Tuesday, January 28, members of SEIU Local 1021 working for Sonoma County — including children’s social workers, airport operation specialists, street maintenance crew, and veteran services staff — successfully halted the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors from purchasing the American AgCredit building at 400 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa.  

According to the county’s own independent appraisal, the county had proposed overpaying for the building by as much as $20 million — money that could be better spent on road repairs, homeless services, affordable housing, and supporting our communities.  

As SEIU 1021 Political Organizer Ryan Williams explained, “These deals were negotiated behind closed doors with minimal public input, and alarmingly, a former board chair may have violated California’s anti-pay-to-play rules, regulations, and laws by accepting campaign contributions from a financially interested party and failing to disclose them.”

Specifically, Supervisor David Rabbitt received a $1,000 donation from Santa Rosa real estate investor Larry Wasem. According to California secretary of state filings, Wasem is an agent for Selway Management, the brokerage representing the building’s owner (the American AgCredit Federal Land Bank Association). As a result, Wasem stood to benefit financially from Supervisor Rabbitt’s support to purchase the building. Per FPPC pay-to-play regulations, Supervisor Rabbitt should have recused himself from discussions and proceedings related to the purchase. (These potential violations of FPPC pay-to-play regulations are separate from the FPPC investigations that the FPPC launched into Supervisor Rabbit in June 2024.)

As reported in the Press Democrat, Supervisor Rabbitt commented: “It’s all politics in that regard. But I am not the only one.”

Supervisor Rabbitt’s admission of additional impropriety by fellow board members demands further investigation. 

Along with sending a legal letter informing the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors of Supervisor Rabbitt’s improper participation in closed-door discussions on the purchase of the building, SEIU Local 1021 leaders also organized more than 180 concerned allies to send emails to the Board of Supervisors objecting to the proposed wasteful spending.  

“Halting the purchase of the American AgCredit Building is a major win for working people in Sonoma County,” said Matthew Jensen, a veteran service specialist for Sonoma County. “The millions of dollars that the county proposed we overspend on the building could instead be used to care for children in crisis, make our airport more safe, repair our roads, serve our veterans, and so much more.”