City of Santa Rosa's Attorney Owns Stock in Cannabis Industry
Can the City of Santa Rosa Attorney Stricker provide unbiased cannabis regulation & tax oversight while being personally invested in the industry?
According to her statement of economic interest (Form 700), the City of Santa Rosa, CA Attorney, Theresa L. Stricker assumed office on November 6, 2023. Per The Press Democrat, she ran the City Attorney’s Office on an interim basis between July 2016 and May 2017.
The City Attorney's Office initiates legal actions on behalf of the City, defends the City and its departments from claims and lawsuits, prosecutes code enforcement and nuisance abatement proceedings, and provides legal services and advice to the City and its staff in connection with all transactional and legislative matters.
Records of deed indicate that Ms. Stricker owns a property with Mr. Daniel Croley. One may presume that they are relatives or spouses.
Ms. Stricker’s assuming office Form 700 submitted in November 2023 indicated that she is invested in a partnership for Futterman, Dupree, Dodd, Croley and Maier, LLP, a San Francisco based law firm.
Mr. Daniel Croley appears to be a partner to the firm.
The Form 700 indicates that Mr. Croley’s law firm holds investments and interests in real property for Central Coast Agriculture, Inc, an ‘agriculture’ business entity.
The California Secretary of State 2022 filing for Central Coast Agriculture, Inc. listed Mr. John De Friel as CEO/CFO and Mr. Matthew Allen as Secretary. The corporation was initially incorporated with the State in 2018.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Allen served as President of Central Coast Agriculture through December 2023. He was responsible for the following:
“As the President and General Counsel of Central Coast Agriculture, Inc., I oversaw the legal and business operations of a leading company in the cannabis sector. With more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer serving the cannabis, winery, vineyard and hospitality industries in the areas of land use, business formation, real estate, licensing, compliance, intellectual property and litigation, I provided high-quality legal and strategic advice to help to the companies executives and board in order to grow and thrive in a complex and competitive market.”
Per Forbes, Central Coast Agriculture appears to be the parent company of Raw Garden, California’s ‘best selling’ cannabis extracts.
Per the Raw Garden website, the only two Santa Rosa dispensaries which appear to carry their line of products are SPARC and Mercy Wellness.
While Ms. Stricker served as the City of Santa Rosa’s Interim Attorney through 2017, key decisions were made regarding the cannabis industry.
Measure D, a marijuana business tax measure was on the ballot for Santa Rosa voters in Sonoma County, California, on June 6, 2017. It was approved.
A yes vote was a vote in favor of adopting an ordinance to tax marijuana cultivation businesses up to $25 per square foot and marijuana manufacturing, distribution, and dispensary businesses up to eight percent of gross receipts.
A no vote was a vote against adopting an ordinance to tax marijuana cultivation businesses up to $25 per square foot and marijuana manufacturing, distribution, and dispensary businesses up to eight percent of gross receipts, thus keeping the current general business tax of up to $3,000 per year in place.
Ms. Stricker conducted the impartial analysis of Measure D.
Shortly after Ms. Stricker was hired by the City of Santa Rosa, on November 28, 2023, a Cannabis Equity Assessment was presented for the Council’s acceptance.
On March 1, 2022, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2022-042, granted approval to accept a Type 1 grant of $75,000 from the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and authorized the City Manager to execute the Standard Agreement.
This funding was allocated for the purpose of conducting a cannabis equity assessment, which has been prepared for the Council’s acceptance. The City would become eligible to apply for Type 2 grant funding which would be dispersed to eligible applicants following acceptance of the Cannabis Equity Assessment and the creation and adoption of a cannabis equity program.
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended by the Planning and Economic Development Department that the Council, by resolution: 1) accept the City of Santa Rosa Cannabis Equity Assessment; and 2) direct staff to prepare a cannabis equity program
The motion failed as presented with a split vote from Santa Rosa Council, and an abstention from Councilmember Alvarez. City Manager Smith requested through the Mayor that Council return to the item for additional discussion.
At the request of staff, City Attorney Stricker made a recommendation that Council adopt an amended resolution to accept the Cannabis Equity Assessment only which was part of the Type 1 grant requirements.
A motion was made by Council Member Rogers, seconded by Mayor Rogers, to waive reading of the text and adopt RESOLUTION NO. RES-2023-191 ENTITLED: RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA ACCEPTING THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA CANNABIS EQUITY ASSESSMENT.
According to a July 2024 article from Sebastopol Times Reporter Ezra Wallach, Sonoma County’s Cannabis Equity grants went to top dogs in the industry and missed the mark.
“David Rabbitt, the chair of Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors, added in a press release that the county’s grants were specifically given to “socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals navigating the cannabis permit process.”
According to an investigation by Sebastopol Times, many of those who received Cannabis Equity grants from the county do not quite fit this description.
Rather, a majority of the grant recipients are among the most successful and influential people in the county’s legal cannabis industry. Some of them are even promoters of local equity initiatives themselves.
For example, the county’s Cannabis Equity program gave four grants to individuals associated with SPARC, which took over Sebastopol’s first dispensary, Peace in Medicine. SPARC has three dispensaries in the county and four others around the Bay Area.”
Ms. Stricker is required to annually disclose reportable single sources of income of $10k or more for each client contracted with the Croley law firm. She did not disclose any sources and claimed there are none. Therefore, no clients were itemized to determine potential conflicts of interest.
On June 24, 2020 The League of California Cities appointed RPLG Founding Partner Teresa Stricker as Chair of the City Attorneys’ Division’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) Committee.
“I am honored to chair this group,” said Ms. Stricker. “The FPPC Committee advances the interests of public agencies statewide by helping to improve, shape and develop the Political Reform Act through legal advocacy and legislative programs, and by supporting the legal advice public officials receive about the Act’s requirements.”
Because of Ms. Stricker’s former role with the FPPC, she should be well versed in transparency through public agencies.
Why has the term ‘equity’ become synonymous with malfeasance in Sonoma County? Have any cannabis business owners been denied permits or appeals which conflict with those supplying Raw Garden products? Which dispensaries or cannabis related businesses will be awarded cannabis equity grants, and do Ms. Stricker / Mr. Croley have a financial conflict of interest through their client portfolio?
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” -Proverbs 11:3