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. It was adopted 4-1, with Supervisor Wanda Williams being the lone vote of reason. 

The action also created 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 2016, 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 conceal the well examined, insightful findings of InfoCompass, the independent consultant, and to silence the Solano County Historical Records Commission. 

As an example, within several months after the approval of hiring the 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. The building subsequently remained vacant for three years. The collection has remained in 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, and an extreme disservice to the public interest. The original Solano County Historical Records Commission needs to be reinstated immediately.