u/MTSilvy

Former Sonoma County IOLERO Director John Alden gives basically a tell-all about why he’s leaving, why civilian oversight of law enforcement isn’t working and whose to blame.
Some excerpts:
- Ongoing disputes between the Sheriff’s Office and oversight agency have held up IOLERO’s investigations of whistleblower complaints and critical incidents involving the Sheriff’s Office.
A potential California Supreme Court review of a yearslong legal fight between the two agencies is pending, and county officials have floated the possibility of making changes to Measure P.

- Alden: The Sonoma County oversight experience started in conflict and remains in conflict. Even before the (2013) death of Andy Lopez there was a tense relationship between many in the community and the Sheriff’s Office, around use of force and the way it patrolled the community and treated people in the jail. The death of Andy Lopez brought that forward in a very public way. When IOLERO started, it came from a place of the community really demanding an oversight system — demanding it of the county, demanding it of the board, demanding of the sheriff — and the Sheriff’s Office being deeply opposed, and that conflict has never truly resolved on a cultural level.
Cntd…
I think it’s hard for IOLERO directors to stay for long periods of time when there is this consistent conflict, and, certainly lately, we’ve had a board of supervisors that has not intervened in that conflict. They’re not providing support for IOLERO as a group. What they individually want to do, or what their intentions are, I couldn’t speak to that, but if you watch what we’ve seen publicly, there hasn’t been an outcry exactly, from the board about, say, the sheriff not making his people available for interviews, and that creates a challenge for IOLERO.

- Alden: Your paper’s coverage of the supervisor races in District 2 and 4 has pointed out that this has now become a significant issue for community. Are we going to be electing people who say Measure P is a strong priority or people who are going to say we should dial back on Measure P because it’s just not worth it? That’s a really stark contrast between those candidates, and that’s one way the voters get to make a decision about what kind of oversight they want. The next sheriff’s election (in 2028) might have some of those same themes.

Story link: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/05/20/iolero-alden-sonoma-county-oversight/

A lot of you will remember former “liberal” Santa Rosa City Councilman Jack Tibbetts (also former CEO of local nonprofit homeless services org St. Vincent de Paul) switched hats, literally, to become an eastern Oregon Cowboy and is running for state senate there.

I just checked his campaign finance filings, and some of his biggest donors are local conservatives, such as Jackson Family Wines owner Barbara Banke, libertarian investor Larry Wassem and conservative political consultant Rob Muelrath. You may know Muelrath from his work on campaigns for four of five county supervisors (Gore, Hopkins, Rabbitt, Hermosillo), and his current work on the Supervisorial campaigns for Tom Schwedhelm and Sylvia Lemus. I’ll link to the data in the comments.

Right here in Sonoma County, an elected official trampled my First Amendment rights by blocking me on social media, thus prohibiting my full participation and inclusion in the town square.
This incident occurred immediately after I engaged with the elected official on a topic of immense public interest. Supervisor David Rabbitt did not like my viewpoint, and so decided to block me from continuing this important discussion. Rabbitt’s decision to block me, according to mountains of legal precedent, amounted to viewpoint discrimination, and a clear violation of my First Amendment rights.

In response, I immediately contacted renowned Civil Rights Attorney Isaak Schwaiger, a military veteran who believes fiercely in defending the Constitution and the Constitutional Rights of our community. Schwaiger reached out to the Sonoma County Counsel’s Office on my behalf, asking first that my rights be restored, and second, that an apology be issued by Supervisor Rabbitt for the egregious violation of my Civil Rights.
I am thankful to Schwaiger, who refused to accept payment, and the County Counsel’s Office, for acting quickly.
Within 24 hours, I was unblocked, and my right to engage fully in the public square’s marketplace of ideas was restored.
Sadly, David Rabbitt has so far declined to offer an apology for his rash decision to unilaterally terminate a constituent’s rights. I’m disappointed, but sadly not surprised.

Folks, we need leaders in Sonoma County who believe in the constitution, who believe in service, and who believe that we aren’t always going to agree - and that’s OK!
Thankfully, David Rabbitt is resigning after 16 long years as supervisor. Will we elect his hand-picked successor in District 2, Sylvia Lemus? Or should we take our chances with someone who doesn’t engage with politicians who so flippantly violate their constituents’ Civil Rights? I think the answer is clear. Joanna Paun is the answer in District 2. #VotePaun

This donor is the Vice President of Farming for Jackson Family Wines, one of the most well known brands in Sonoma County. It’s also owned by Barbara Banke, the biggest GOP donor in Sonoma County, who has given millions to Republican causes and candidates, including such luminaries as Ron DeSantis and Herschel Walker.

Maybe that’s why the donor here failed to reveal his employer when he contributed $1,000 to Tom Schwedhelm’s campaign on May 1, instead opting for the misleading “self-employed” label.

The powers that be in Sonoma County don’t want you to know that “former” Republican Tom Schwedhelm is still very much a Republican, that he’ll govern with the values of today’s Republican Party, and that voters have a real progressive choice in lifelong Democrat Melanie Bagby. #votebagby

Tom Schwedhelm has the support of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association (County Sheriff deputy union) and now the Santa Rosa Police Officers Association (local police union). But it’s absolutely not because he is pro-transparency. He specifically fought against police transparency and accountability, when he was mayor. Know before you go (vote). https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2019/03/09/santa-rosa-police-chief-mayor-want-courts-to-decide-scope-of-law-before-releasing-certain-police-records/