Recall efforts launched to oust Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli

WINDSOR, Calif. - A group of Windsor residents has launched efforts to force embattled Mayor Dominic Foppoli out of office in the wake of sexual assault allegations lodged by at least six women.

"Now is the time for him to leave," said Tim Zahner, chair of the Recall Foppoli campaign. He said if the mayor doesn't go willingly, a large coalition of Windsor residents will file paperwork to force him out.

"Mothers, fathers, coaches, volunteers, all walks of life in Windsor who are ready to remove him from office," Zahner said.

But Zahner said there's still time for the mayor to take the next step.

"I think right now Mayor Foppoli has the chance to do the right thing, which he knows what he has to do," Zahner said. "And I think so many people have come forward and said the right thing to do is to resign."

Debora Fudge, a Windsor town council member said, "You see one side of a person when you're working with them, and there's evidently another side that none of us saw."

Fudge said she'll move to censure the mayor at a special meeting Wednesday. The council will also ask Foppoli to resign, she said.

"Dominic is unfit to lead this community, and we need to end his service here immediately as fast as we can," Fudge said.

Sonoma County Supervisor Chris Coursey agreed, saying, "This is a political situation, and his political situation, I believe, is untenable. He's not going to last as mayor of Windsor."

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, which provides law enforcement services for Windsor, is now investigating the mayor, who has not been charged with a crime.

But he's been kicked out of the family winery, and his brother is among those who want him to step down. The mayor has declined interview requests.

Although some alleged sexual assaults may be too old to prosecute because of the statute of limitations, KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza said those incidents could still be used to establish a pattern of predatory conduct.

"The priors can be used to show motive, opportunity, similar actions, so a judge has to decide should they come into evidence or not," Cardoza said.

Because one of the women accusing Foppoli of wrongdoing is a Sonoma County prosecutor and Windsor councilmember, District Attorney Jill Ravitch confirmed Monday that the state Attorney General's office would review the sheriff's investigation and handle any prosecution, if it gets to that point.