Sonoma County’s largest public employee union has stalled a $114 million county office deal, alleging a supervisor’s campaign donation created a conflict of interest, prompting legal scrutiny and a delay in the controversial purchases.
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Sonoma County’s largest public employee labor union has come out swinging against a set of proposed county office acquisitions totaling $114 million, and its attack, including allegations of pay-to-play politics involving at least one elected supervisor, have derailed at least temporarily the deals’ advance.
The Board of Supervisors was set to discuss the purchases Tuesday afternoon, but the items were pulled from the agenda in the morning after county attorneys received a letter from an attorney representing Service Employees International Union Local 1021.
In the letter, the union alleges Supervisor David Rabbitt improperly participated in closed-session discussions about the properties in question after receiving a campaign contribution from the agent of one of the involved brokerage firms.
SEIU 1021 has publicly opposed the proposed purchases, contending the county is overpaying for the buildings and questioning the transparency of the acquisition process.
“These deals were negotiated behind closed doors with minimal public input, and alarmingly, a former board chair may have violated California’s anti pay-to-play rules and regulations and laws by accepting campaign contributions from a financially interested party and failing to disclose them,” Ryan Williams, a political organizer for SEIU 1021, said to the board Tuesday.
Williams address came during the board’s public comment period, hours after the agenda item had been withdrawn.
Rabbitt, the board’s longest serving incumbent and the 2024 chair, said he was not previously aware that a donor to his campaign, Santa Rosa real estate investor Larry Wasem, was tied to a broker for one of the involved properties.
“I actually appreciate (SEIU) letting me know, because obviously I don’t want to be on the wrong side of the ordinance,” Rabbitt said.
The county’s top attorney said he did not agree with SEIU’s legal interpretation but that his office was seeking an independent opinion from the state’s campaign watchdog agency.
The two properties the county is eyeing for acquisition sit near the county airport, about five miles north of its main campus in Santa Rosa.
Wasem, who together with developer Rich Coombs owns the Airport Business Center, has long had business interests in the area.
The two properties proposed for county purchase include the 132,000 square-foot building at 400 Aviation Boulevard, which the county began leasing last year, with the option to purchase in five years, and nearby 3850 and 3880 Brickway Boulevard, which offer a combined 126,585 square feet.
The county’s proposed purchase agreements included $56.1 million for 400 Aviation Blvd. — at least $10 million over appraised figures — and $32 million for the two Brickway Boulevard buildings.
The SEIU letter, sent by attorney Richard Rios, objected to the potential sale by calling out a $1,000 donation that Rabbitt’s campaign reported receiving Oct. 16, 2024 from Wasem, who is an active donor in local races.
California Secretary of State filings also list Wasem as the agent for Selway Management, the broker representing American AgCredit Federal Land Bank Association, which owns 400 Aviation Blvd.
In the week after Rabbitt’s campaign received Wasem’s donation, the board discussed its interest in the Aviation Boulevard and the Brickway Boulevard properties in a session closed to the public, according to the board’s agenda. There was no reportable action, according to meeting minutes, but the board “gave direction to Legal Counsel and Staff.”
That Oct. 16 donation, union representatives say, should have disqualified Rabbitt from participating in any subsequent board discussion about the properties.
Wasem stands to benefit financially from the deal through his ties to Selway Management and as a founder and managing general partner of the Airport Business Center, which encompasses several properties in the area, the union contended in its letter.
The state’s campaign watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission, enforces “pay-to-play” regulations that could apply.
The rules prohibit local elected officials from participating in certain proceedings if they have received a contribution over $500 from an involved party or participant within the preceding 12 months. The prohibition was amended to raise the contribution threshold from $250 to $500 effective Jan. 1, according to the FPPC website.
Rabbitt was the only board member mentioned in the SEIU letter, but in an interview Tuesday, Rabbitt implied other board members could also be caught up in the issue.
He suggested the objection was grounded in politics. SEIU Local 1021, which represents the largest share of county employees, backed his opponent in 2022, when he won his fourth term on the board.