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Publisher accuses supervisors of pressuring colleague to second tourism-funding motion
Summary
A publisher during public comment alleged three supervisors pressured a colleague into seconding a motion on a $350,000 transient occupancy tax allocation to the visitors bureau; the board did not take formal action on the allegation during the meeting and the accused supervisor was invited to respond later.
During public comment on Oct. 28, Christopher Budner, publisher of calaveras2026election.com, alleged a "concerted pressure effort" by three supervisors toward District 2 Supervisor Andal during a previous meeting involving a motion to provide $350,000 in transient occupancy tax funding to the Calaveras Visitors Bureau.
Budner said he submitted a 23‑minute video clip from the county clerk’s YouTube channel and described a 23‑second excerpt that, in his view, showed coordinated nonverbal pressure—eye contact, hand gestures and a ‘‘stare down’’—aimed at prompting Andal to second the motion. He asked Andal to respond during supervisor announcements at the conclusion of the meeting and warned that silence would be interpreted as complicity.
No substantive response to the allegation appears in the meeting record; Budner’s remarks were part of the public comment period. The board did not open an investigation or take formal action during the Oct. 28 session.
Budner’s accusation is an allegation reported in public comment and has not been corroborated or adjudicated in the board record. The county clerk’s meeting video was cited as the source for Budner’s observation.
