Victory denied - after months of silence from Solano County staff and without any notice or input, an Agenda item crafted in misinformation was buried at the end of the November 7, 2023 Board of Supervisors meeting to dissolve the Solano County Historical Records Commission. In a motion moved by Supervisor Mashburn, it was adopted 4-1, with Supervisor Wanda Williams being the lone vote of reason. 

The action severing the participation of a commission bringing decades of specialized experience in historical collections, replaced the commission with an Ad Hoc committee of Supervisor Mitch Mashburn and Supervisor Monica Brown, neither of whom are knowledgeable of the complexity of the collection or experienced to determine its fate. 

The unyielding  effort to silence public oversight with the dissolution of the Solano County Historical Records Commission was orchestrated by Supervisor John Vasquez, in coordination with County counsel Bernadette Curry, former CAO Birgitta Corsello, and unidentified staff.

Back in 2015, Supervisor Vasquez was the lone Supervisor voting against the procurement of an independent consultant to assess the County's historical records. Since that time he and his cohorts have made every effort to stifle, undermine, and conceal the well examined, insightful findings of InfoCompass, an independent consultant, and to silence the Solano County Historical Records Commission. 

As an example, within several months after the approval of hiring an independent consultant, the County suddenly "lost" its lease for the building holding the historical records collection. That lease was held by B and L Properties, supporters of Supervisor Vasquez. Volunteers were expected to ensure 1.5 tons of material were packed within less than a month. The building subsequently remained vacant for several years. The collection has remained in publicly-inaccessible storage in Richmond, California, since that time. 

Supervisor Vazquez is on record with his wish to dismantle the collection.

The dissolution of the Solano County Historical Records Collection is catastrophic, unwarranted, punitive, and an extreme disservice to the public interest. To ensure the protection of the historical records collection, the original Solano County Historical Records Commission needs to be reinstated immediately.