‘Bad Optics’ Hang Over Auditor-Controller Contract
By
Thadeus Greenson
on
May 18, 2022 at 8:49AM
The issue first bubbled into public view during a special April 4 meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors at which the board voted unanimously to censure Paz Dominguez based on a pair of outside investigations — one launched in 2018 and the other in 2021 — that sustained allegations Paz Dominguez had engaged in retaliatory, harassing and abusive behavior with county staff. During a staff report to the board, Chair Virginia Bass asked County Administrative Officer Eilishia Hayes what kind of coaching and mentoring services the county had brought in to aid Paz Dominguez, and then followed up to ask Hayes specifically about “coaching” provided by a firm “that’s not something that went through the normal contract process.” Hayes responded that she hadn’t “been privy” to the contract in question with the firm Edge Caliber, owned by Danny Kelley, which, as the county’s purchasing agent, she said she “typically” would be.