The Democratic Takeover: Petaluma Planning Commissioner's Incompetency Led Him to Approve Minutes Stating He Refused to Recuse Himself From Oyster Cove
Commission Vice Chair Hooper approved minutes stating he refused to recuse himself from the controversial Oyster Cove Mixed Use Neighborhood Project because he didn't read the agenda packet
*This article was amended on 9/7/2024 to modify the content based on a comment from Eric Leland who appears to be a Generation Housing donor. Mr. Leland submitted the following statement:
“Blake Hooper did recuse himself, contrary to the entire premise of the article. Any minimally decent journalist would have watched the publicly available recording to validate this. At 7 min 50 seconds, you will see Blake Hooper recusing himself - please view the video at the link provided below. I assume, now that you know this information, you will take down this article as it is now debunked.”
https://cityofpetaluma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15290
I responded as such:
“Mr. Leland, thank you for providing this link as the City’s website is not user friendly. The recording links do not appear on my mobile device. I echoed the minutes supplied by staff, so I’d encourage you to request staff to proofread more thoroughly.
That being said, I will modify the headline accordingly. The premise of my article is regarding the conflicts witnessed through the intertwined local Democratic Party, affiliated NGO’s and the labor unions. Perhaps you didn’t actually read the article and financial omissions by Mr. Hooper?
Thank you & God bless.”
On May 9, 2023, the City of Petaluma Planning Commission was tasked with approving a resolution recommending the City Council adopt or approve entitlements for the Oyster Cove Mixed Use Neighborhood Project, including an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, General Plan Amendment, Zoning Map Amendment, and Tentative Map for Subdivision and Condominium Purposes with associated SmartCode Warrants.
UrbanMix Development, the development consultant, describes this project as such:
Project Type:
Master Planned Community
Mixed-Use: Multi-family and Live/Work
Project Details:
~131 new townhomes and live/work homes
Adaptive reuse of existing commercial structure
~6 acres
20 affordable units
Public plaza, ped/bike trails
Development Cost:
~$130M
Set in the vibrant heart of downtown Petaluma, this unique and underutilized property is strategically located within steps of Petaluma’s Historic Commercial District, Theater District, the Sonoma Marin Rapid Transit (“SMART”) Petaluma Downtown Station, and immediately adjacent to the Steamer Landing Park. The site boasts over 2,000 linear feet of prime waterfront on both the Petaluma River and the McNear Channel with beautiful views of both the river and the iconic Sonoma hills that surround Petaluma.
The May 9, 2023 minutes approved by the City of Petaluma Planning Commission on July 11, 2023 stated: “Chair Bauer opened the item and announced that Vice Chair Hooper would be recusing for the item. Vice Chair Hooper refused, stating that he lives within 1,000 feet of the project site and that his wife works for a company located adjacent to the project site.”
On July 11, 2023, Chair Bauer invited Commissioners to provide amendments to the May 9, 2023 Meeting Minutes. Commissioner McErlane provided amendments in advance. These amendments were provided in redline in the published draft minutes.
No other amendments were provided. Chair Bauer recognized the amendments and announced that the minutes were approved with amendments as requested by Commissioners.
Mr. Hooper appeared to approve the inaccurate minutes presented by staff which stated that he refused to recuse himself from the Oyster Cove discussion on May 9, 2023.
To Mr. Leland’s point, he has created awareness regarding the lack of attention to detail within the City of Petaluma. The entire Planning Commission as well as staff failed to catch the error as stated in the May 9, ‘23 Meeting Minutes.
As a journalist, this indicates that I cannot rely upon our local government to provide correct information to the stakeholders. If failed oversight can be witnessed for this occurrence, has this been echoed in other areas within City government? How can we trust Mr. Hooper’s ability to make decisions on behalf of the taxpayers if he does not read the literature that he has approved?
As Mr. Hooper declared, his spouse, Ms. Iliana Madrigal-Hooper was employed as the Communications Director for Friends of the Petaluma River from October 2021 - December 2023.
The Friends of the Petaluma River Projects Update dated September 28, 2023 described a top conservation value as: ‘Public Access and Education - Complete the planned Petaluma River Trail’.
A ‘public benefit’ highlighted in UrbanMix Development’s development application for Oyster Cove was a new multi-use trail along the Petaluma River.
Presently, Ms. Madrigal-Hooper is employed as a Research & Policy Associate for the North Bay Labor Council, AFL-CIO. She has been in that role since May of 2023. She simultaneously worked for Friends of the Petaluma River as a part-time Communications Director through December 2023 while Oyster Cove was being approved.
The North Bay Labor Council is one of nearly 500 state and local labor councils acting as an arm of the AFL-CIO. Labor Councils are the heart of the labor movement. NBLC represents over 70 thousand working people and some 70 union affiliates in Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, and Marin Counties.
Former California Assemblyman Michael Allen served nine terms as the President of the AFL-CIO North Bay Labor Council and currently serves on the Board for Generation Housing.
Commissioner Hooper previously served as a Volunteer Intern Coordinator for Michael Allen for California State Assembly and Communications and Membership Coordinator for Sonoma County Conservation Action. Mr. Allen has served as the longtime Board Chair for Sonoma County Conservation Action, a group which endorses Democratic candidates through the guise of ‘environmentalism’.
Generation Housing (Gen H) has included well known individuals on their board including Mr. Keith Rogal, developer for Sonoma Developmental Center and Carneros, Plumpjack, Gavin Newsom’s corporation.
A large amount of developers have rotated through the Gen H Board. These individuals are working closely with NGO’s to serve on various overlapping local agency boards, commissions, committees, etc. in order to monopolize the decision making process. Ironically, those developers are endorsing the same housing projects for which they are receiving development fee waivers for their development company’s project approval through local agencies.
Casa Roseland / Tierra de Rosas is a great example of nepotism in public contracts! The selected developer is MidPen Housing. Ms. Ali Gaylord serves on the Gen H Board. She was employed as the Director of Housing Development - North Bay for MidPen Housing Corporation at the time the Roseland project was approved.
Gen H is paid to endorse housing projects for the developers on their Board. Casa de Tierras was a project which received their endorsement.
Ms. Gaylord’s current bio on the Gen H website states the following:
“Ali is responsible for the oversight of MidPen’s North Bay regional real estate development office. With over 15 years of experience in Affordable Housing, she has contributed to the development and rehabilitation of over 1,000 affordable homes for families and seniors in California. Ali supervises her team in all aspects of development including the entitlement process, financing, deal structuring, design, construction, and closeout. She works closely not only with her team at MidPen but also with stakeholders including financial partners, local jurisdictions and community members. Ali joined MidPen after 8 years with BRIDGE Housing Corporation, where she served most recently as Director of Development in Northern California. Ali helped launch the Emerging Leaders Peer Network, a network of affordable housing practitioners of all disciplines, and served on the Steering Committee for four years. Ali received a B.A. in Economics from Michigan State University.”
She currently serves on the City of Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee alongside Ms. Madrigal. The General Plan is the City’s roadmap for growth for the next 15 years. The Committee ensures that Petaluma’s long-term vision for the future is aligned with the values of the community.
On August 17, 2023, the General Plan Advisory Committee received a presentation from staff regarding: RESIDENTIAL FEASIBILITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE ANALYSES. A discussion was held to determine how the findings should inform the General Plan Update. A second discussion was held regarding Working Group roles in Policy Framework review and a proposed re-organization of Working Groups.
It does not appear that any minutes have ever been taken for the Advisory Committee, therefore I do not know if Ms. Gaylord and Madrigal recused themselves from the discussion. This is odd being that all other Boards & Commissions appear to document minutes for public review.
Gen H is a project of The Tides Center, a left-leaning donor advised fund based in the United States. Per Influence Watch:
“The Tides Center operates as an umbrella group providing 501(c)(3) status to groups who cannot or prefer not to apply for charitable status themselves, often while they await recognition of tax exemption from the IRS (a process called “fiscal sponsorship” or “incubation”). Groups under the Tides Center umbrella inherit the tax-exempt charitable status from Tides, allowing them to accept tax-deductible contributions without an IRS Tax ID. 5
The Tides Center has been described as an organization that “washes” away the paper trail between its grants and the original donor.6 Tides Founder Drummond Pike stated, “Anonymity is very important to most of the people we work with.” 7 Tides’ funding model allows donors to fund newly created projects anonymously through Tides and with the advantages of Tides being a nonprofit prior to the project receiving tax exempt status.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is under the Tides Center’s umbrella as well.”
Both Mr. Hooper and his wife belong to the Wine Country Young Democrats.
They are amongst other members including Mr. Omar Lopez, Political Director of Wine Country Young Democrats, Senior Program Associate for Gen H, former Student Board Member, Santa Rosa City Schools.
Gen H Board Member Stephanie Manieri is a Santa Rosa City Schools (SRCS) Trustee and appears to be a Member of Wine Country Young Democrats.
Mr. Eric Vazquez-Izaguirre currently serves on the City of Petaluma Transit Advisory Committee. Mr. Vasquez is the Field Director for Blake Hooper for Petaluma City Council and the Education, Advocacy, and Government Affairs Associate for EAH Housing. He is also the President of the Wine Country Young Democrats Executive Board.
Commissioner Hooper served on the Transit Advisory Committee through 6/30/2022 and the Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee through 06/30/2023.
According to the City of Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee minutes dated June 20, 2024, Ms. Elda Vasquez-Izaguirre is a volunteer member of the Committee.
Oddly, she is not listed on the member roster for the General Plan Advisory Committee website. She appears to be an immediate relative of Mr. Eric Vasquez-Izaguirre.
Former SRCS Board President Jenni Klose is the Executive Director of Gen H. She, Mr. Lopez and Ms. Manieri served simultaneously on the school board.
Ms. Manieri’s spouse, Mr. Jorge Inocencio is the former Advisory Board Chair for Gen H. He has been affiliated with the Wine Country Young Democrats as he represents District 5 on the Sonoma County Democratic Party Central Committee.
As you can see from the City of Petaluma Planning Commission Meeting Minutes dated February 22, 2022, Gen H Policy Director Calum Weeks stated:
“… input on the approval process for affordable housing and noted one of the most significant barriers being impact fees which can often inhibit affordable housing.”
Mr. Hooper was present as a Planning Commissioner at the time Mr. Weeks spoke. Mr. Weeks is a frequent commenter, as we run into each other quite often at various meetings of mutual interest.
Mr. Weeks also serves alongside Mr. Inocencio on the City of Santa Rosa Community Advisory Board (CAB). They advise the City regarding the Capital Improvement Program for projects which benefit their housing narrative.
Four Board Members resigned after I spoke at my first meeting recently. I requested for the City Attorney to review the CAB Charter as the Board appears to primarily approve grants for themselves, their families and friends. The City informed me that they are still looking into this matter.
Did Ms. Madrigal-Hooper utilize her role as a double agent for the Labor Council and Friends of the Petaluma River to financially benefit anyone? While I could go on for decades regarding the conflicts of interest I’ve found, are Mr. Hooper, his spouse, and friends serving in local agency roles exchanging business plans outside of public meeting hours? If so, this would constitute a Brown Act Violation.
Every elected official and public employee who makes or influences governmental decisions is required to submit a Statement of Economic Interest, also known as the Form 700. The Form 700 provides transparency and ensures accountability in two ways:
It provides necessary information to the public about an official’s personal financial interests to ensure that officials are making decisions in the best interest of the public and not enhancing their personal finances.
It serves as a reminder to the public official of potential conflicts of interest so the official can abstain from making or participating in governmental decisions that are deemed conflicts of interest.
Mr. Hooper and his wife reported zero financial interests on their annual statement of economic interest. Oddly, they chose to omit all sources of income which present a conflict. Ms. Madrigal only completed a Form 700 in 2019, but did not appear to complete required filings in the coming years.
I am the former Executive Assistant to the Santa Rosa City Schools District Board and Superintendent. I was forced out as a protected whistleblower. The district is amidst settlement negotiations with me currently. I began investigating matters such as these because my district was non-transparent.
I have watched beautiful, God fearing people be forced out of their positions for seeking truth and acting with integrity in the name of the justice. I am just one amongst the many I have come across in our local community.
Is Mr. Hooper who you desire as your new Councilman? You have two months to decide and vote in the November 5, 2024 General Election.
Proverbs 14:16
“One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”
Blake Hooper did recuse himself, contrary to the entire premise of the article. Any minimally decent journalist would have watched the publicly available recording to validate this. At 7 min 50 seconds, you will see Blake Hooper recusing himself - please view the video at the link provided below. I assume, now that you know this information, you will take down this article as it is now debunked. https://cityofpetaluma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15290