Mayor should resign or be recalled
After five women leveled extensive and disturbing allegations of sexual assault against Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, it was difficult to imagine a more decisive disqualification from public office. But the mayor made his unfitness to serve even clearer with his unconvincing denial of the charges.
Foppoli should resign immediately. And if he continues to refuse to do so, he should be recalled.
A Chronicle investigation published last week detailed the accounts of four women who said Foppoli isolated and sexually assaulted them after nights of drinking. Following the publication, a fifth woman came forward with further allegations that he assaulted her repeatedly during the course of a relationship. The alleged attacks span a period from 2002 through 2019, the year after Foppoli became mayor of the Sonoma County town, and in several cases suggest he leveraged his power as a local politician and winery owner to prey on women.
Foppoli, first elected to the Windsor Town Council in 2014, only furthered the case against his continued service with his first attempt to answer the charges at length over the weekend. Instead of responding to the substance of the allegations, the mayor lashed out at his critics, portraying himself as a victim.
The breadth and vehemence of public and official condemnation, by contrast, reflect the gravity of the allegations and Foppoli’s failure to answer them accordingly. The chorus of calls for his resignation includes all his Town Council colleagues and fellow Sonoma County mayors; both North Bay congressional representatives; Santa Rosa’s Press Democrat, which endorsed him for local office three times; and his own brother, a fellow executive at the family winery who said he also urged the mayor to step aside from the business. In addition, several civic and trade associations have taken action against Foppoli and the winery.
Foppoli also faces a criminal investigation opened by the Sonoma County Sheriff ’s Office in the wake of The Chronicle’s report and a voter recall drive. While Town Council members say they have limited means to remove the mayor from his elected position, they have scheduled an emergency meeting this week and expressed support for the recall.
As the mayor noted in the course of his statement, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence in the criminal justice system. But he is not entitled to remain in a position of public trust.