Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli made his first public appearance since being accused of sexual assault by six women during a Town Council meeting Wednesday where councilors voted to demand his resignation.
One woman has also accused Foppoli of raping her when she was 18.
Councilmember Esther Lemus, one of the six women accusing Foppoli of assault, recused herself from the meeting.
Town Manager Ken MacNab read Lemus' statement on her behalf.
"Given the fact that I am a victim of sexual assault by Mayor Foppoli and am cooperating in a criminal investigation against him, it should come as no surprise that I believe I should recuse myself from voting on any issue involving him."
In contrast, Foppoli did not recuse himself and presided over the meeting as mayor. He gave a statement early on in the meeting where he again said that he is innocent and believes he will be exonerated by the State Attorney General’s investigation.
"I've had my head held high because I know deep in my heart that I've done nothing criminally wrong and will eventually be cleared," Foppoli said. "I am not without faults, but I am not a criminal."
Foppoli again maintained his innocence and said he believes the facts have been distorted.
"The reason I am not stepping down is that in this case, I know the truth of those experiences. I don't blame those who are angry and seek justice as they were not there and do not know what I know."
The investigation is being handled by the state Attorney General because Lemus is also a Deputy District Attorney with Sonoma County.
"If you love Windsor as much as you said you always have, then you need to resign tonight so that we can move on and start the healing process," said Councilmember Deb Fudge, speaking directly to Foppoli.
Fudge told KCBS Radio ahead of the meeting that the council did not have a legal avenue to prevent Foppoli from presiding over the meeting.
Attorney Joan Cassman also clarified that the council does not have the power to remove Foppoli from office. He can only be removed through a recall by voters or if he is convicted of a felony.
Several city officials including Fudge, MacNab and Vice Mayor Sam Salmon expressed their dismay, sadness and disappointment over the allegations.
MacNab and Windsor Police Chief Ruben Martinez also spoke of a 2017 letter sent to town officials where a woman accused Foppoli of trying to remove guests’ bathing suits and underwear in a hot tub at his winery.
MacNab said the email was not forward to police until 2020 because the author requested it.
Martinez said the letter did not detail a specific crime but another email accusing Foppoli of rape was investigation, however that investigation went nowhere because the author was not a witness to a crime.
Salmon made a motion to demand Foppoli's resignation, which was seconded by Fudge.
During his statement, Foppoli asked residents to have patience and wait for the results of the investigation and focus on business as usual. That sentiment was not received well by residents.
The public comment portion of the meeting continued for hours with residents denouncing Foppoli and urging him to resign.
"It’s sad when journalists investigate more than police do. That scares me as a Sonoma County woman," said resident Michelle Williams. "Resign, you rapist. These allegations are credible, there are multiple and they’ve been corroborated by multiple people. Resign right now."
Another woman who did not give her name said that she had witnessed similar behavior detailed in the San Francisco Chronicle's original report.
"I want to say I am so sorry, so sorry to all of the women for not saying something sooner. Because I have personally seen him step into bathrooms behind girls," she said. "I have had my butt grabbed by him and I have seen some of the things that people are referring to and we just should have taken this more seriously and I’m just so sorry to these women that it didn’t come out sooner."
Several residents also called on Fudge and Salmon to resign as well for failing to act after the 2017 and 2020 emails.
Another anonymous woman identified herself as a sexual assault survivor and begged him to resign. Through tears, she said that every statement Foppoli makes is traumatizing and urged him to step down so that she and other survivors would not have to continue to be re-traumatized through a lengthy recall process.
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