Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Mendocino County Supervisor Appeals to Fair Political Practices Commission Over Primary Residence Dispute

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Glenn McGourty
Mendocino County’s 1st District Supervisor Glenn McGourty [Crop of an image provided by the County of Mendocino]

Mendocino County Supervisor Glenn McGourty is asking the state Fair Political Practices Commission to review questions raised about his family’s purchase in May of a coast house located outside his inland supervisorial district.

In that transaction, McGourty assured loan lenders the Fort Bragg house will be his “primary residence” despite legal requirements that board members live in the district they represent. 

Critics are suggesting McGourty, who represents inland Mendocino County’s 1st Supervisorial District, is possibly violating legal and ethical standards surrounding a public official’s local residency requirements, and his agreement on a loan document on file with the county to make the property his principal residence “within 60 days” of the purchase. Today is that deadline.

If in fact the coast home is legally considered McGourty’s primary residence, it represents an automatic forfeiture of office, according to a “concerned citizen” who has documented the transactions but refuses to be public identified. McGourty’s principal address declaration on loan documents may also violate regulations surrounding mortgage lending practices, according to the complaint.

The individual addressed outlined concerns in a 7-page statement that is to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors, the County Counsel’s Office, and the County Executive Office.

McGourty on Sunday denied any wrongdoing, and said he voluntarily is asking the state commission to advise him on how to remedy any potential conflicts if they exist. 

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McGourty’s dilemma stems from a family trust’s May 14 purchase of a Fort Bragg house, and his wife’s subsequent move to the coast to live there with an adult disabled dependent son. Jan McGourty is now a registered voter in Fort Bragg, and as such was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Mendocino Coast Hospital District.

Supervisor McGourty, who leaves office in January 2025 after serving two terms representing his agriculturally based district, said, “There is nothing intentional here.”

McGourty conceded that when he steps down from the board within six months, he plans to join his wife and “spend most of the time living with her in Fort Bragg.”

However, McGourty said, because the couple have a vineyard and an orchard surrounding their current residence south of Talmage, “I will live part time in Ukiah as well to tend to our properties as needed.”

McGourty noted that he currently remains a registered voter in Ukiah, receives all his mail at his current address, and continues to live there while maintaining his office at the county’s Administrative Center on Low Gap Road “where I work most days.”

McGourty acknowledged that for his wife, and the couple’s mortgage needs, the Fort Bragg house “is considered a primary residence.”

McGourty, however, said that for himself until the end of his term, “Our property at 7200 Old River Road is my primary residence. I will then move to Fort Bragg to join her.”

The FPPC is being asked by McGourty to determine if there is a conflict under state rules with how he is viewing his current “primary address” arrangement.

“If so, what is the proper way to remedy this potential conflict?” he asks in a letter to the FPPC.

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In the statement being circulated among county officials, the ‘concerned citizen’ is calling for the immediate resignation of McGourty, and requiring he pay back salary and benefits if it is determined he was not entitled to them because of a residency change.

A request is also being made that the County Counsel review all board votes since May 14 that McGourty may have been engaged in including his wife’s coast hospital district board appointment, or the county’s Tax Sharing Agreement reached with the incorporated cities.

When we asked McGourty to comment on the issue he offered, “I’m reluctant to discuss this because it is a private matter for my family.”

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11 COMMENTS

  1. OMG this sounds like some typical Mendocino County Bull Shit! Who is this “concerned citizen”? Should have to disclose this information because they seem to have way too much personal information about the McGourty family! Whoever wrote this story for the newspaper appears to slant the story for a personal friend or someone they have relationship with. Sounds like a personal vendetta against McGourty. What “concerned citizen” goes to all the trouble to investigate someone to the point of being almost criminal? Has to be someone who works for the County or acting on behalf of the County! Knowing personal information from the mortgage company, (sue the mortgage company), disabled son, wife moving to coast, wife joining hospital board, and all the other personal knowledge reported on in this story! If I was McGourty and his wife I would maybe buy a weapon for protection because this is a sure sign of a psychological stalker! (There are meds for this vindictive behavior) If it smells fishy, it’s probably a fish! Would love to know if everything reported in this story was verified by McGourty or is this another “wanna sell Newspapers” story!

  2. Board Structure

    Government Code Section 25000 requires each county to have a Board of Supervisors consisting of five members. The section applies to general law counties and to charter counties, except where the charter provides otherwise (e.g., San Francisco City and County has eleven members and one mayor). A board member must be a registered voter of, and reside in, the district from which the member is elected. A county charter can provide a local method for filling vacancies on the Board of Supervisors. In the absence of such a provision, the Governor appoints a successor.

    Don’t know what the mystery is? If McGourty claims Ft. Bragg residence as permanent, then he is in violation. He should resign immediately.

    Every elected official knows that they must reside either in the County or District of Representation. What is his excuse ignorance? He has already proven that quality.

  3. Lots of people own two houses. How do you know how much time they spend in each, unless you put a gps tracker on them. Maybe the Fort Bragg house is primary for his wife and Ukiah is his primary.

  4. Typical self-serving McGuilty playing victim. What’s alarming is that he withheld the information over the last two months. This is not “a personal family matter” when the issue is residency status, no one is asking about your personal life details. He should have, at a minimum, disclosed it publicly at the board meetings and recused himself from items that serve Fort Bragg or hospital district. It appears he was hiding this information from the public. I agree he needs to resign. He clearly is making decisions for his personal interests and personal agenda. We have a Supervisor Elect you can bring in for the term remainder, he is not vital to current issues.

    • alarming? who the hell cares where he lives. It makes zero difference to anything. The BOS barely matters, and of all of them, nobody matters less than McGourty.

  5. Is it:
    A) election law violation (resides in Fort Bragg)
    B) lending law violation (resides in Ukiah)
    C) code of ethics violation (fails to file form 700 for secondary real property interest)
    D) A and C
    E) B and C

  6. Jesus. He is moving. And about to retire completely and from the Board. Nosy Nancy needs to mind their own business. He served his district well. We should be thanking him for his service, not persecuting him. He has dedicated his career to public service. As UC Extension farm advisor and now as a board member. I hate living in Mendocino County and California That’s why I’m moving also. It’s just taking longer than I expected to relocate several generations out of state. After 8 decades of living in Northern California. I hate this place now. I hate the politics. I hate the government over regulation at all levels of government. I can’t buy toilet paper without a $1,000 county permit it seems like.

  7. How much is that house worth? Why is he paying paid enough to buy a fucking house on the coast?

    I thought these people were public servants why are they being paid more than the public??

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