Who is Dominic Foppoli? Mayor of Windsor, 38, accused of raping 1 and sexually assaulting 3 women on drunken nights
Dominic Foppoli, the mayor of Windsor town in California, has been accused of raping one woman more than once and sexually assaulting three more. The allegations have prompted local authorities to launch a criminal investigation against the 38-year-old Republican and calls for his resignation have become widespread.
The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, April 8, reported about the expose in which a graphic detail about Foppoli’s alleged sexual misconduct between 2013 and 2019 was recounted. The report spoke about a former campaign volunteer accusing the mayor of raping her twice during the 2003 New Year Eve celebration. The woman, who was 18 at that time, said that she had told the accused mayor that she was saving herself for her marriage. Another woman alleged Foppoli, took her to his home after drinking at a nightclub in 2006 and tried to pull off her pants. She said that she locked herself in the bathroom for hours before fleeing. A third accuser told the Chronicle that in 2012, she attended a convention with Foppoli. She got drunk and Foppoli allegedly took her to his hotel room where he had oral sex with her. She said she was too drunk at the time to give her consent. The latest accusation came in 2019 when a 21-year-old intern said Foppoli groped and kissed her forcibly, despite her protesting.
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The Chronicle came up with another report on Friday saying demands were soaring seeking Foppoli’s resignation. Every colleague of his on the Sonoma County town’s elected council and the North Bay’s two congressional representatives said the mayor could not continue in his post after the Chronicle’s investigative report came in the open. “These multiple, corroborated accounts suggest a pattern of predatory sexual misconduct that is deplorable and totally unacceptable,” Reps. Jared Huffman of San Rafael and Mike Thompson of St. Helena wrote in a joint statement. “It is not possible for Mr. Foppoli to credibly or effectively continue serving on the Windsor council. We call on him to resign immediately,” they said.
While a lawyer of Foppoli told the Chronicle that he “categorically denies” each of the allegations brought against him, CBS San Francisco reported that Sonoma County Sheriff's Office released a statement just hours before the bombshell report got published that the agency has launched a probe into the case and urged additional potential victims to come forward.
Who is Dominic Foppoli?
Besides being the mayor of Windsor, Foppoli also co-owns Christopher Creek Winery outside Healdsburg. Recently, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in Sonoma County. He was first appointed the mayor by the Windsor Town Council in 2018. Foppoli studied in Santa Rosa and attended the Dominican University of California in San Rafael and was elected as the vice-chairman of the Sonoma County Republican Party’s executive committee.
In 2014, he became the youngest council member in the history of Windsor at 32 and two years later, he became the vice mayor. It was around this time that he started a number of wine and beer ventures and bought the Christopher Creek Winery. In 2018, when Foppoli was still the vice mayor, the woman, who accused him of raping her twice nearly two decades ago, posted a message on the Facebook group of Windsor residents saying: “I can tell you firsthand Foppoli is not a man of integrity.” It was a time when the #MeToo Movement was gaining traction. Foppoli then reportedly sent her a private message, requesting her to take down the message saying it made his mother cry.
Foppoli was voted into the mayor’s office in 2020 and his term is scheduled to conclude in 2022. This year, the man has also been elected as the second vice president of the Mayors and Council Members Department at the League of California Cities.