Mendocino County Supervisor Glenn McGourty is asking the state Fair Political Practices Commission to review questions raised about his family’s purchase in May of a coast house located outside his inland supervisorial district.
In that transaction, McGourty assured loan lenders the Fort Bragg house will be his “primary residence” despite legal requirements that board members live in the district they represent.
Critics are suggesting McGourty, who represents inland Mendocino County’s First Supervisorial District, is possibly violating legal and ethical standards surrounding a public official’s local residency requirements, and his agreement on a loan document on file with the county to make the property his principal residence “within 60 days” of the purchase. Today (Sunday) is that deadline.
If in fact the coast home is legally considered McGourty’s primary residence, it represents an automatic forfeiture of office, according to a “concerned citizen” who has documented the transactions but refuses to be public identified. McGourty’s principal address declaration on loan documents may also violate regulations surrounding mortgage lending practices, according to the complaint.
The individual outlined concerns in a 7-page statement that is to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors, the County Counsel’s Office, and the County Executive Office.
McGourty on Sunday denied any wrongdoing, and said he voluntarily is asking the state commission to advise him on how to remedy any potential conflicts if they exist.
McGourty’s dilemma stems from a family trust’s May 14 purchase of a Fort Bragg house, and his wife’s subsequent move to the coast to live there with an adult disabled dependent son. Jan McCourty is now a registered voter in Fort Bragg, and as such was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Mendocino Coast Hospital District.
Supervisor McGourty, who leaves office in January 2025 after serving two terms representing his agriculturally based district, said, “There is nothing intentional here.”
McGourty conceded that when he steps down from the board within six months, he plans to join his wife and “spend most of the time living with her in Fort Bragg.”
However, McGourty said, because the couple have a vineyard and an orchard surrounding their current residence south of Talmage, “I will live part time in Ukiah as well to tend to our properties as needed.”
McGourty noted that he currently remains a registered voter in Ukiah, receives all his mail at his current address, and continues to live there while maintaining his office at the county’s Administrative Center on Low Gap Road “where I work most days.”
McGourty acknowledged that for his wife, and the couple’s mortgage needs, the Fort Bragg house “is considered a primary residence.”
McGourty, however, said that for himself until the end of his term, “Our property at 7200 Old River Road is my primary residence. I will then move to Fort Bragg to join her.”
The FPPC is being asked by McGourty to determine if there is a conflict under state rules with how he is viewing his current “primary address” arrangement.
“If so, what is the proper way to remedy this potential conflict?” he asks in a letter to the FPPC.
In the statement being circulated among county officials, the “concerned citizen” is calling for the immediate resignation of McGourty, and requiring he pay back salary and benefits if it is determined he was not entitled to them because of a residency change.
A request is also being made that the County Counsel review all board votes since May 14 McGourty may have been engaged in including his wife’s coast hospital district board appointment, or the county’s Tax Sharing Agreement reached with the incorporated cities.
THE ORIGINAL “CONCERNED CITIZEN” LETTER calling for the resignation of Supervisor Glenn McGourty over residency and other “revelations.”
Dear Mendocino County Executive Officer, County Counsel, and Board of Supervisors
I am writing to express my concern and call for the immediate resignation of District 1 Supervisor Glenn McGourty after recent revelations about his residency status, legal and ethical violations having significant implications for his role as District 1 Supervisor. Information reveals that he has not maintained residency within the district, thereby violating this fundamental requirement, a fact he has not disclosed and/or resigned from the board. This breach of residency law undermines the integrity of your office and erodes public trust in our local government.
Supervisor McGourty has his legal primary residence in either Ukiah or Fort Bragg. He cannot reside in both at the same time as his primary residency. If his primary residence is Fort Bragg, he is no longer a resident of the First Supervisor District and has forfeited being a Supervisor. If his primary residence is Ukiah, then what about him getting a loan and misrepresenting to the lender that his primary residence will be in Fort Bragg within 60 days? He must resign immediately, and the County must terminate his salary and benefits, require pay back any salary and benefits for time served in office when he legally not allowed to serve and receive those benefits.
Due to this conflict of interest, and to protect taxpayers' interests, I request County Counsel to examine all Board items from May 14, 2024, forward, where voting by the Board of Supervisors on any agenda item by Glenn McGourty, such as the Tax Sharing Agreement with the incorporated cities or Mendocino Coast Hospital District Board appointment are in question due to his conflict of interest.
Facts and evidence are available through websites and public documents which I have obtained, preserved, and referenced in the document.
- On April 22, 2024, Glenn and Jan McGourty made a contingent offer to purchase a house in Fort Bragg.
- On May 14, 2024, Glenn and Jan McGourty sign a deed of trust purchasing a home in Fort Bragg.
- The deed of trust includes an occupancy requirement within 60 days to be his as primary residence.
- Mendocino County recorder Document number 2024-04143 page 7 of 17, clause 6 Occupancy, states the "Borrower must occupy, establish, and use the Property as Borrower's principal residence within 60 days after the execution of this security instrument…"
- Jan McGourty then registered to vote in Fort Bragg shortly after the recording of this document on May 18, 2024.
- Therefore Mr. McGourty legally contracted to have his principal place of residence in Fort Bragg as of July 15, 2024.
- Having place of residence outside of your supervisorial district is an automatic forfeiture of office.
- If Mr. McGourty intends to have his place of residence at his property located in Ukiah, District 1, then he has misrepresented material facts to the lender to obtain the loan.
- Penal Code 532f states a person commits mortgage fraud if the person:
(1) Deliberately makes any misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission during the mortgage lending process with the intention that it be relied on by a mortgage lender, borrower, or any other party to the mortgage lending process.
(2) Deliberately uses or facilitates the use of any misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission, knowing the same to contain a misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission, during the mortgage lending process with the intention that it be relied on by a mortgage lender, borrower, or any other party to the mortgage lending process.
- On May 21, 2024, at the County Board of Supervisors meeting, Glenn McGourty recused himself for item 3e Special Appointments. His wife, Jan McGourty, was appointed to Mendocino Coast Hospital District (MCHD). This appointment requires her to be a registered voter in Fort Bragg. Discussion included a potential future bond measure for seismic upgrade and urgency to appoint her to avoid going to election for the position and to add a 5th voting board member to hospital board.
- On May 23, 2024, MCHD agenda to appoint Jan McGourty to the Board. See public comment in board video regarding Brown Act violation and insider appointment.
- On June 4, 2024, Jan McGourty was sworn in as board member to MCHD board. A question to please review is if being a registered voter for less than 30 days before being sworn in to the district board is this legally allowable?
- On June 5, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved a Tax Sharing Agreement between the County of Mendocino, the City of Fort Bragg, the City of Point Arena, the City of Ukiah, and the City of Willits. This agreement will benefit city residents by providing County tax revenue to the cities. This item was approved by vote 4/1. It calls into question if McGourty should have recused himself from the vote knowing he would be a resident of Fort Bragg and benefit through his city residency and what was his undue influence over the Board decision on this matter by not recusing himself?
- On July 9, 2024, the Board of Supervisors item 4d included a discussion to bring back hospital-based BID (HBID) proposal to a future board meeting. If the HBID is passed by the Board of Supervisors in the future it will benefit hospitals as they will be able to add the charge to their bills to pass on to Medi-Cal and Medi-Care billings. This funding will be used for local hospitals such as the Mendocino Coast Hospital District where Jan McGourty is a Board member. This decision has unknown consequences to the taxpayers not only as individuals but also as State and Federal taxpayers. Glenn McGourty did not recuse himself from this item, did not disclose potential conflict of interest, and voted to move this item forward to an agenda for a proposal in September or October 2024.
These actions demonstrate a disregard for the laws and regulations that you are sworn to uphold. These actions undermine public trust, and it is essential for our elected officials to uphold the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and transparency.
As a concerned citizen and member of this community, it is in the best interest of our constituents that Supervisor McGourty step down immediately!
Sincerely,
Concerned citizen of Mendocino County
CC:
County of Mendocino Executive Officer. County Counsel
Board of Supervisors
County Registrar of Voters
Secretary of State, Fair Political Practices Commission
MARK SCARAMELLA NOTES: Attached to the “concerned citizen’s” letter are several pages of relevant links, legal citations from government code with footnotes and court case summaries, a copy of the “grant deed” and “deed of trust” (for McGourty’s loan application) for the purchase of the house in Fort Bragg. There is some interesting speculation going around about who this “concerned citizen” might be. Some people think it’s coming from a County employee or county contract employee. Whoever it is, they’re paying close attention to Board activities, McGourty’s real estate transactions, have pretty good on-line researching skills, and probably have a personal beef with McGourty or his family related to either the writer’s job or organization. We are surprised that the County Counsel’s office has not weighed in on this complaint since it involves the Supervisor’s votes on recent issues that have arisen and McGourty’s position on those votes. (McGourty, however, was not a swing vote in the examples cited, so recusal wouldn’t have made much difference.) A couple of years ago when we submitted a conflict of interest complaint about McGourty’s conflicted wine industry situation (he owns a vineyard that benefits from Russian River water while serving as a Supervisor and on local boards that affect Russian River water allocations), County Counsel Christian Curtis opined in reply that our complaint was not specific enough and the complaint would have to cite specific decisions McGourty was making. But at least he replied.
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