Laurie Alderman Ci�zens Business 7/8/25
I reached out to all of you to personally meet with me to prevent the con�nued and future misuse of public funds. Not one of you council members took me up on my offer. Now I’m ready to spill the beans.
First of all, Robert Smith, Peter Urhansen and John Bakker should be reported to the State Bar immediately and their contracts terminated for cause. Addi�onally, Damien O’Bid should be fired straight away.
Why, may you ask? This all has to do with what happened in 2018 and 2019, and all relates to the obsessions of Robert Smith and a California Supreme Court Case, City of Oroville vs. Superior Court, and the City council’s 99% unanimous vote record to that date. .
In 2019, Damien O’Bid and the old council needed to shut me up about the 99% unanimous vote record for a decade of the council. Robert Smith was fixated on taking down George Barich at the same �me. Robert Smith, who was the city prosecutor of the City of Sonoma, wanted to expand his code enforcement program….one that assumes guilt unless you pay.
In the mean�me, John Bakker and Peter Urhansen are working together on the City of Oroville case on reverse indemnifica�on in the California Supreme Court. This ruling in 2019 has saved insurance pools na�onwide such as CIRA mega amounts of money.
So in the spring and summer of 2019, suddenly John Bakker appeared as our city atorney. Noah Housh appeared from the City of St. Helena a�er Smith offered him a financial in on expanding the code enforcement program to other ci�es and coun�es if it was successful in the City of Cota�.
The rest is a long six year long history of corrup�on by our public servants that were supposed to have the Cota� ci�zens interests first in their heart. I have prepared this document for you all to see, council members, city staff and most of all the ci�zens of Cota�. It may be too late at this juncture for this city to recover.
First up on the sights of the City, was my Civil Rights Pro Se lawsuit in September 2019. I didn’t ask for a cent, only for change in the status quo. Who was chosen to take me down? Peter Urhansen, fresh off his CA supreme court win, not a local atorney. He used the pandemic shutdown in early 2020 to kill my lawsuit. The insurance pool spent $50k to shut down my civil rights lawsuit where I didn’t ask for a penny.
Damien and Robert Smith and other staff were busy at the same �me in early 2020. They wanted to shut down an imaginary KOA on George Barich’s property. Using a private contractor, the City snaked an op�c line up George’s sewer line, and only his sewer line. Craig Scot’s name is on the invoice.
They did not find any viola�ons with the sewer line video probe. This was a set back to Smith’s plans to grow his code enforcement program and the City’s plan to use code enforcement to take down a poli�cal rival. Meanwhile, Damien O’Bid, Mark Landman, and John Moore were working to extend Measure G early and make it a forever tax.
Robert Smith, Chief Parrish, and Damien had another sight in 2020. Friar Tuck’s. Robert Smith had lost ownership of a compe�ng Murphy’s Irish pub in the City of Sonoma 4 years earlier over conflicts of interest with the liquor license. He then used Covid 19 health orders to shut down the drive-in movies that Friar Tuck’s was doing to survive the pandemic shutdown. Robert Smith, Chief Parrish and Damien O’Bid were able to shut down the drive-in movies and the threats of more fines had a chilling effect on the business and threats to their ABC license, causing it to shut down.
By the summer of 2020, the plan was in place to extend Measure S. I figured out early on that the plan was to use the guaranteed income of Measure S being a forever tax to take out bonds. (That’s what happened right a�er its passage in November 2020—work on the bonds proceeded and were received by 2022 for $12 million—half for streets and half for unfunded pension liability). I became an obstacle when I took this to Sonoma Superior Court and the City of Cota� received an order to show cause why it should be not stricken from the ballot.
Damien and Meyers Nave stopped all of that by sending the judge 500 pages to confuse him, but excluding the one main item the judge had asked for… the community survey with the ballot wording that the ci�zens only favored extending Measure G with a new sunset date, not as a forever tax needed for the bonds. With this confusion, Measure S was allowed to stay on the ballot as there was not �me to no�ce new wording of the measure.
Meanwhile, Mark Landman was full force going a�er me, degrading me, etc. in August 2020. I filed for a restraining order against Mark Landman, who is my close neighbor. Who did the City/Remif hire to go a�er me? Once again, Peter Urhansen, the City’s atorney involved in the landmark City of Orville case. Mark Landman did not answer one ques�on about his behavior, and Peter submited 40 pages to that judge, who was the same judge who had issued the order to show cause on Measure S just weeks before.
The reason Mark Landman was going a�er me so hard, was to take Measure G to Measure S a forever tax to secure bonds. . Most of the “neighbors for Measure S” were council members, city staff, etc. There was not a single individual ci�zen of Cota� on the fundraising commitee for Measure S, plus Damien O’Bid was paid by the commitee to host the website. Damien used city pictures and changed them to Measure S poli�cal materials as just one way he interfered with the November 2020 elec�on.
This broke me down, but not for long. By December 2020, I was working on the civil rights lawsuit with George Barich, which were again, all stemming from events in early 2019.
Who was once again assigned to kill the civil rights lawsuit filed in January 2021? Yes, Peter Urhansen. While he had some early success, but a�erwards for 18 months we won every legal argument. The City and Peter were trying to bankrupt us by holding out to setling un�l 3 weeks before trial. It got down to that Elon Musk’s trial was the week before ours. Peter, John Bakker, Damien knew that we didn’t have the financial resources to actually take it to trial in Federal Court in January 2023. We setled for $80k which went all to atorney fees. My mom had just had a stroke also during this �me.
These bunch of men at least had the decency to lay off me because of my mother’s stroke, but went full force on in early 2023 against George Barich. In June 2023, Robert Smith, Damien O’Bid, and Noah Housh recruited the close neighbors to “get George” on code enforcement viola�ons for his “imaginary KOA”. To do so, the City encouraged the neighbors to take videos of the RV doors and his bedroom windows, 46 videos in total and numerous pictures. These videos were later used by the City of Cota� in George’s first hearing in November 2023 as evidence.
By the summer 2023 Mark Landman was once again going a�er me on social media and with my close neighbors. I again filed for a restraining order. Once again, Peter Urhansen was there with 42 pages filed against me to the Court. I received threats of financial ruin as usual from Peter Urhansen before the hearing for his atorney fees. On a technicality, I was in the wrong type of courtroom se�ng. Peter Urhansen had a meltdown in Commissioner Kim’s courtroom about not being able to have me pay atorney fees for his prep work, i.e. his 42 pages. He con�nued to threaten me for three more months if I took it to the proper courtroom with making me a vexa�ous li�gant and going a�er me for atorney fees if I did so.
Soon a�er this in August 2023, Atorney Briggs and George asked me to be involved as the paralegal in George’s code enforcement case. In October, I was present at the city’s inspec�on of George’s property. It started out with the neighbors going a�er George and one neighbor (one of the complainants recruited by the city) assaulted George. They accused George of many things, including of picking up homeless women. George allowed inspec�on of his property, but answered no comment to many ques�ons farther than an inspec�on. This was used against him later on mul�ple �mes in the coming hearings.
In the first hearing in November 2023, it was treated as a criminal trial. A Cota� police officer was assigned to sit in the council chambers all day to guard against we “ci�zens”—about 5 of us. We ci�zens in the room were told to not move around and only to do so if called to the witness stand.
Robert Smith then went on as if trying a criminal…. he had prepared 33 exhibits with three copies each against George Barich. He dominated the hearing presen�ng this “evidence” first of all.
Braden Eggert then tes�fied about the 46 videos, etc. Noah Housh tes�fied too... one lie he said that day was he knew nothing about George’s sewer line.
During that first 5 hour hearing, the ALJ asked the atorneys for six legal briefs to be completed a�er the hearing. Weirdly, we ci�zens were all told to turn off any recording devices 3 hours into the hearing. All of the issues in the cita�on were countered in the first hearing. I tes�fied to that it was a friend’s dog living in the RV for 5 days for a/c during the hot summer months. It was canine habita�on the City proved, yet from that point on, the City said it had proved human habita�on of a vehicle
I started no�fying the City council at the next council mee�ng in November 2023 of the corrup�on going on by Mr. Smith especially. I wasn’t listened to, and I became a target of Mr. Smith. This was apparent in the February 2024 hearing where he personally atacked my role as the paralegal case and cri�cized my going to the council. A�er his personal atacks, I had to leave the hearing in distress and was not able to complete my du�es to present the evidence book I had helped prepare. Mr. Smith had yet again dominated the �me of the February hearing, with accusa�on a�er accusa�on against George Barich.
By Summer of 2024, I was informing the City and City council that 2/3rds of the code enforcement contract hours of Robert Smith was dedicated in the 23/24 fiscal year to George Barich’s case. Mr.
Smith increased his personal atacks on me, and started not billing for Barich’s hours. Plus not submi�ng his billings to the City within a reasonable �me frame.
More delays un�l May 2024. George Barich was le�ng it known that he would be in the council race. The delays con�nued on throughout the rest of 2024. Due to the financial strain of needing to file legal briefs during the elec�on, George Barich had no monies and �me le� a�er paying the atorney to write these briefs.
Braden Eggert, Mr. Smith’s assistant turned to our side in February 2025, coming to us because he couldn’t have this on his conscience for the rest of his life. He submited declara�ons to the Superior Court about Robert Smith’s obsession with taking down George Barich. Then all heck has broke out in the last few months. Mr. Smith is claiming, with the City’s support, that he was always ac�ng as the code officer, not an atorney for one thing. This is to get out legal troubles with the Bar Associa�on for viola�ng Professional Rules of Conduct 3.7. The City lawyers have played legal games since, leaving us baffled at the level of corrup�on capable in this city and the lengths the council will par�cipate in retalia�on, i.e. the City council rules changes.
No ci�zen of any city deserved the last six years of corrup�on of certain individuals in the City of Cota�. I don’t agree with George’s poli�cal views—My beliefs are actually quite the opposite of his. However, I couldn’t stand back and watch this happen to another human being. I’ve paid the cost personally for that decision.
By the way, Mr. Urhansen is one of the active attorneys on the City of Cotati’s police case set to go to trial next year… 24CV04430/Hodges v. Sullivan, et al.
Attorneys in the case… Peter Urhansen and A. Bryne Conley of Gibbons & Conley—used against George Barich and me after this case, starting in September 2019, months after winning this case at the California State Supreme Court.
City Attorney John Bakker with Meyers Nave.
Scott Huber, who was the city attorney for the City of Oroville. He was used by Peter Urhansen in Barich, et al vs. the City of Cotati as an expert witness on “municipal law”. Mr.
John H. Scott was going to impeach his “expert” opinion due to this situation of attorneys with the City of Oroville case.