Former county officials question Cubbison charges
The integrity of suspended Auditor Chamise Cubbison, facing a felony criminal charge of misappropriation of public funds, is being unfairly questioned, according to two former county officials.
Duncan James, a former county District Attorney and head of a leading local law firm, said he is reviewing the state provision used by the Board of Supervisors to immediately suspend Cubbison without pay earlier this week even though she has not yet been able to enter an expected not guilty plea. James after a preliminary review of the government code the Board of Supervisors used said he wonders if it is applicable given the actions cited in the criminal complaint were in her role as Auditor and not Treasurer, which is the role the code specifically addresses.
“I seriously doubt being charged with a criminal offense makes it possible for the Board of Supervisors to suspend an elected official,” said James.
Chris Andrian, a Santa Rosa attorney representing Cubbison in the criminal case Eyster is pursuing against the auditor, is too questioning the government code provision the Board of Supervisors used to take the extraordinary step of suspending an elected official without pay before the accused individual has a case adjudicated. Andrian is having an attorney who is considered a top labor law expert review Cubbison's case.
“In addition to defending her in the criminal matter, there may be a civil lawsuit here,” said Andrian.
James once ran for state Attorney General as a Republican and is widely respected statewide as a skilled trial attorney in civil and criminal cases.
James' law firm has successfully represented Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall, who has had his
The Mendocino County Courthouse in Ukiah.
Chamise Cubbison
own struggles with the current board. The James law firm also has successfully challenged the roles of other public agencies who have become embroiled in disputes with each other.
James' questions are significant because his firm gave current District Attorney David Eyster his start in private practice locally.
Eyster after having been fired in 1996 by former DA Susan Massini after a celebrated dust up entered private practice in Sacramento, and then returned to Ukiah to make a run in 2009 for DA here.
Shari Schapmire
James said the irony is that the government code used against Cubbison, unless challenged, could be used against Eyster and any other elected official. “Be prepared, the board could come for you,” said James.
James said he personally respects the opinion of former county Treasurer Shari Schapmire and others who have testified to the integrity and work ethic of Cubbison. The suspended Auditor found herself in the cross hairs of DA Eyster and board members following a forced consolidation of county financial offices two years ago.
Schapmire on Wednesday said, “In my experience directly interacting with Chamise Cubbison, I found her to be competent, meticulous, and dedicated to her duties.”
“That being said, others often found her to be abrupt, direct, and often times difficult,” said Schapmire.
“Shari is herself a person of integrity. I listen to what she has to say,” said James.
Schapmire, a 40-year county employee, stepped down early because of the board's insistence, with Eyster's backing, to consolidate the Auditor-Controller and Treasurer-Tax Collector offices into one.
In a scathing letter of resignation written in December 2021, Schapmire told the Board of Supervisors that their actions leading up to the forced consolidation would likely create chaos driven by politics.
“The actions of the Board over the last several months have been to force Chamise Cubbison to fail, to drive her from her role, and to leave the Treasurer-Tax Collector to pick up the scattered pieces,” wrote Schapmire.
Schapmire called the board's consolidation plan “severely flawed.”
“You have managed to destabilize the entire financial engine of the county,” warned Schapmire.