OC Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he shares the jury\u2019s concern over misconduct and the need to hold wrongdoers accountable, but disagreed with their recommendation.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, the recommendation to give the Board of Supervisors authority to remove an elected official can undermine the will of the voters and may open the door for politically motivated removals and abuse,\u201d he said in a Monday emailed statement.<\/p>\n
OC Supervisors Doug Chaffee and Janet Nguyen both declined to comment on the report and the rest of her board did not respond to separate requests for comment Monday.<\/p>\n
The report comes after county supervisors have repeatedly complained for years they don\u2019t have the power to do anything about elected officials behaving badly aside from telling voters to get rid of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When then-OC Supervisor Andrew Do\u2019s house was raided by the FBI in 2024, he stopped showing up to meetings, but supervisors didn\u2019t have the power to do anything but revoke his commission appointments and publicly censure him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Read: OC Supervisors Censure Colleague Under Federal Investigation<\/a>]<\/p>\n \u201cMany have called for Supervisor Do to step down,\u201d said Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento at the time. \u201cWe can\u2019t force him to step down, but we can publicly condemn the conduct we see swirling around his office.\u201d<\/p>\n Supervisors also faced questions on what they planned to do after the county lost multiple lawsuits related to the conduct of District Attorney Todd Spitzer, which cost the county nearly $18 million in different lawsuit judgments and settlements.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: District Attorney Todd Spitzer Has Become Orange County\u2019s Most Expensive Politician<\/a>]<\/p>\n The only action supervisors took was to restructure Spitzer\u2019s HR department, with Supervisor Doug Chaffee noting they only had the power to ask him to step down.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe county has no power to take any action against him, he\u2019s a separate elected official,\u201d Chaffee said in a March interview. \u201cHe has the right to run his office as he sees fit \u2026 even though we may disapprove.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not going to resign, he\u2019s made that pretty clear,\u201d Chaffee continued. \u201cI\u2019m not happy with it, but I\u2019m not quite clear on what I can do to change things. I don\u2019t know that I can. I just have to hope this has all worked its way through.\u201d<\/p>\n [Read: OC Supervisors Don\u2019t Answer Calls For Action Against DA For Harassment of Female Prosecutors<\/a>]<\/p>\n What\u2019s the Solution?<\/p>\n Jurors are recommending supervisors draft one or more charter amendments for voters to consider, including allowing supervisors to remove people from office with a 4\/5 vote, consolidate elected offices or convert an elected office into an appointed position.\u00a0<\/p>\n They are also recommending supervisors adopt a policy mandating performance reviews of elected officials as well as establishing procedures to publicly report findings of audits involving elected leaders and any corrective actions taken.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, the County must decide whether its current framework adequately protects the public interest or whether structural changes are needed to prevent future oversight failures and restore appropriate operations and methods for performing official duties,\u201d jurors wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alleged Misconduct at Assessor & Treasurer Offices<\/p>\n In the report, jurors highlighted two separate harassment investigations into the OC Assessor and the OC Treasurer-Tax Collector for the need to sharpen supervisors\u2019 disciplinary power and give them the authority to kick out elected officials for misconduct.<\/p>\n Now, jurors are suggesting consolidating the assessor\u2019s office with the county clerk\u2019s office and converting the treasurer to an appointed position to improve oversight.<\/p>\n It comes on the heels of OC Assessor Claude Parrish, who allegedly violated an anti-harassment policy and rarely showed up to the office, and OC Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich getting reelected despite a pressure campaign against Freidenrich by county supervisors who endorsed her former second in command to run against her.\u00a0<\/p>\n Freidenrich and Parrish didn\u2019t respond to questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: OC Treasurer Tries to Fire Deputy After She Pulls Papers to Run For Her Seat<\/a>]<\/p>\n A 2023 human resources probe sustained allegations OC Assessor Claude Parrish violated anti-harassment and retaliation policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jurors wrote the investigation found Parrish focused on non-essential office matters, struggled to retain key information and was inconsistent with his decision making, with witnesses saying he lashed out at his employees.<\/p>\n \u201cMultiple witnesses reported instances in which the Assessor displayed anger and frustration toward subordinates when they did not carry out directives exactly as instructed,\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Grand Jury was made aware of an open secret within the department: the Assessor\u2019s limited presence in the office. Multiple witnesses consistently described a routine in which the Assessor arrives around 3:30 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n Jurors also say the Assessor long resisted technological upgrades to the office until they called him out in a 2024 report.<\/p>\n A human resources investigation in 2022 \u2013 one year prior \u2013 found Freidenrich created a hostile workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cThe report described an incident where the Treasurer threw keys at an employee which demonstrated a culture characterized by bullying, micromanagement and fear-based leadership,\u201d reads the grand jury report.<\/p>\n Supervisors would later strip Freidenrich of her investment authority.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/andrewdo_Leopo_-8-3.jpg\")
Andrew Do, then chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2018. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0A4A9509.jpg\")
The Orange County seal in downtown Santa Ana. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Taylor_ShariFriedenrich_Feb2025_2.jpg\")
Shari Friedenrich, Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector, stands outside of the board hearing room of the Orange County Board of Supervisors located in Santa Ana on Fed. 27, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n