OAKLAND -- Supervisor Scott
Haggerty's Chief of Staff improperly and unethically pressured county staff to
approve licenses and permits for political supporters and personal
acquaintances, including a landowner who was also handling his personal home
loan, according to an Alameda County Grand Jury report.
The Grand Jury found the
staffer, Shawn Wilson, on multiple occasions lobbied county staff to make
decisions that would benefit his bosses' donors or "favored
applicants" and is calling for an immediate investigation.
Wilson denies the allegations
and says he hasn't done anything illegal or unethical.
"I don't have anything to
hide," Wilson said. "I feel like if they do an investigation, they
won't find anything."
The jury concluded that
Wilson's "inappropriate conduct" damaged the county's reputation and
caused direct economic losses to the county and its taxpayers. In one case, the
Grand Jury found Wilson pressured the county's Public Works department to allow
BioFuel Systems, a Livermore-based wood-chipping and recycling business with
several violations on record with the state, to move its operations to a
county-owned site. The company made a $5,000 contribution to Haggerty's 2016
re-election campaign in July of 2013, the report states.
Wilson's interference in the
process, the Jury concluded, cost the county nearly $100,000 in legal fees to
remedy.
Company officials did not
return calls for comment.
The jury also reported that
during talks on a county proposal to purchase the Sunol Valley Golf Club land
from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Wilson agreed to keep Chris
George, with whom he was also pursuing a home loan, abreast of the negotiations
under the auspices that the county could sell or trade the property to George's
company, CMG Financial, after the county acquired it.
"If I explain where we are
at on the (project) you promise me you will shred this email?" Wilson
reportedly wrote to company officials.
Wilson, the report states, was
also able to pressure county staff to fast-track permits for George to build a
barn in Sunol.
Wilson denied any conflict of
interest involved in his dealings with George or CMG Financial, adding the
reference to shredding emails was a joke.
"The guy didn't do me any
favors. The county got it wrong. I pushed for it because it was the right thing
to do,'' he said.
In another case, the jury
found, Wilson "applied relentless pressure" to staff to reconsider a
rejection of a large home and pool construction project, telling a company
official in one email that he was "bending these motherf****s"
(meaning county staff).
Haggerty said the ultimate
decision on relocating the recycling company rested with county Public Works
Director Dan Woldesenbet. County staff, he said, is allowed to advocate for
projects on behalf of constituents. He called the jury's findings a surprise.
"I've never had a
department head come to me and complain that Shawn has unfairly pressured
them," Haggerty said. "We have to look at it and find out why this is
happening ... Shawn's a hard worker and an ethical person. I don't think he's
broken the law in any way. He loves to advocate (and) I would be surprised if
there were unethical violations in his case."
Wilson said he was disappointed
by the outcome of the report and denied any inappropriate conduct.
"I'm very responsible at
my job," Wilson said. "I help everybody. It doesn't matter who they
are or what they've donated ... If the Grand Jury wants to continue to say it's
unethical, then so be it."
Since the report's release,
Haggerty said he had talked with Wilson about "being more
professional" in his communications and Wilson agreed. No administrative
action has been taken against Wilson.
"I've learned now I can't
swear or joke in my emails," Wilson said. "Did I say some things in
emails, yeah? Did I do anything illegal? No ... I shouldn't have said some of
those things. I apologize for that."
George and Woldesenbet weren't
immediately available for comment.
June 30, 2015
Marin
Independent Journal
By
Jeremy Thomas, Bay Area News Group
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