Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins Forced Her Field Director to Resign From EQAC Board After Confirming the Conflict of Interest
Field Director Elise Weiland's Equitable Access California received County funds from Hopkins' Office - Hopkins forced Weiland to resign from the nonprofit Board due to the apparent conflict
Supervisor Hopkins Gifted West County Grants to Her Field Director's 'Nonprofit', Equitable Access California
Per their website, from February to November 2022, Equitable Access California (EAC) was awarded $450k in grant funding to expand rural broadband across West County.
On July 28, 2022, Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins’ Field Director/Program Manager Elise Weiland legally incorporated the nonprofit she co-founded, Equitable Access California (EQAC). Throughout the incorporation process, Ms. Weiland worked directly with Co-founder Bryan Hughes, Executive Board Member of Russian River Alliance (RRA).
With the help of Ms. Weiland, Supervisor Hopkins’ Office orchestrated funding opportunities for both RRA and EQAC. Under these circumstances, Ms. Weiland could be considered an intermediary. Were all nonprofits afforded the same opportunities and guidance when applying for County funds? If not, why did Hopkins’ give preferential treatment to the aforementioned entities?
The Brown Act explicitly prohibits the use of “direct communication, personal intermediaries, or technological devices that is employed by a majority of the members of the legislative body to develop a collective concurrence as to action to be taken on an item by the members of the legislative body” (§ 5495.2(b)). Serial meetings involve communication between members of a legislative body that are less than a quorum, but when all participants are considered, it constitutes a majority.
“For example, a chain of communications involving contact from member A to member B who then communicates with member C would constitute a “serial meeting” … Similarly, when a person acts as the hub of a wheel (member A) and communicates individually with the various spokes (members B and C), a serial meeting has occurred. In addition, a serial meeting occurs when intermediaries for board members have a meeting to discuss issues. For example, when a representative of member A meets with representatives of members B and C to discuss an agenda item, the members have conducted a serial meeting.
In Stockton Newspapers, Inc. v. Redevelopment Agency (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 95, the Court concluded that a series of telephone conversations conducted by the agency’s attorney as an intermediary constituted a meeting within the scope of the Brown Act. (See also, 65 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 63 (1982); 63 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 820 (1980)).”3 Thus, the use of email to create consensus among the legislative members might be in violation of the Brown Act.
In early 2022, the Russian River Alliance proposed the implementation of a Guerneville, California Public Wi-Fi Project to be fiscally sponsored by the Alliance and Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
In March, 2022, Mr. Bryan Hughes, Treasurer of Russian River Alliance (RRA) and President/Co-founder of Equitable Access California (EQAC) exchanged the following emails with Mr. Jason Wilson, District 5 Aide to Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins:
On April 13, 2022, Mr. Hughes sent the following email to the attention of Supervisor Lynda Hopkins’ District Director Leo Chyi:
On September 13, 2022, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Chyi exchanged the following messages:
On May 21, 2022, Mr. Chyi and Mr. Hughes exchanged the following communications:
On May 23, 2022, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Chyi exchanged the following correspondence:
On August 19, 2022, Ms. Weiland sent the following notification of immediate resignation from the EQAC Board to Mr. Hughes:
On October 10, 2022, Mr. Hughes exchanged the following emails with Mr. Chyi. Ms. Elise Weiland, Co-founder of EQAC and Field Director/Program Manager for Supervisor Hopkins was copied on the exchange.
On November 18, 2022, Mr. Hughes sent the following email to Mr. Chyi:
It appears that Supervisor Hopkins’ Office has issued letters of support to encourage the approval of grants for EQAC.
Effective April 4, 2022, all Federal financial assistance recipients must have a Universal Entity Identifier (UEI) number and an active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) database at SAM.gov.
RRA did not previously have a SAM identifier as indicated within their 2020 application for CARES Act Emergency Rental Assistance.
Ms. Weiland (formerly VanDyne) offered to work directly with RRA to secure their SAM identifier.
The Department of the Treasury’s guidance regarding Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds states:
Recipients may transfer funds to subrecipients in several ways, including advance payments and on a reimbursement basis. Ultimately, recipients must comply with the eligible use requirements and any other applicable laws or requirements and are responsible for the actions of their subrecipients or beneficiaries.
As part of accepting the Award Terms and Conditions for SLFRF, each recipient agreed to maintain a conflict- of-interest policy consistent with 2 CFR 200.318(c) that is applicable to all activities funded with the SLFRF award. Pursuant to this requirement, decisions concerning SLFRF funds must be free of undisclosed personal or organizational conflicts of interest, both in fact and in appearance. Recipients may avoid conflicts of interest in providing assistance to nonprofits or making subrecipient awards by, inter alia, making aid available to nonprofits on generally applicable terms or utilizing a competitive grant process, respectively.
A recipient may not use control over SLFRF funds for their own private gain. Furthermore, no employee, officer, or agent may participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a federal award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest.
West County residents sought my help in 2022 because they were distraught by the maltreatment by Ms. Jeniffer Wertz, Workforce Fund Manager, Russian River Alliance. When seeking rental assistance during the floods, local residents claimed that Ms. Wertz sent them profane messages during times of intoxication.
A restraining order request was granted against Ms. Wertz by local resident Matt Gillum in February 2022.
Ms. Wertz is a former City of Stockton, California Senior Deputy Probation Officer who was dismissed from employment after an Asian youth was shot and killed. The family claimed the teenager was shot by Wertz, Wertz claimed the youth shot himself in the head.
Were the applicants selected to aid the community the best options? Is Supervisor Hopkins’ Office negotiating business dealings with their preferred NGO’s while potentially violating the federal law?
"You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another." -Leviticus 19:11
What in the hell is going on In Sonoma County? Generic nonprofit entities that serve little to no purpose. Plus, grown ass individuals acting little children just stealing taxpayer money?