The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) refused to acknowledge aspects of Measure P on Wednesday. The measure is a local initiative calling for increased civilian oversight of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. In November 2020, the measure passed with close to two-thirds of voters in favor of the initiative, or more than 65% of Sonoma County voters.
PERB is a quasi-judicial administrative agency that undertakes collective bargaining for employees of the State of California. The board’s ruling seeks to strip the county’s Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review (IOLERO) and Outreach from investigating officers and making bodycam footage available to the public. The ruling would also prohibit IOLERO from being involved in disciplinary actions towards officer conduct and involvement in the interview process during Internal Affairs investigations.
IOLERO was created in 2016, on the heels of the death of Andy Lopez in Roseland. Lopez, 13, was shot dead by Santa Rosa police after officers mistook a toy gun for a real one. The agency was designed to create transparency between the community and law enforcement and to foster a safer relationship between the two.
The ordinance is named after the late Evelyn Cheatham, a renowned community activist in the Bay Area and in Sonoma County.
Residents interested in weighing in on PERB’s decision regarding the measure can contact their immediate supervisor via email. The current supervisors are as follows:
District 1: Susan Gorin; email: susan.gorin@sonoma-county.org
District 2: David Rabbitt; email: david.rabbitt@sonoma-county.org
District 3: Chris Coursey; email: district3@sonoma-county.org
District 4: James Gore; email: district4@sonoma-county.org
District 5: Lynda Hopkins, board chair; email: district5@sonoma-county.org
All Sonoma County Board of Supervisors members can be reached via phone at 707-565-2241.
