Windsor officials Thursday requested that the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office authorize a grand jury investigation into Mayor Dominic Foppoli's alleged misconduct.
The letter to the DA describes Foppoli's alleged actions as "willful or corrupt misconduct in office."
The process is another route to potentially unseat Foppoli who has been accused of sexual assault by several women. Foppoli is already under criminal investigation by the State Attorney's office and faces a possible recall election.
Windsor leaders said the action to authorize a grand jury is provided for in California State law and noted that the district attorney may decide to refer the case to the California Attorney General.
Robert Weisberg, a professor of criminal law at Stanford University, told the San Francisco Chronicle that this rare and obscure legal process can't remove Foppoli from office, but "it can play a significant role in making the case for it."
Foppoli has repeatedly emphatically denied assaulting any women and has refused to resign, instead announcing last month that he would "step back" from mayoral duties.
A total of six women have accused Foppoli of various forms of sexual assault between 2002 and 2019.
More than two dozen elected officials have called on Foppoli to resign.
