Fairfield Official's Wife Returns Money From Campaign for New California City

A Fairfield City Council member’s wife, who was paid $4,000 by California Forever, the investor-backed group trying to gain approval to build a new city in Solano County, has returned the money after reporting by KQED.

Sue Vaccaro received the fee from California Forever earlier this year, according to the group’s campaign finance filings released last week, which listed her as a campaign consultant.

California Forever spent $2 million on its campaign in the first quarter of this year as it works to gain county-wide support for a November ballot initiative that would allow the company to transform thousands of acres of farmland into a dense, walkable city akin to Berlin or Paris.

Vaccaro, who is married to Fairfield City Councilmember Rick Vaccaro and serves as president of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Solano County, said California Forever paid her after she coordinated an informational meeting between the company and various Solano nonprofits, including the Chinese American Association of Solano County and Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs. She told KQED she was unsure why she was paid for the event.

Though no campaign finance rule would bar Sue Vaccaro from taking such a fee, she opted to return the money this week after KQED reported on it as part of a story about California Forever’s campaign finance spending because she didn’t want to be associated with the initiative.

Rick Vaccaro said that neither he nor his wife have endorsed the plan to build the city, which would be a few miles away from Fairfield.

“I do not plan on endorsing the project at any time,” Rick Vaccaro said. “[Sue] gave the money back because she didn’t want it to look like she was endorsing them.”

Opinions about the project have varied since the company announced its plans late last year. Several elected officials have spoken out against the project, including Congressmen John Garamendi and Mike Thompson, Vallejo Councilmember Charles Palmares and Princess Washington, the Mayor Pro-Tem of Suisun City.

Only one elected official has voiced support for the project: Vacaville Vice Mayor Greg Ritchie, who has received criticism on social media from constituents.

The billionaire-backed ballot initiative moved one step closer to the November election when California Forever submitted more than 20,000 signatures to the Solano County Registrar’s Office earlier this month. The office now has 30 days to verify those signatures before passing them along to the Board of Supervisors, which will have to approve the initiative to go before voters.