Sue Hoek: Should She be Trusted with Taxpayer Dollars?
I am sure everyone has read by now “that on August 20th the California Fair Political Practices Committee approved a $31,500 settlement against Nevada County for seven violations of the Political Reform Act arising from the County’s activities during the 2022 Measure V campaign”, the failed half-cent sales tax initiative.
The FPPC Settlement and What the County Admitted
“The violations included two prohibited campaign-related mass mailings at public expense, two failures to include required advertising disclosures, failure to timely file a semiannual campaign statement, and two failures to timely file 24-hour independent expenditure reports. The seven counts carried a maximum possible administrative penalty of $35,500.” Taxpayers also footed the bill for the fine as it went into the state general fund.
There’s more to the backstory on how more than a quarter of a million dollars of taxpayer funds were illegally budgeted to fund the Measure V tax initiative orchestrated by County Executive Officer Alison Lehman.
Early each year CEO Lehman, the Auditor-Controller, Chief Financial Officer, and other staff form the Budget Committee. In addition, two supervisors form the Budget Subcommittee. In 2022, Supervisors Sue Hoek (Chair) and Ed Scofield (Vice Chair) were on the Budget Subcommittee tasked with approving the budgets of the various departments.
How the Campaign Expenses Were Budgeted
According to a memo dated December 23, 2021 (from Caleb Dardick, assistant CEO and Measure V project manager), titled ‘Emergency Services Public Education Program Budget’, all the proposed expenditures for the Measure V campaign were listed as follows:
Public Opinion Research-Godbe, $76,100
Project Management-Lew Edwards Group, $77,500
Public Information, Direct Mail, Includes, design, production, postage, $60,000
Writer, Laura Peterson, freelance writer, $10,000
Video, one video, $9,000
$252,600 Total Projected Measure V Expenses
This memo was the “only” direction from the CEO’s office to the Budget Subcommittee comprised of Sue Hoek and Ed Scofield. The funds for illegally promoting Measure V came directly out of the 2022 General Fund Budget and were appropriated into the Budget for the Office of Emergency Services (OES).
Furthermore, if you go to the published 2022 Nevada County Budget, and scroll way down to the OES Budget, you will see there are no line items either for “education” or line items for a “sales tax initiative” in Expenses. Furthermore, if you read the text in the OES Budget, it lists a variety of planned education for Nevada County residents but does not mention a tax measure or name Measure V.
Oversight, Judgment, and the Call for Resignation
What does all this mean? It means that Sue Hoek and Ed Scofield knowingly approved the quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer dollars to fund an illegal political campaign—Measure V.
Right at the bottom of the OES budget, income and expenses, it says, “Subcommittee Comments, adopted as proposed.”
California Government Code Section 8314 makes it unlawful for any elected state or local officer, employee, appointee, or consultant to use—or permit others to use—public resources for campaign activities, personal use, or any other purpose not authorized by law.
So, what we may have here is a blatant misappropriation of public funds, funds that the public was misled to believe was for Office of Emergency Services “education” but were actually used to fund considerable expenses to illegally promote a tax measure.
Apparently, Hoek and Scofield knowingly voted to appropriate the funds for the Measure V sales tax initiative. Did they know at the time that funding a political campaign with public tax dollars was illegal? Having previously run for office, they would have had first-hand experience with following state law regarding political finance. At the very least, this is a case of fiduciary negligence.
Hoek and Scofield exhibited an extraordinary lack of judgement in approving the Measure V expenses. By assigning the expenses to the “Supplies and Services” line item in the OES budget, the tax measure expenditures were concealed from the public and the Auditor-Controller.
To make matters worse, then Auditor-Controller, Marcia Salter, and assistant Auditor-Controller, Gina Will, were aware by October 2022 that Measure V expenses were run through the OES budget line item, “Supplies and Services” and not as a special category line item and given an “identifying” Project Cost Number (PCN).
An October 17, 2022, email from Marcia Salter to Caleb Dardick, asked, “Was a PCN(s) established for tracking all costs related to the Measure V? I am hoping so but wanted to confirm.”
In light of all this, I believe that Sue Hoek should resign as a Nevada County Supervisor. Sue has demonstrated she has no respect for the taxpayer who put their trust in her.
The illegal tax measure campaign is a reminder of something every taxpayer depends on, the trust we place in the people who lead our local government to handle our money responsibly.
