The brother of the harassed mayor of Windsor, Dominic Foppoli, has asked him to resign his elected position on Sunday due to allegations of sexual assault set out in reports in The Chronicle.
Joe Foppoli, the older brother of the mayor and co-executive in the family’s wine cellar, said he was “shocked by the allegations” but declined to say whether he believed them.
“Elected officials must meet higher standards of moral character, no matter what comes up, he has not done so and he must retire,” Joe Foppoli said. “It’s not good for the community. I’m so disappointed and disgusted. ”
The remarks come Sunday during a small rally outside the family’s Christopher Creek winery near Healdsburg in support of the women who accused him of assault. The protest drew nearly a dozen people outside the winery, including Sophia Williams, one of Foppoli’s prosecutors in reports from The Chronicle, which held a sign titled “Mayor of Your Own Body.”
Joe Foppoli, chief operating officer of Christopher Creek, said he had already told his brother on Friday that he should retire as CEO of the winery, saying his brother “reluctantly” agrees.
“Dominic will not be part of his winery,” Joe Foppoli said.
An investigation by Foppoli in Chronicle on Thursday published detailed allegations by four women who said the 38-year-old politician and winemaker, who has been the mayor of Windsor since 2018, sexually assaulted them from 2003 to 2019.
Hollie Clausen, left, of Santa Rosa, and Angela of Windsor, who refused to name her, hold signs during a rally in which Dominic Foppoli, mayor of Windsor, is asked to perform outside Christopher Creek Winery in Healdsburg on Sunday, April 11th. , California, to thank. 2021. Clausen arranged the rally at the winery to pay attention to the business of Foppoli.
Marlena Sloss / Special for The ChronicleA fifth woman accused Foppoli of sexual assault on Saturday during a three-year relationship that ended in 2004. She made the allegations in a video interview of her home in Florida, saying she was forced to speak in public after reading the investigation of The Chronicle.
Hollie Clausen, 32, a resident of Santa Rosa, said she arranged Sunday’s event to stand with the survivors.
Foppoli denied the allegations. In a statement released Saturday night, he called the allegations “unfounded” and driven by politics.
He made it clear that he would fight the growing calls for a number of elected officials in North Bay to resign, including every member of the Windsor Town Council, all eight other Sonoma County mayors and the two U.S. congressmen representing the region , representatives Jared Huffman. of San Rafael and Mike Thompson of St. Helena.
Joe Foppoli said he last spoke to his brother on Friday.
“He is obviously very upset and scared and he obviously feels wronged. He feels that things are portrayed differently than they really were, “said Joe Foppoli. ‘I told him no matter what, and I do not believe the worst accusations against you; you clearly lived a lifestyle with which I personally do not agree. And the fact that I realized that these kinds of parties and things here might have happened after hours of which I was not aware.
“I have personally worked to create a family-friendly environment where I can bring my teenage children,” he continued. “My nieces work here. Nothing I found in these articles is what I was striving for. ”
He does not want to elaborate on what he means by not believing the worst allegations about his brother. He said Dominic Foppoli was staying with friends but did not elaborate further.
Williams, who attended the event on Sunday with her two children, ages 4 and 5, and her husband, said it was important for her to get out.
“To hear him deny everything, it feels like we have to keep up the momentum until he’s out of office,” Williams said. ‘It is logical that his ego would be too big to (resign). I think it’s going to make things worse for him to drag it out. ”
Sarah Ravani is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @SarRavani