Clayton Watch · 2026 Council Candidate · No. 4

Kim Trupiano for Clayton
City Council

An update on the Clayton City Council election. The Candidates are set for Clayton City Council. The filing deadline for the Clayton City Council election officially closed at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 12.

With the filing period now closed, four candidates, Councilmember Kim Trupiano, Planning Commissioner Maria Shulman, Amy Callaghan, and Charlie Schmidt have stepped forward to serve our community.

Over the coming months, Clayton Watch will examine the public record of each of these candidates and publish what we find, from City records, our own files, and other background material. We will do this for every name on the list.

Next up, Kim Trupiano, who currently serves on the Clayton City Council and is seeking re-election. Unlike candidates without prior office, she has a voting record. Council votes referenced below are matters of public record and can be verified in the minutes.

Kim Trupiano came to the Council from a career spent reading budgets, and she asked for the seat on the committee where the City’s numbers actually get examined. Her stated aim is putting Clayton’s financial house in order: proactive about the future rather than reactive about the past.

DECADES

Newspapers, shopping centers, nonprofits, and her own small business.

Trupiano spent decades in the newspaper, shopping center, and nonprofit sectors before public office, and owns a small business herself. She points to that background as the basis for strategic financial planning, balancing the budget, and building relationships across the community, and says she understands firsthand what Clayton’s business owners are up against.

THE BOOKS

Four years on the Budget and Audit Committee, sometimes meeting weekly.

Trupiano reviewed dozens of City contracts, pushed for an RFP process so future contracts go out to competitive bid, moved Clayton to a managed investment portfolio, updated the Master Fee Schedule, and scrubbed the budget and scrubbed it again. The committee met monthly and at times weekly to get the numbers right.

Read that list against Clayton’s recent history. A city whose checkbook once went unreconciled for eighteen months, and whose Mayor could not say what it held in its investment accounts, now has a managed portfolio and a competitive bidding process. That is the specific hole, filled.

She also served four years on the City Sponsored Special Events Committee and sits on the East Contra Costa Habitat Conservancy Governing Board.

CERTIFIED

Clayton’s Sixth Housing Element has been certified by the state.

The Council approved the Housing Element more than three years ago. Certification by the California Department of Housing and Community Development came this year, ending a long period during which Clayton was out of compliance and exposed on housing.

It did not move on its own. Trupiano and City Manager Kris Lofthus went to Senator Tim Grayson’s office in person and asked for help securing a meeting with HCD. Her assessment is blunt: without that meeting, Clayton would still be waiting. She also credits City staff and the Senator’s office for the work that followed.

An uncertified housing element leaves a city exposed to builder’s remedy projects it cannot control. That exposure is now closed.

THE LIBRARY

As City Liaison, she led the library refresh from funding through vendor selection.

Trupiano serves as the City’s liaison to the Clayton Community Library Foundation Board and led the refresh process: securing the funding, defining the scope of work, and selecting the vendors. After years of planning, the refresh begins later this year.

Three separate things had to be true at once for that project to move. She made sure they were.

STAFFED

A new City Manager two years ago, and then a City Hall rebuilt around him.

Trupiano points to the hiring of a new City Manager two years ago as the decision the rest followed from. That manager went on to build out the staff: a new Police Chief, Public Works Director, Project Manager, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Community Development Specialist.

Craig Blythe joined as Public Works Director in early June, the first person to hold that position in Clayton. Melissa Rhodes came on as City Clerk the following week. The City reports it is now fully staffed.

Staffing continuity is not a small matter here. Gaps in continuity and institutional knowledge are exactly what has been blamed for missed grant funds and lapsed financial controls. This addresses the mechanism, not the symptom.

CLAYTON 311

The long-delayed SeeClickFix reporting system is live.

Residents can now report weed abatement, downed trees and limbs, graffiti, broken fixtures, code enforcement, and animal control issues through the City website under How Do I? › Report a Problem, or through the SeeClickFix mobile app on Android and Apple.

It gives residents a documented channel and gives the City a record of what was reported and when.

5–0

She voted with a unanimous Council to put a 1% sales tax measure on the November ballot.

The vote followed several months of meetings evaluating the City’s current and projected finances. The Council is also weighing a ten-year renewal of the Landscape Maintenance District, including establishing a reserve for emergency funding.

Trupiano’s stated reasoning: Clayton’s main revenue sources remain stable, but the cost of essential services has escalated. Behind that sits a longer bill. Years of deferred maintenance and unbuilt capital improvement projects have gone unaddressed, and deferring them further does not make them cheaper. The measure goes to voters in November. They will decide it, not the Council.

FOUR YEARS

Four years of delivered work, not a set of promises.

A certified Housing Element after a three-year stall. A managed investment portfolio and an RFP process for contracts. An updated Master Fee Schedule. A library refresh funded, scoped, and out to vendors. A new City Manager and a fully staffed City Hall, including Clayton’s first Public Works Director. A resident reporting system talked about for years and now live. A financial path put before voters rather than deferred to the next Council.

Each of those was pending when Trupiano took office. Each is done. In her own framing, serving has been the honor of her life, and the job is not yet finished.

REGIONAL

She holds seats on boards well beyond Clayton’s city limits.

East Bay Economic Development Alliance Board of Directors, since 2024. Diablo Valley College Business Advisory Board, since 2011. Save Mount Diablo, Moonlight on the Mountain and Development committee volunteer, since 2018. Clayton Valley Village volunteer, since 2022. Member of the Clayton Historical Society and the Mt. Diablo Birding Alliance.

Fifteen years on the DVC board is the sort of tenure that produces the relationships a small city needs when it wants something from the county or the state.

SINCE 2013

She and her husband Rich chose Clayton in 2013.

Rich Trupiano is a Gulf War veteran and former Combat Engineer in the Air Force. They live here with their dog JoJo. Trupiano can be reached directly at kimt@claytonca.gov or 925.673.7324, and closes her updates to residents the same way each time: we are stronger together.

In her own words

“I am running for reelection because I want to ensure that we continue to move forward, address our needs, and not fall back into the old patterns of ignoring priorities and long-standing issues.”

Experience Matters. Proven Results.

By Clayton Watch, FPPC ID #1471612. Council actions described above are matters of public record and can be verified in City minutes; biographical details and stated reasoning are drawn from Ms. Trupiano’s own published materials. Conclusions are the opinions of the committee.

 Clayton Watch · 2026 Council Candidate · No. 3

Amy Callaghan for Clayton
City Council

An update on the Clayton City Council election. The Candidates are set for Clayton City Council. The filing deadline for the Clayton City Council election officially closed at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 12.

With the filing period now closed, four candidates, Councilmember Kim Trupiano, Planning Commissioner Maria Shulman, Amy Callaghan, and Charlie Schmidt have stepped forward to serve our community.

Over the coming months, Clayton Watch will examine the public record  of each of these candidates and publish what we find, from City records, our own files, and other background material. We will do this for every name on the list.

Next up, Amy Callaghan. She has not held elected office in Clayton and does not sit on a City commission. Because there is no public record to review, what follows is drawn from her own candidate statement and professional background.

Amy Callaghan has spent thirty years managing other people’s buildings, budgets, and contracts. She is asking to do the same work for the city she has called home since 1992.

CREDENTIALS

A business degree, a broker’s license, and a professional designation.

Callaghan graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and attended in person as it was geared towards working adults. She holds a current California Department of Real Estate Broker License and is certified by the Building Owners and Managers Association as a Real Property Administrator.

The RPA is the industry credential for people made responsible for the financial performance of buildings they do not own.

CORRECTION: In our original candidate write-up on Amy Callaghan, we described her degree as having been earned at the University of Phoenix and characterized that institution as an online school. Both details were wrong, and neither came from Ms. Callaghan. They have been corrected above.

Ms. Callaghan earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management in person, graduating in 2000. She attended the Walnut Creek campus at Shadelands, a program built for working adults, which operated there until 2003 before relocating to Concord. She was granted special admission at 22, below the program's usual minimum age of 23, on the strength of work experience she had already accumulated. She completed the degree while working full time, and graduated Cum Laude.

We did not verify the characterization before publishing it. That was our error. We regret it and thank Ms. Callaghan for bringing it to our attention promptly and courteously. 

$24 MILLION

Her largest portfolio ran 2.5 million square feet across six cities on a $24 million budget.

That portfolio carried roughly $24 million in revenue against $8 million in operating expenses, plus a capital outlay of between $3 and $5 million every year. Over her career she has managed properties in 38 cities, from Gilroy to Roseville and Petaluma to Stockton.

Clayton’s entire general fund is a fraction of the budget she has been accountable for. She has read a balance sheet that size every month of her career.

CONTRACTS

She writes and operates the kind of contracts a city lives and dies by.

Callaghan writes and administers leases and vendor contracts, and coordinates between landlords and tenants, owners and vendors. She works with hundreds of vendors across the Bay Area, on everything from large HVAC maintenance agreements and major landscape projects down to indoor plant service.

She is trained to read, review, and approve construction documents, and has managed millions of dollars in property improvements and full redevelopments. Contracts, capital projects, and vendor oversight are most of what a small city actually does.

SIDEWALKS

It started with the sidewalks.

Callaghan and her husband Chris walk their dogs through Clayton’s neighborhoods and trails, and over the years watched the sidewalks and trails deteriorate. The busy intersection near their home had needed attention for years, with promised improvements long overdue. When the project finally showed signs of life, she started attending City Council meetings to follow it.

What she learned in those meetings is why she is running.

THE MONEY

Her position: find every dollar Clayton is already owed before asking residents for more.

Callaghan says City reserves have been steadily depleted, and that Federal and State grant funds have been held, missed, or left unused because of gaps in staffing continuity and institutional knowledge. Those are dollars Clayton residents have already paid through their Federal and State taxes.

On the sales tax measure now before voters, her position is that the Council is trying to address a real problem, but that before asking neighbors to pay more, the City owes them a thorough review of its financial history, contracts, and assessed needs. That review is the work she does for a living.

SINCE 1992

Clayton is where she grew up, got married, and came back to raise her children.

Her parents moved the family to Clayton in 1992, just before her senior year of high school. She left in 1995 to live on her own, married Chris in a backyard ceremony here, and in 2002 bought a home in Clayton because she wanted to raise her children in it. Their children, Haley and Alex, carried the family further into the community through school plays, sports, chorus, and art shows.

Her mother Vicki still calls Clayton home. After her father Bob passed in 2015, Vicki built an addition above the garage to stay close to her sister Erika’s family next door. Three generations, one town.

15 YEARS

She has been pouring the wine and selling the tickets for fifteen years.

Callaghan has volunteered at the Art & Wine Festival and Oktoberfest for at least fifteen years, and at the Fourth of July and Clayton Pride parades. She volunteered in her children’s classrooms and with parent club events at every school they attended. She and Chris have played bocce since the courts opened in 2014.

She is an active member of the CBCA. In 2024 the Callaghans opened their home for the Clayton Historical Society’s first Halloween Tour, and this year were featured on its Annual Garden Tour.

In her own words

“Clayton isn’t just where I live, it’s who I am.”

Keep Clayton moving forward.

By Clayton Watch, FPPC ID #1471612. Biographical and professional details are drawn from Ms. Callaghan’s candidate statement; characterizations of the City’s finances are hers. Conclusions are the opinions of the committee.

Heads up on the Election

 The Candidates Are Set for Clayton City Council

The filing deadline for the Clayton City Council election officially closed at 5:00 p.m. today, Wednesday, August 12.

With the filing period now over, four candidates have stepped forward to serve our community:

• Kim Trupiano — Incumbent City Councilmember

• Maria Shulman

• Charlie Schmidt

• Amy Callaghan

Congratulations to all four candidates for stepping forward and offering their time and service to the City of Clayton.

Running for public office takes commitment, and we appreciate everyone willing to participate in the process.

Now the election season begins. Stay informed, ask questions, and most importantly. . .vote.

Clayton Watch · Candidate Record Review · No. 2

Maria Shulman for Clayton
City Council

An update on the Clayton City Council election. Seven residents have pulled papers to run. As of today, four have submitted the completed paperwork required to qualify for the November ballot.

Those who have pulled papers: Peter Cloven, Councilmember Kim Trupiano, Mayor Jeff Wan, Planning Commissioner Maria Shulman, Amy Callaghan, Jim Killoran, and Charlie Schmidt.

Over the coming months, Clayton Watch will examine the public record of each of these candidates and publish what we find, from City records, our own files, and other background material. We will do this for every name on the list.

Next up, Maria Shulman. She has not held elected office in Clayton. She currently serves on the Planning Commission. Because there is no Council voting record to review, what follows draws on her filed application to the City and on her own candidate statement.

Throughout her career, Maria Shulman has dedicated herself to caring for individuals, and she has spent her years in Clayton serving this community.

EDUCATION

Four credentials at three universities, every one of them earned while working.

She started at Temple University with a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and a minor in Mental Health. She trained at the Germantown Hospital and Medical Center School of Nursing for her nursing diploma, the working nurse’s route into the profession rather than the academic one. From the University of Texas at Arlington she added a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Public Health, then a Master’s in Healthcare Administration.

Criminal justice, mental health, public health, nursing, administration. Every one of those disciplines turns up in a Clayton council packet sooner or later.

WILDFIRE

She has already put Clayton’s missing evacuation plan in writing.

In her filed application to the City, Maria Shulman noted the Commission had been made aware that Clayton has no evacuation plan. She also drew the line correctly: evacuation planning is not the Planning Commission’s job, but road width, secondary access points, and proposed density in high fire zones and at the wildland-urban interface are. Those are the conditions that bottleneck an evacuation route during a fire.

She has taken coursework from the Institute for Local Government on CEQA and its impact on wildfire risk reduction. Clayton sits against open hillside. This is the rare candidate statement that names a specific hazard and the specific lever a commission actually controls.

PLANNING

Chair of the Clayton Planning Commission in 2025, Vice Chair in 2024.

In these roles, she helped guide thoughtful growth that preserves Clayton’s small-town character.

Her filed statement of philosophy sets out three principles: decisions grounded in data, staff expertise, and applicable codes rather than personal preference; a transparent process where residents and applicants are both heard before a vote; and long-term thinking that weighs a project’s cumulative effect on infrastructure, housing affordability, and community identity. She calls the seat a public trust.

HEALTHCARE

A nurse and healthcare leader recognized for patient advocacy.

As a nurse and healthcare leader, Maria Shulman has held management, supervisory, pediatric special-needs, and care-management positions, earning recognition from Today’s Nurse for her advocacy and leadership in patient care. That work taught her to listen attentively, ask tough questions, and make considered decisions when the stakes are high.

MANAGING BUDGETS

Experience managing budgets, ensuring compliance, and owning decisions.

She brings extensive experience in managing budgets, ensuring regulatory compliance, and being accountable for her decisions.

Those are the three things a Council member is actually asked to do, and she has done all three in a field where getting them wrong has immediate consequences.

COMMUNITY

Serving Clayton beyond City Hall, for seventeen years.

She also serves on the Clayton Community Library Foundation Board and volunteers at events such as Clayton Cleans Up, the Art & Wine Festival, the Fourth of July parade, and Oktoberfest.

Add Holidays in the Grove and decorating the Police Department 4x4. None of it carries a vote or a title.

In her own words

“I’m a wife, mother, and a nurse who reads the fine print and asks the hard questions, and I’ll do that for every Clayton resident.”

Keep Clayton moving forward.

Clayton Watch is reviewing the record of each 2026 Council candidate.

By Clayton Watch, FPPC ID #1471612. Biographical and Commission details are drawn from Ms. Shulman’s application for appointment on file with the City of Clayton; quoted passages are her own statement. Conclusions are the opinions of the committee.

Top News!

 Clayton Watch · Candidate Record Review · No. 1

The Peter Cloven Record: What Clayton’s Books Show

A review of the City’s financial oversight during Peter Cloven’s term as Mayor

An update on the Clayton City Council election. Five residents have pulled papers to run. As of today, none have submitted the completed paperwork required to qualify for the November ballot.

Those who have pulled papers: Peter Cloven, Councilmember Kim Trupiano, Mayor Jeff Wan, Planning Commissioner Maria Shulman, and Amy Callaghan.

Over the coming months, Clayton Watch will examine the public record of each of these candidates and publish what we find, from City records, our own files, and other background material. We will do this for every name on the list.

We begin with Peter Cloven, who previously served as Mayor of Clayton. 

Every item below comes from documents on file 
at Clayton City Hall. Nothing here is our characterization of events; it is what the City’s own records say.

VOTED YES

Peter Cloven voted to approve the Olivia development on Marsh Creek over resident objection.

The project was approved with inadequate parking spaces for 81 units, below the City’s own parking standard. Residents raised the shortfall at public hearings. Peter Cloven voted yes, not once, but twice to move the project forward.

18 MONTHS

Under Peter Cloven, the City’s checkbook went unreconciled for more than 18 months.

Reconciling the checkbook is the most basic financial control a city has. Without it, no one can say what the City holds or where it went. Peter Cloven presided over the Council throughout that period, and he did nothing about it.

$50,000

Under Peter Cloven, $50,000 of the City’s money went missing.

The City manager reported roughly $50,000 unaccounted for. It sat undetected for months. Peter Cloven was Mayor when it was reported, and the records show no audit, no investigation, and no action taken by Peter Cloven.

NO ANSWER

Peter Cloven could not state what the City held in their investment accounts.

Asked on the record about Clayton’s accounts and investments, Mayor Peter Cloven was unable to answer.

VOTED NO

Peter Cloven voted against the City’s budget.

The budget funds police, roads, and services. Peter Cloven, presiding as Mayor, voted no. He said he was drinking out of a firehose.

$30,000

Peter Cloven proposed the $30,000 community survey, then voted to fund it.

Residents had already made their position clear, no new taxes. They support the police, and love this town. Peter Cloven proposed spending $30,000 to ask again, and voted yes to waste our tax payer money on a survey, so he could justify raising our taxes.

$400 / YR

Peter Cloven urged the Council to move forward with a $400-per-year parcel tax on Clayton homeowners.

He argued for asking residents to close a gap the City’s own unreconciled books made impossible to measure. He took the easy way out and failed to do the hard work.

What Peter Cloven’s successors did differently

The current Council identified unneeded contracts and produced a complete accounting of the City’s income and expenses. That is ordinary financial oversight. It was not attempted under Peter Cloven.

This is not the first time

Peter Cloven pulled papers in the last election cycle and did not file them. The record above was available then, as it is now.

Why the Peter Cloven record matters now

Clayton is a small city. A $50,000 gap is real money here, and 18 months without a reconciliation is not a clerical lapse, it is the absence of a control. Peter Cloven presided over that period. Residents are entitled to weigh it.

Every document cited is public. Request it from the City Clerk, or ask Clayton Watch and we’ll point you to it.

By Clayton Watch, FPPC ID #1471612. Statements about Mr. Cloven’s record are based on public City records; conclusions are the opinions of the committee.

Top Story

Clayton Watch Political Action Committee

Why Clayton Watch Went Quiet on the Civil Grand Jury Report — Until Now

For nearly a year, Clayton Watch Political Action Committee has raised concerns
regarding Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury Report No. 2505, Clayton: Small City, Big Concerns. Those concerns center on what Clayton Watch believes are factual inaccuracies, omissions, and interpretive statements that do not align with the underlying public record.

Because Civil Grand Jury reports carry significant authority and become a permanent part of the public record, we believed it was important to proceed carefully, responsibly, and based on verifiable facts.

Why We Took Action

Before taking any formal action, Clayton Watch spent months reviewing:

• - Audited financial records
• - City Council minutes and agendas
• - Staffing timelines
• - Brown Act requirements
• - Revenue planning actions taken by the City
• - California Civil Grand Jury procedures and standards

Only after completing that review did we conclude that portions of Report 2505 raised legitimate questions concerning factual accuracy, omissions, and narrative framing.

What We Did

Contrary to what some may believe, Clayton Watch did not immediately go public, contact the media, or launch political attacks. Instead, we pursued every available avenue for review.

After completing our research and analysis, Clayton Watch formally notified:

• - The Superior Court
• - The Presiding Judge
• - County Counsel
• - The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
• - The Civil Grand Jurors' Association

In addition, we submitted a Public Information Request seeking records relating to the preparation of Report 2505. That request was denied.

Only after taking those steps did Clayton Watch file a Petition with the Contra Costa County Superior Court seeking review of concerns surrounding Report 2505.

The Petition was ultimately denied. However, the denial was not based on a determination that the underlying concerns lacked merit. Rather, Clayton Watch was advised that available administrative remedies should first be exhausted before judicial intervention would potentially become appropriate.

We followed that guidance.

As a result, Clayton Watch then filed a formal Administrative Complaint through the Civil Grand Jury complaint process, requesting review of the procedures used to gather, verify, review, and approve Report 2505.

It is important to understand that Clayton Watch used the very same Grand Jury complaint process through which concerns regarding local government are brought before the Grand Jury in the first place. Grand Jury investigations do not simply materialize on their own. They begin with information, allegations, complaints, or concerns that are presented to the Grand Jury for consideration.

Whatever information or concerns ultimately led to Report 2505 becoming the subject of an investigation necessarily entered the system through that same process. Clayton Watch sought no special treatment and requested no extraordinary remedies. We simply used the same established procedures available to every resident of Contra Costa County, and asked that our concerns receive the same fair, impartial, and meaningful review afforded to others.

In short, every available avenue — judicial, administrative, legislative, and informational — was pursued before speaking publicly in greater detail.

Why We Went Quiet

Many residents have asked why Clayton Watch appeared to go quiet regarding the Civil Grand Jury matter.

The answer is simple. We were advised to exhaust every available remedy before escalating the matter further, and that is exactly what we did.

We also intentionally refrained from publicly discussing many aspects of the Administrative Complaint because the complaint process emphasizes confidentiality. We believed it was important to respect that process and allow the system an opportunity to review the concerns internally before discussing them publicly.

This has never been about political theater. It has always been about accountability, fairness, accuracy, and protecting the integrity of the public record.

Why This Matters

Civil Grand Jury reports carry significant authority. They influence public opinion, shape political narratives, impact reputations, and become permanent parts of the public record while carrying the appearance of judicial credibility.

It is true that Civil Grand Jury reports are recommendations and are not legally binding. In practice, however, the reports often have a much greater impact.

The Civil Grand Jury gets to fire the first cannon. The report is released, headlines are written, and narratives quickly form in the court of public opinion. Only later do the affected agencies and officials have an opportunity to respond through formal written replies, and by then far fewer people read the responses than read the original headlines.

That reality makes accuracy, fairness, and factual verification especially important. Even though the recommendations themselves are not binding, the public perceptions created by an official Grand Jury report can have lasting consequences for communities, public institutions, and individual reputations.

The concerns raised by Clayton Watch are not about whether the Civil Grand Jury should investigate government. It absolutely should.

The question is whether every institution entrusted with public confidence — including the Civil Grand Jury itself — should be willing to address legitimate concerns regarding accuracy, fairness, and accountability.

We believe the answer is yes.

Where Things Stand Today

At this time, Clayton Watch is consulting with legal counsel regarding potential next steps. Two avenues are under active consideration:

1. Writ of Mandate — seeking judicial review by petitioning the court to compel action, which would name the Civil Grand Jury as the responding party.
2. Legislative Reform — petitioning the State Legislature to change the laws governing the Civil Grand Jury, in order to strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability within California's Civil Grand Jury system.

In addition, Clayton Watch has contacted the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office and encouraged it to review whether the information presented in connection with Report 2505 was accurate and properly verified. The integrity of the Civil Grand Jury process depends upon the accuracy of the information presented to it, and upon the public's confidence that official reports are based upon verified facts. (The letter sent to the District Attorney's Office is available for public review below.)

Because transparency matters, we are making the underlying documents available for public review. We encourage residents to read the filings, examine the supporting exhibits, and draw their own conclusions.

📄 Read the Petition Filed with the Superior Court: View the Petition

📄 Read the Administrative Complaint and Supporting Exhibits: View the Complaint

📄 Read the Letter Sent to the District Attorney's Office: View the Letter

Clayton Watch will continue to pursue every appropriate avenue available, including administrative review, consultation with legal counsel regarding a potential Writ of Mandate, and discussions concerning possible legislative reforms. This effort is not about relitigating past disagreements. It is about ensuring that official reports carrying the authority and credibility of the Civil Grand Jury are factually verified, procedurally fair, and free from unsupported narratives or unverified information originating from sources advocating a particular outcome.

Our hope is that, by pursuing this matter responsibly and through the proper channels, future Civil Grand Jury reports affecting Clayton, or any other community, will be guided by accuracy, fairness, and accountability, rather than becoming sources of unnecessary division or avoidable harm to a community's reputation.

As developments occur, we will continue to keep the community informed.

Accountability is not an attack on the Civil Grand Jury. Accountability is what gives the Civil Grand Jury its credibility in the first place.

Acknowledgment

Clayton Watch would like to recognize and thank Gary Hood, Bill Walcutt, and the other members of the Clayton Watch Committee for the many hours spent reviewing public records, examining financial documents, researching applicable laws and procedures, preparing filings, and documenting the issues discussed in this article.

This effort has always been driven by a commitment to facts, fairness, accountability, and the belief that engaged citizens play an important role in promoting transparency and public trust.

Clayton Watch also extends its appreciation to the many residents who have followed this issue, shared information, and encouraged a thoughtful, fact-based discussion about accountability and the integrity of the public record.

— Clayton Watch Political Action Committee

Top Story

Civil Grand Jury Watches Government, But Who’s Watching Them?  

By David King, Diablo Gazette / Photos Added by Clayton Watch 

2025/2026 Civil Grand Jury with the Board of Supervisors

The Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury is annually impaneled to investigate city and county governments, special districts and certain nonprofit corporations to ensure functions are performed in a lawful, economical and efficient manner. Recommendations resulting from these investigations are listed.

This year, a just released report 2602 is a highly critical Civil Grand Jury review of Contra Costa County’s Internal Audit Division (IAD), concluding that the County’s internal auditing system is outdated, lacks independence, and does not comply with professional auditing standards or California law and says the current structure undermines both independence and public accountability.

Among the Findings
The Grand Jury says the County’s internal audit operation has major structural problems.

One of the more egregious findings is the Internal Audit Division has not had an outside quality review in more than 25 years, even though auditing standards require one every 3–5 years.

It cites examples indicating the audit division is functioning in what the report calls a major conflict of interest and “independence impairment.”

Oversight from the Board of Supervisors is described as weak and largely symbolic.

The audit division operates under a governing administrative bulletin written in 1975 that has never been modernized to reflect current standards.

The County does not publicly post completed internal audit reports or annual audit plans online and lacks several standard safeguards expected in modern government auditing.

Jury Recommendations
The Grand Jury recommends sweeping reforms, including:

* Creating a dedicated Audit Committee and adding outside/public financial experts.
* Ending the practice of auditors helping prepare the County’s financial reports. 

* Requiring quarterly reporting to supervisors.
* Publishing audit reports publicly online.
* Bringing the division into compliance with Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Government Accountability Office (GAGAS) standards.

The County must respond to the Court regarding recommendations offered by the report.

Last year when the Clayton City Council had to respond to its Civil Grand Jury Report 2505. The Council responded with an emphatic “no” to most of the report’s recommendations, citing the investigators used inaccurate figures, dismissed audited figures and other information provided and misunderstands local government procedures and functions.

In addition, believing the report was detrimental to the City’s reputation, the local Political Action Committee, Clayton Watch, submitted a petition to the Court requesting a correction or amendment to their report.

Did they do it? It doesn’t appear so.

“The new Pinole Civil Grand Jury Report 2604 shows what good oversight looks like: facts, benchmarks, and transparency,” said Gary Hood, a member of the Clayton Watch and Clayton resident who filed the petition.

“Last year’s Clayton report did the opposite. It started with a conclusion, then worked backward and failed badly to support it.

“Maybe it’s time for the Civil Grand Jury to look in the mirror. A watchdog should be held to the same standard it demands of everyone else. Political influence has no place in the process. The public deserves independence, objectivity, and facts. And maybe it’s time someone on the judiciary side of the street did their job. Who watches the watchdog?”