ICOE trustee to stand trial
BRAWLEY — A county Superior Court Judge on Friday ordered Imperial County Office of Education Board Trustee Annette Gonzalez-Buttner to stand trial for charges alleging she falsified documents in 2017 in order to maintain her elected position.
In his ruling, Judge Christopher Plourd said there was reasonable and probable cause to order Gonzalez-Buttner to face trial on two counts of perjury, one count of grand theft and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy.
The charges stem from allegations that in mid2014 Gonzalez-Buttner had established her “domicile,” or permanent residence, in Santa Clara County, while falsely claiming she continued to reside in the district she was elected in 2013 and 2017 to represent, Calexico.
Despite the case relying heavily on circumstantial evidence and conflicting witness testimony, Plourd said he came to his determination largely with the aid of a few particular exhibits and the testimony of one key witness.
That key witness turned out to be the defendant’s 81-year-old father, Juan Manuel Gonzalez, who Plourd characterized as being an “entirely credible” witness with intimate knowledge of his daughter’s permanent place of residence.
“What he said was that Ms. Buttner asked to use (his home) as a mailing address,” Plourd said. “Well, that’s not a domicile.”
On Wednesday, Gonzalez testified that his daughter had not lived at his Rockwood Avenue home on a permanent basis since having left for college more than 30 years ago.
The DA’s Office alleges that Gonzalez-Buttner used her father’s address on a candidate intention statement and a driver’s license application in 2017, both of which are signed under penalty of perjury.
In announcing his ruling, Plourd also acknowledged that the testimony and evidence presented during the two-day preliminary examination has the potential to be further developed during a trial and possibly prove Gonzalez-Buttner’s innocence.
Additionally, though Plourd on Friday denied a motion by the defense to dismiss the case for discriminatory prosecution, he did not outright reject the allegation.
“There were some seeds of evidence that could be developed that would suggest that this (prosecution) may be biased,” Plourd said.
On Thursday, defense attorney John Breeze had argued that the case against Gonzalez-Buttner was politically motivated and prompted by an unsuccessful attempt by ICOE to have her removed from office through civil litigation.
During Breeze’s cross examination of ICOE Superintendent Todd Finnell on Thursday, Finnell disclosed that ICOE had advised Gonzalez-Buttner in January 2016 of its intention to pursue legal action to have her removed from public office as a result of mounting complaints alleging she was living in Santa Clara.
Finnell further disclosed that those complaints had also prompted ICOE to contact the DA’s Office to share its concerns.
He denied there was any coordinated strategy between ICOE and the DA’s Office to prosecute Gonzalez-Buttner and contended that the decision to involve the DA’s Office came at the advice of ICOE’s counsel, and was motivated by a desire to limit the agency’s potential legal exposure and maintain the public’s trust.
Though Plourd stated that the evidence presented on Wednesday and Thursday was insufficient to determine whether the case represented a discriminatory prosecution, he acknowledged that Breeze’s motion was by no means a “frivolous defense.”
“There’s good reason to pursue that issue to see if any evidence develops,” Plourd said.
As an elected official, Gonzalez-Buttner is bound by law and ICOE board bylaws to have an established domicile in the district that she was elected to represent. Statutes also allow for an elected individual to reside elsewhere on a temporary basis to attend college.
Yet, attempts to convince the court that Gonzalez-Buttner was residing in Santa Clara so that she could attend community college appeared to have fallen short.
In his ruling, Plourd stated that evidence suggested that Gonzalez-Buttner had only enrolled in a Bay Area community college about a year after she had initially moved her and her children to Santa Clara in mid-2014 to reside with her domestic partner.
He further indicated that the action was prompted by the defendant’s knowledge that her residency and legitimacy on the ICOE board was being scrutinized.
“I find that that was essentially a cover story once the defendant was challenged on the residency issue,” he said.
Gonzalez-Buttner is due back in court Aug. 9 for her arraignment on all four counts. She had initially faced just two felony charges, including a count of perjury related to the candidate intention statement and filing a falsified candidacy declaration, which is a form not signed under penalty of perjury.
On Wednesday, the DA’s Office had filed an amended complaint that included two additional charges. The grand theft charge alleges that the monthly stipends and health insurance coverage that Gonzalez-Buttner received as an elected board member were obtained under false pretenses.
The second perjury charges alleges that the defendant submitted a California driver’s license application in 2017 listing her father’s Rockwood Avenue address as her own. That application is signed under penalty of perjury.
If convicted on all four counts, Gonzalez-Buttner could potentially face a maximum sentence of six years, four months of incarceration, the DA’s Office reported.