I accept full responsibility for two conflict-of-interest violations arising from votes I cast while serving on the Sonoma Clean Power Board of Directors and the Cloverdale City Council.

The violations involved contracts with two companies that had also paid Sirius Mobile Solutions, the small IT business I own with my husband. I should have recognized those financial relationships and recused myself from the votes. I acknowledges that responsibility and accept the FPPC’s findings and the resulting penalty.

“This was completely inadvertent on my part, but I take full responsibility for it,”

The FPPC found that I timely and correctly disclosed the relevant financial interests on her Statements of Economic Interests. It also found that I did not act with an intent to conceal or deceive, had no prior history of violations, and that the violations were isolated. The Commission further found no evidence that I or my business received additional income from either company following the votes.

Those findings provide important context, but they do not eliminate my responsibility. Conflict-of-interest rules exist to protect public confidence in government and to ensure that public decisions are made without actual or perceived divided loyalties.

I regrets the oversight and understand that transparency and accountability require more than good intentions. They require careful attention, strong safeguards, full disclosure, and a willingness to acknowledge mistakes openly.

Throughout my years of public service, I disclosed all of my financial interests and had previously recused myself from other votes involving these companies. In these two instances, however, I failed to do so.

I remain committed to transparent government, ethical public service, and accountability to the people she seeks to represent.  I accept the consequences of this mistake and will carry the lessons from it into every future public responsibility.