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Attorney resigns after contentious Oceano CSD meeting

October 16, 2023

Attorney Daniel Cheung

By KAREN VELIE

Following a meeting rife with interruptions and refusals to abide by the Brown Act, the attorney firm representing the Oceano Community Services District resigned on Friday.

During a district board meeting on Oct. 11, Director Beverly Suneson gave a lengthy explanation regarding the arrest of one of her family members and a notice of violation she received regarding illegal sewer and water hookups to an inhabited recreational vehicle, items not on the agenda. Attorney Daniel Cheung, with the firm Adamski Moroski Madden Cumberland & Green, told Suneson she was at risk of violating the Ralph M. Brown Act.

The Brown Act was passed in 1953 because of mounting concerns that government bodies were avoiding scrutiny by meeting secretly. The act guarantees the public will have forewarning of discussion items through posted agendas, limits what the board can discuss in closed session and prohibits board members from disclosing confidential information that was discussed in closed session.

Ignoring the attorney, Suneson continued her speech, and again Cheung attempted to stop her from violating the Brown Act.

Director Charles Varni interrupted Cheung, arguing Suneson had the right to talk about her issues.

“You are not the president of this organization and you should not be interrupting a director,” Varni said before telling Suneson, “Finish it up.”

Suneson continued discussing her personal issues.

Shortly afterwards, Varni started to describe an employee issue that had been discussed in closed session, another apparent violation of the Brown Act. The public meeting was temporarily stopped because of Varni’s actions, and the board went into closed session.

Following closed session, Cheung said the board had voted to release a limited statement regarding allegations an employee embezzled money from the district. In addition, he said the results of a forensic audit had been sent to the SLO County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges.

Varni then said he wanted to report on the employee issue, but with more “flesh on the bones.” He then noted he would not be stopped as he started to discuss closed session information regarding the alleged embezzler.

Cheung warned Varni that he was violating the Brown Act and the board again stopped the meeting.

“I am being repressed here,” Varni said. “I am not allowed my freedom of speech.”

Multiple members of the public were disruptive and rude throughout the Oct. 11 board meeting, with one man offering to provide diapers to a director. Several female attendees interrupted or demeaned Cheung as he attempted to describe Brown Act requirements.

Following multiple disruptions, the board voted to continue the rest of the agenda items to the next meeting. Two days later, Adamski Moroski Madden Cumberland & Green resigned as legal counsel.

While several public officials believe the attorney firm quit because of the board’s failures to abide by the Brown Act, Suneson said the firm’s resignation was related to a closed session issue.


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Wow, I am tired.


I’ve never seen two older women more desperate for attention than Tacker and Dury (McLaughlin). When you boil it all down, those two really don’t have a solid grasp on what they’re ranting about. It’s more about trying to appear intelligent and fishing for information hoping they might get lucky rather than actually helping to improve anything. The wake of contradictions and inaccuracies they peddle is a long one.


If you follow along with the meetings, you can’t deny their lack of intelligence. While Tacker cites, that anything new is not how it’s been done before (tsk tsk, head shake, shame on the Board, staff, and legal), Dury can’t articulate a name or title let alone compute accurate math (e.g. 1% of the General Manager’s salary) and she does accounting. I think her clients need to reevaluate what they are paying for. The incessant disruptive behavior in their reserved seats in the back of the room should be curbed by the Board President immediately and every single time it happens. I mean really…Tacker and Dury berate the Board, staff, and meeting attendees, but can’t manage themselves in an adult manner. Clearly not and it’s just absolutely pathetic and embarrassing.


Let’s not even get into how these two women seem to know so much closed-session information or how they mouth directions to the President to guide her along. The one thing they are good at is spotting the weakest links and working them for all they can. Sigh.


Legal has quit and I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone who has been following along.


The Board has achieved nothing in the past 10 months unless you consider recurring bylaws and the general manager reviews progress.


People don’t feel comfortable attending meetings due to harassment during the meeting and in the parking lot.


Are they twelve? How far is this going to go? Does anyone really think the County of SLO will just gladly pick up Oceano and make it better? I am sure that would be a seamless transition (sarcasm). Be careful what you wish for and be careful what is allowed to continue happening at the meetings.


Varni is entirely another topic of narcissism and misogyny, but I don’t have time for that. Everyone knows he’s a moron with a history of people who have nothing nice to say.


There’s more, but I digress. Tune into the meetings…it’s better if you come in person, that way you can actually see the gestures and hear the comments from the peanut gallery in the rear. Much of their twelve-year-old shenanigans are not seen or heard on the SLO-SPAN recording.


Good luck to the good people of Oceano. Choose better when voting next year.


3

Once again, all you have to do is look at the law firm representing the Special Districts that are having problems and it is always the Adamski firm, with an attorney with little or no experience serving as legal counsel. Attorney Daniel Cheung may a good attorney, but he has only been practice law in California for a few months and has never represented a public entity before. Might as well put a monkey in the District Counsel chair and pay him/her $350 hr.


3

It’s the same law firm that San Simeon CSD had. The first thing the new San Simeon CSD board majority did in November was to call for a performance review San Simeon’s District Counsel. Attorney Minnery knew what would happen and resigned on the day of the closed session. Our district was seriously harmed. We were duped into believing that a tiny community with 205 voters had to re-district into five areas, although there was no real threat. Now 1/5 of our community has been disenfranchised with no director to represent them. He actively participated in decision-making to pay $200,000 in expensive legal fees and his fees fighting the DA to defend a contractor, Charles Grace, and his company. This law firm supported the legal argument that Grace was not a “natural person” GM. Of course, the DA prevailed in an obvious 7-year-long conflict of interest violation by then-General Manager Grace and his company. This law firm allowed San Simeon District Counsel Minnery multiple extended, no-notice leaves despite major ongoing legal actions, investigations of grant fraud, and more.


6

The same law firm that represented And apparently still does, Port San Luis. Where Commissioners Bob Vessely and Mary Matakovich were allowed repeatedly to verbally harass and slander several staff members with little recourse from their fellow commissioners and little advice from legal. The District paid out thousands for their failures to control these “progressives”. Hope people look at this at election time.


5

The following statement in the story is a mischaracterization of the facts. “Several female attendees interrupted or demeaned Cheung as he attempted to describe Brown Act requirements.”


Julie Tacker, me, asked from the back of the room if there were copies of the document Cheung had passed out to the Board. I never spoke ill of the man, he’s trying to herd cats, which is commendable, but probably a lost cause.


Fortunately copies were immediately made available.


Unfortunately, a lot of hay was made of my “interrupting” (request for a public document that should have been available to the public before the attorney’s Brown Act presentation began). The overreaction by certain board members to my verbal request appeared to have sent the General Manager (GM) back to junior high. He can be seen on the meeting tape angrily staring me down and zipping his lip at me (approx. 35 minutes into the video recording, available on slo-span.org).


Director Suneson’s statement during the meeting included, “He (the GM) isolated me outside of the office and was aggressive and confrontational from the start…” See a pattern? IMO, the GM has anger issues. Maybe this led to the resignation?


By the way, it turns out I gave the attorney that document he used in the presentation. I didn’t know it until receiving a copy, that what he was about to discuss was the District Attorney’s August 3, 2023 letter to the City of Pismo Beach regarding a potential Brown Act violation that the City then failed to cooperate on or follow the DA’s recommendations — including additional Brown Act training for the Council and staff.


I’m not sorry for interrupting Mr. Cheung’s presentation in order to obtain the document that only the Board had. I do feel sorry for Mr. Cheung, who only recently joined this law firm, he had no way of knowing what a mess has been made in Oceano by the hiding of this embezzlement for over a year and the ill-advised decisions along the way that stopped the District from taking the matter to the DA sooner. He likely doesn’t know much about previous embezzlement in that District, that never went to the DA. In those instances, the embezzlers got away with a slap on the wrist. In fact, after one was caught padding his sick leave, he was paid a handsome severance to leave and the other was just told to repay the money he’d “overpaid” himself.


Does a bank robber get to put the money back and not face charges? No!


Is the memory in Oceano so short that they don’t remember that when the Sanitation District finally took their investigation into John Wallace to the DA? Many of the fraudulent charges statutes of limitations had run out. Are they also forgetting that the embezzler at the IWMA left the state before the DA filed criminal charges against her? I’ll never understand why in the instant case, the DA wasn’t contacted immediately upon the discovery of missing money.


This story is about the attorney resigning from representing Oceano CSD. With the juvenile angry antics and foot-dragging related to embezzlement of the ratepayers money by the person (GM) at the helm, it’s no wonder Cheung resigned.


Congratulations to Director’s Varni and Suneson for standing up for what is right. Getting the authorities involved was long overdue.


-2

While you interrupt because you want a document that minute, as a right to information from the Brown Act, you praise Varni and Suneson’s breaking of the Brown Act. Instead of nitpicking at minor issues, why don’t you read the Brown Act and remember why it was passed, to allow the public access and forewarning. Instead, you condone Suneson talking about issues not on the agenda. You condone Varni talking about issues from closed session. How is that standing up for what is right?

.


Watch the video on SLOSPANN and see for yourselves the behaviors of those at the meeting.


7

“Nitpicking minor issues?” The Brown Act is California State Law, not a technicality! I hold agencies accountable to the law.


Yes, I wanted the document at the same time it was available to the majority of the board, per the Brown Act.


While I appreciate that Varni and Suneson are transparent I condone neither of the things you mention.


Suneson’s violation was on the agenda, she chose to talk about it in her Director report. Varni apparently wanted the timeline for which the embezzlement was discovered and what was done about it, made public in his Director report, the attorney gave pretty much the same timeline.


-5

Julie . I see that you admit that you interrupted the meeting but you forgot to mention you flipped off the General Manager with your middle finger at the same time.


11

I did do that, I’m not proud of it. But just so everyone knows, it was only AFTER he “zipped his lips” at me.


The contrast is that the GM is paid $195K + benefits a year to be professional in ALL settings (it’s in his contract). I’m paid nothing to educate myself in my spare time and attend meetings (at my own expense). I am beholden to no one.


-4

What a bunch of clowns


27

Annexation


-11

Secession.


0

Varni being repressed, his “free speech” violated? I think not. Varni is representative of the kind of uneducated fluff being elected to public office these days. He’s a byproduct of shamefully low voter turnout and apathy.


56

The Oceano CSD folks are Jimmy Paulding’s people. They supported his supervisor run, and he courts them, thinking these knuckleheads have some sway over people in “his” district. It highlights that the good folks of Oceano are worse off with Mr. Paulding and his Oceano CSD cohorts.


38

I have no knowledge or familiarity of oceano……so my question is “what the he’ll is in the water of oceano”? I think they need to get Elaine brockovich out here to check the water supply. Wow!


31

OK, once again, when are we going to dissolve the OCSD and let the County of SLO provide services with competent staff at a much lower cost? There will of course continue to be a certain level of corruption as Little Jimmy will have his filthy hands in it, but it can’t be worse.


34

The county will never take back the duties. Counties and cites love SD’s, it takes the responsibility and liability away them, doesn’t effect their budgets and allows them to do less work and they still make the same money, a win win for them. They only way they will accept it is if forced to but they will fight it, with other peoples money, all the way.


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