Dear Editor,
Many people and groups supported Dominic Foppoli in his 2020 mayoral campaign. This includes the entire Board of Supervisors (Shirlee Zane, but not Chris Coursey) and council members from every city except Petaluma.
Supporters also included school board members from Windsor and Santa Rosa, and the Sonoma County Board of Education, members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Sonoma County Conservation Action, Legal Aid of Sonoma County, and of course, the Press Democrat. It’s a veritable Who’s Who of Sonoma County.
But even if we leave out the accusations of sexual assault, and the racist and homophobic comments attributed to him, why did all these people endorse Dominic Foppoli?
Mr. Foppoli supposedly went to the Trump inauguration in 2016 before apparently changing political parties. But he still posted pictures online of himself with Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Qanon congresswoman from Georgia. I hardly think these are “Sonoma County values,” but none of it seemed to bother his supporters. Why?
Let me guess. Mr. Foppoli is a wealthy young man who supports growth, business, the wine industry and the status quo. That alone was enough to make him a darling among our rulers. After all, those are the only values that truly matter. Sonoma County isn’t as liberal or progressive as we like to think it is.
And, if he follows Efren Carrillo’s playbook, he can merely blame alcohol, go into rehab and soon enough he’ll be forgiven and back in everyone’s good graces. They’ll all be slapping him on the back and taking smiling selfies like they did with Carrillo. #MeToo? What’s that?
Laura Gonzalez, Santa Rosa
