I was astonished to learn that our CEO, Alison Lehman, and County Counsel, Kit Elliot, took it upon themselves to transfer $50,000 of public resources to Gina Will’s Campaign Committee, thus circumventing public Board of Supervisor approval and public comment. Since I believe the transfer of funds was potentially illegal, I penned the following letter to our District Attorney’s office.

A policy should be created by which all contracts, no matter how small, are submitted to the Board of Supervisors. Furthermore, post all contracts on the County website in a location where the public has easy access. Lastly, when any contract exceeds the agreed-upon price, the Supervisors are notified immediately so it doesn’t get out of hand. Contract management is essential. 

According to public records received from Nevada County and publicly available mandatory campaign FPPC disclosures, Alison Lehman, county chief executive officer, and Kit Elliott, county counsel, authorized the payment of $50,000 from the county general fund to Gina Will’s campaign committee without approval of the board of supervisors.

We have sham elections occurring in Nevada County. Despite losing her election for auditor of Nevada County to Rob Tribble and after he was found by the Nevada County Superior Court to lack the statutory qualifications to serve as the auditor, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors appointed his challenger, Gina Will, despite the fact that she only garnered 45% of the County vote and was not chosen by the people of the County and without even considering an open appointment process.

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors should be most interested in how the CliftonLarsonAllen contract was procured by County senior staff. The contract entered into without Board approval exceeded the $50,000 threshold which triggers Board action, yet County staff still contracted with CLA without Board approval.

Despite a strong recommendation from the Nevada County Superior Court filed on November 18, 2022, against appointment, the Board proceeded with its decision to appoint her for a full term. Recent appointments by the Board of Supervisors for elected positions, such as the recent appointment of Gina Will to the position of Auditor-Controller, have cast doubt on the Board’s adherence to fair and impartial practices – and for good reason.