“We deserve a board that provides expertise and insight to benefit all Californians rather than politicize the commission,” the letter’s final sentence says.
Sonoma County Farm Bureau letter of opposition
No prior complaints
De La Cruz said she contacted Beretta soon after receiving a copy of the letter in early March. She said she felt it was an opportunity to help Beretta better understand her role, as well as to engage with a group that she had not met with before or heard prior complaints from.
“I understood it as a misunderstanding in my role in the Office of Equity,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz was not Person-Whitley’s supervisor nor does she handle personnel complaints, she added.
After answering several questions from Beretta, De La Cruz asked her to rescind the letter, both women said. Beretta said she took De La Cruz’s request to the organization’s executive committee, the group that initially voted to oppose the appointment, but they declined.
The letter was sent to the Senate Rules Committee before an April 6 hearing that included a vote over De La Cruz’s appointment.
De La Cruz was required to appear before the Senate Rules Committee at the hearing because of the letter, she said. Prospective appointees with no opposition are not required to attend.
The Seismic Safety Commission investigates earthquakes, recommends policies to reduce earthquake risk and monitors state-funded seismic activities, among other tasks. It consists of 15 gubernatorial seats representing a variety of topics related to seismic safety, such as fire protection, insurance and social services, the seat De La Cruz was appointed to.
Nomination narrowly approved
The Farm Bureau’s letter was the only one opposing De La Cruz’s appointment. Nine others supported her nomination, records released by the Senate Rules Committee shows.
Among those writing in favor were McGuire, D-Healdsburg, Gore, Hopkins, and California Coastal Commission Vice Chair Caryl Hart.
The Senate Rules Committee voted 3-2 in favor of De La Cruz’s appointment after an hour-long discussion. Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, and Sen. Shannon Grove, R- Bakersfield, cast the dissenting votes. State senators confirmed her appointment on April 21 in a 31-8 party-line vote.
In interviews, Hopkins, Coursey and Gore described the letter as a misinformed attack on a dedicated public servant who has excelled in her capacity as the founding director of Sonoma County’s Office of Equity.
All agreed Person-Whitley’s departure did not fall under De La Cruz’s purview. Person-Whitley did not respond to several phone and email messages seeking comment.
Each said they were surprised the Farm Bureau would weigh in on such appointment in the first place because they did not see a clear nexus between the issue of seismic safety and the organization’s interests.
McGuire agreed.
“Not once have I ever had a conversation about seismic safety with any of the Farm Bureau’s between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oregon border,” he said.
Accusations of microaggressions
In her letter of support, Hopkins addressed the Farm Bureau’s letter directly, calling it “microaggressions against an eminently qualified woman of color,” in part through the questions it raises about whether De La Cruz has the time to serve on the commission.
Microaggressions, also known as subtle acts of exclusion are statements or actions that discriminate against marginalized groups, including racial, ethnic or gender minorities. They are often subtle and unintentional.
Hopkins said those questions reminded her of her initial campaign for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors seat, in which she had a baby and a child.
“The No. 1 most common question that I was asked is ‘How are you going to balance your job, your children,’” Hopkins said, adding that Gore, who was also campaigning for a seat on the board and whose wife was pregnant at the time, was not asked the same question. “It is just the type of thing that is frequently brought up in the context of female leaders.”
Hopkins also took issue with the Farm Bureau assertion that Person-Whitley’s resignation represented a failure within the county’s equity office.
“I find it odd that a white woman is blaming a woman of color for failing to single-handedly dissolve systemic, endemic anti-Black racism within 24 months,” Hopkins wrote in her letter of support.
Coursey said he was impressed with De La Cruz’s connections at the state Capitol, which he witnessed firsthand years ago while on a trip there with De La Cruz. She was working in the County Counsel’s Office and he was serving as Santa Rosa’s mayor at the time.
“She has connections up in the legislature both on the legislative side and the staff side,” Coursey said. “She knows how things work and … I just can’t think of anyone better to receive an appointment like this.”
‘Bright and accomplished’
In her interview with The Press Democrat, Beretta defended the letter, saying the Farm Bureau advocates for the interests of farmers and ranchers in the county and had valid reasons for their opposition. Among them were concerns over De La Cruz’s lack of experience with the technical aspects of seismic safety.
“It was hard to understand why she wanted to do that with no understanding of seismic safety,” Beretta said. “We didn’t understand what her motive was to be on such committee without very little background in those areas.”
In her letter, Beretta said that while De La Cruz was a “very bright and accomplished individual,” the bureau was “puzzled how she could find the time to appropriately serve the Commission given her many other responsibilities.”
She goes on to list De La Cruz’s job with the county and her seat on the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Trustees. The third and last bullet point reads “involved in many local organizations and causes” but does not elaborate further.
When asked if the organization had voiced any concerns about Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt’s ability to serve on the Seismic Safety Commission, to which he’s been appointed three times, Beretta said they had not because of his experience as an architect.
Rabbitt is a member of 20 local, regional and statewide committees, according to Sonoma County’s website.
“For us, he’s had a considerable time in the county … and with his background, we wouldn’t have said anything,” Beretta said.
She disputed the idea that the Farm Bureau made prejudicial comments about De La Cruz, underscoring that the letter did not mention De La Cruz’s gender or her being a mother.
You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.
