Allegations Fly To Begin TC Supervisors Meeting

Published Sep 22, 2026 11:30 am

TC Supervisors Meeting

Sonora, CA — Back-and-forth criticisms centered around transparency and good government practices were laid out at the start of today’s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting.

The meeting opened at 9 am and the first hour was public comments, staff reports, and board reports.

It started with six former members of the Tuolumne County Grand Jury raising additional concerns, now as private citizens, about displeasure with the formal responses filed by the board earlier this month to the 2025-26 Grand Jury Reports.

The responses were approved by members Steve Griefer, Mike Holland and Anaiah Kirk, and opposed by Jaron Brandon and Ryan Campbell.

Some of the former Grand Jury concerns were addressed in an earlier blog post, reported here.

The former grand jurors felt the findings were dismissed and not taken seriously. One former member also talked about the county falling behind on its financial reports, and a lack of information about the county’s current credit rating. Another requested that the board of supervisors show how they are addressing HR issues and improving the workplace culture. Ethic concerns were also raised.

Later, former county supervisors Karl Rodefer and Randy Hanvelt both came up individually to criticize District Two Supervisor Ryan Campbell, who is up for re-election this year, about issues like the handling of the Station 56 fire station closure and the county’s audits. Campbell opposed closing Station 56 (after federal Safer funding had expired). The closure was eventually approved, 3-2. Among other concerns voiced, Hanvelt and Rodefer argued that Campbell did not come up with a successful plan to keep it operational.

A member of the community also came up and alleged that Supervisor Jaron Brandon violated the Levine Act during a vote earlier this month. Brandon had received campaign donations from a staffer of the Yosemite River Alliance, and the county voted on a matter related to its contract in relation to the county’s Master Stewardship Agreement with the Stanislaus National Forest.

During board reports, Brandon responded that he should have brought up the donation when the item was voted on, noting that the funding in question was from his girlfriend. However, he argued that it did not disqualify him from voting. He noted that he had spoken with the County Counsel about the issue and had also reached out to the Fair Political Practices Commission. Brandon stated that the law relates to donations from agents who are specifically negotiating with the county on contracts, which isn’t the role of the person who donated to his campaign.

Board Chair Steve Griefer responded, “I recognize and appreciate Supervisor Brandon stating what he has. Unfortunately, it has put this board in an unusual position of whether or not the people think the vote that was taken was tainted. I think this board is going to have to address how we’re going to look at this.”

It led to all of the supervisors jumping in and debating whether the item should be brought back again at a future meeting. County Counsel Walter Wall chimed in that the discussion was getting off track, and indicated that it should be a future discussion (and not now). Supervisor Anaiah Kirk ended by noting that he will draft a memo about it to be considered at the next meeting.

Supervisor Holland also addressed the Grand Jury criticism during the board reports. Speaking to the members, he said, “I like the fact that you guys gave up a year and did your work. I have no problem with that…but I also know that you didn’t really put everything in the report. You didn’t put stuff in there that I brought you proof that said, ‘this wasn’t true.’ You left all of this stuff out because it didn’t fit a narrative.”

In other board and staff discussions, Supervisor Campbell praised CAO Roger Root for putting out videos following the recent meeting about some of the county actions. It is something that Supervisor Campbell indicated that he had hoped to see for a long time.

Sheriff David Vasquez also reflected on the two recent deaths of firefighters battling the Dome Fire in Yosemite, and the dangers involving law enforcement and first responders.

Following the discussion about the items referenced above, the board took a 10-minute break.

The meeting is now continuing with discussions about the fiscal year 2026-27 county budget. Click here to view the live video of the meeting.