards,
Adina Flores
Mr. Danly responded as such:
Ms. Flores,
Thank you for confirming receipt of my response and my apologies for misaddressing it the first time. Again, my remarks on October 7 and my response to you of today focus on three complaints concerning Petaluma public officials that have been dismissed by the FPPC.
Thank you.
Eric Danly
City Attorney
I responded as follows:
Mr. Danly,
Should I request public records being that you are confirming that you had zero knowledge of Ms. Baker’s, Mr. Barnacle’s and Mr. Bartholomy’s open cases prior to 6:00 pm, PST on October 3, 2024? I emailed you records of those cases within my articles (see attached).
As City Attorney, are you confirming that you do not read emails from the taxpayers? Are you confirming that not a single staff member or council, or appointed officers brought these matters to your attention?
Thank you.
Kindest Regards,
Adina Flores
I emailed City Attorney Danly, Council, appointed officials, and dozens of staff members the open cases and complaints regarding Petaluma’s elected and appointed officials on numerous occasions prior to October 7, 2024, yet the City Attorney claimed that he was unaware of these facts. He claimed to only be aware of the three complaints which were dismissed.
On October 2, 2024, I sent the following email to a mass list of recipients including City Attorney Danly, the Council and Petaluma staff:
Gaslighting Guru: Petaluma Councilman Brian Barnacle Mass Emailed a Smear Campaign About Me for Highlighting His Conflicts of Interest as He Seeks Re-election
Yesterday, October 1, 2024, Petaluma Councilman Brian Barnacle sent an email about me to a mass mailing list of campaign donors. Mr. Barnacle is seeking re-election in the November 5, 2024 General Election.
Within the article, I included the open FPPC investigation of Petaluma’s Climate Action Commission Vice Chair Panama Bartholomy.
Within my article, I highlighted comments in which the public was berating me on Nextdoor. The most prominent antagonizers was Mr. Eric Leland, one of the highest donors to Councilman Brian Barnacle’s 2024 campaign. He referenced my ex-fiancé who I left a year ago due to recurring abusive behavior.
Following Mr. Danly’s misleading comments the harassment by Mr. Leland and others increased.
I attempted to respond to Mr. Leland’s accusations in a factual manner, but he and other members of Mr. Barnacle’s campaign had my account temporarily suspended on Nextdoor due to false reports of discrimination and mistreatment.
This was not the first incident of poor behavior by City Attorney Danly. In 2017, the Petaluma-Argus Courier provided the following statements:
City employees last month filed an unfair labor practice claim against the city of Petaluma, alleging that the city attorney attempted to intimidate members of a union to force them to disband.
The charge, filed Sept. 18 with the California Public Employee Relations Board, also claims that City Attorney Eric Danly used derogatory and offensive language in front of employees in the union, making them feel marginalized and fearful. The claim alleges that Danly was aware his conduct to attempt to force employees to vote to dissemble their union and give up their collective bargaining power was unlawful, yet he did not stop.
The claim alleges that Danly, who has worked as an in-house city attorney for four years, managed staff with an “aggressive and boorish style,” using profanity including f---, despite the fact that it clearly made employees uncomfortable. It also states “his behavior is so over-the-top that Danly, who is white, used the ‘N word’ in the presence of his paralegal, and Unit 11 union member, Lisa Rogers, who is black, without ever apologizing.” Employees allegedly refrained from reprimanding Danly for fear of displeasing him.
The complaint also claims that Danly pressured city employees in closed door meetings and encouraged other employees to exert further pressure on union members.
“His conduct is so extreme that it was almost unbelievable,” Edwards said. “But, I believe all the witnesses involved and it’s very credible, but it’s so callous and there’s a sense in all that that Mr. Danly felt he was beyond reproach or that there wouldn’t be a consequence for his conduct. I can only think of one other case that I’ve worked with where management’s conduct was even close to being this egregious.”
Danly and Crump both declined to comment on the issue.
It truly appears that City Attorney Danly is colluding with left-leaning elected and appointed officials to misrepresent the facts being presented to the community. If that is not the case, Mr. Danly has confirmed that he did not read my previous emails whatsoever. He has also confirmed that not a single Councilmember or staff representative read my emails and failed to notify him of open investigations. Additionally, he has claimed that the Fair Political Practices Commission failed to notify him of open investigations. If the taxpayers have no voice as stakeholders, why are they being forced to pay taxes?
These circumstances have presented a serious case of libel and slander. I am requesting a payment of $12,500 should the City of Petaluma wish to settle outside of court.
A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.
-Proverbs 19:9
Adina, you must feel like a lone voice in the wilderness but it is brave people like you that force transparency on otherwise slimy and opaque government officials. More of your kind of activism is needed EVERYWHERE. Keep up the good work. The best disinfectant is sunlight.