5h) Discussion and Possible Action Including Approval of Retroactive Agreement with Elizabeth "Liz" Barney in the Amount of $50,000, for the Purpose of Providing Social Media, Web Design, and Training Services for the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, for the period of January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, with the Option to Extend the Agreement in the Amount of $50,000 for One Additional One-Year Period from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, with the Total Possible Agreement Amount of $100,000 and the Possible Term Period of January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022 (Sponsor: Sheriff-Coroner)
I oppose Elizabeth Barney's contract renewal. She is a liability to the county and under the current circumstances, the county does not need anymore liabilities, I would not hire people who are likely to cause more lawsuits for the county, we need to save every penny we can right now.
I oppose Elizabeth Barney's contract renewal. There is no place for someone that expresses racist views, supports terrorism, and spreads misinformation about public safety in a position that is related to public safety and funded by the public/taxpayers.
I do not approve of using county funds to support the renewed/retroactive contract agreement of Elizabeth 'Liz' Barney for social media, web design, and training services for the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Barney has expressed support on social media that spreads misinformation about COVID and election fraud. A track record of posting falsehoods on social media should disqualify a candidate from receiving a government contract to perform similar work on the public's behalf.
The fact that the MCSO is still supporting her bid after this record has come to light clearly reveals that the sheriff's office is failing to understand their place as a protector of all people in this county and dismantle systemic racism in their ranks.
When someone works in service of the public, they should be held to a higher standard: employed, contracted, or otherwise.
Lastly, Barney's spouse is also employed by the MCSO. Mendocino County Policy #52 Nepotism and Fraternization was created to "avoid conflicts of interest between work-related and personal/family obligations and to reduce favoritism or even the appearance of favoritism". This agenda item appears to be in direct conflict with the County's policy as a major conflict of interest and action of favoritism.
I hiring somebody who supports racist views, supported the insurrection, and opposes science and mask wearing is not good for our county. Hiring this person to run the public face of our sheriff whose publications are already under scrutiny for racist tendencies would be a grav error.
Ms. Barney supported the US Capitol insurrection and she claims that mask wearing has no medical value. Please do not renew her contract. We need responsible people contracting with the County.
Ruth Van Antwerp
Ms. Barney is too controversial a person at this point to be a good fit for a job on the payroll of Mendocino County, especially as a social media consultant. She has spread misinformation about Covid health measures, claimed election fraud, and has been accused of racism by our local BLM chapter. She seems to be misinformed about important matters to the people of Mendocino, who she will serve in this position.
I do not approve of using county funds to support an overt racist.
Barney has expressed support on social media that spreads misinformation about COVID and election fraud.
A track record of posting falsehoods on social media should disqualify a candidate from receiving a government contract to perform similar work on the public's behalf.
The fact that the MCSO is still supporting her bid after this record has come to light clearly reveals that the sheriff's office is failing to understand their place as a protector of all people in this county. I hope that the Board is seeing with clear eyes just how much racism and negligence the MCSO is willing to bring into their department and keep this in mind when dealing with the office in the future.
I certainly feel uncomfortable with the contract of Liz Barney given all the controversy. Her postings in the past which are not so long ago, reveals some sad ideas about race. We want to root out racism, not support it. We’ve all been trained unconsciously to be racist, and it takes effort and education to overcome that training. A book that helped me was “Waking Up White.” Surely there are other qualified bidders as Mr. Stedden suggests. We need to protect all our people.
Approval of this contract would signal implicit, if not explicit, approval of continued bias, discrimination and racsim in our sheriff's department and county. As other community members have noted, racism is not the only issue at hand in Liz Barney's PUBLIC comments. Barney also supports violence, spreads misinformation about the election results and questions public health practices and orders in relation to COVID. This is unacceptable for any person related to the sheriff's department and county leadership. Finally, the conflict of interest and nepostism in this contract to Liz Barney is unethical, and should be prohibited practice for county employment and contractors. Nepotism is defined as the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs--it could not be more clear that the sheriff is continuing in this practice by bringing this contract for approval. In the current moment when the nation is reckoning with a pandemic made worse through politization and misinformation, threats to our democarcy, systemic racism and white supremacy, this contract epitomizes an intersection of all of these serious issues and must be rejected. Thank you for your consideration.
As a citizen of this county, I do NOT approve of using county funds to support an overt racist. In 2021, social media presence has to be considered when selecting representatives of this county. For someone who works to train others in this medium to use it herself to spread misinformation about COVID and the election is appalling. Ms. Barney has no place in Mendocino County, especially not in social media. Thank you.
Barney’s has expressed support on social media that spreads misinformation about COVID and election fraud. This jeopardizes the safety of all Americans, incites violence and domestic terrorism and undermines our democracy. She should NOT be awarded this contract.
I believe the Board should reject this agreement. This role requires Barney to "share photos, videos, links, and Public Service Announcements on MCSO’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube accounts." One of the criteria for judging the RFP was supposed to be relevant experience and looking at the candidate's history of posting to social media should be a requirement for evaluating her experience. In my opinion, a track record of posting falsehoods on social media should disqualify a candidate from receiving a government contract to perform similar work on the public's behalf. Barney has such a record of posting health misinformation and racist appeals on Parler, and should therefore be effectively disqualified for this type of role. There were two other bidders for this contract position. I would encourage the Board to consider the second highest scoring bidder.
Furthermore that the MCSO is still supporting her bid after this record has come to light clearly reveals that the sheriff's office is failing to understand their place as a protector of all people in this county. I hope that the Board is seeing with clear eyes just how much racism and negligence the MCSO is willing to bring into their department and keep this in mind when dealing with the office in the future. Specifically I think this underscores to me the need for more forceful oversight of the Sheriff's office to determine whether their apparent acceptance of such racism is more systemic.
This contract is fraught and should not even be considered. The background exposed on Barney is one that cannot be ignored or swept under the rug. Even in Barneys "explanatory" letter dated 12/13 and posted 2/7/21 in the AVA continues with false accusations, conspiracy theories and whitewashing (now erased) of evidence on social media of past social media declarations:
"When I shared the post about Rep. Rashida Tlaib, it was not because of the Mossad line that someone else had written above it (and incorrectly attributed to me), but to share the article she was in. I think it’s important for all Americans to know where all their representatives stand on issues. In the article in question, she was advocating for violence against Israel."
This is not only a false accusation but a bizarrely ironic: Barney is demonstrating exactly what we can expect of someone whose opinions override facts.
Everyone is allowed opinions as Barney underscores. But county hires must be held to a higher standard and be held accountable. The county even considering this person has injected distrust into who is considered fit to serve the citizens of this county.
The county is in desperate need of bilingual, trained public health communication specialists. The MCSO does not need yet another unqualified communications person. We have plenty "communication" from the sheriff's social media posts with an agenda of opinions based on "constitutional" sheriffs and ads instructing us to not give directly to anyone from our homeless population. We also have a preponderance of sensationalist information coming out of the MCSO. We need to see data not opinions. Perhaps we need to hear less, not more from the MCSO. We also have a preponderance of sensationalist information coming out of the MCSO.
Emergency communications are essential. Nixle overseen by the sheriff (and not shared for public health emergencies) is a far better solution than this proposed contract.
There are many conflicts of interest with this item. The candidate for this contract, as I understand it, has a spouse in a position of authority within the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office. This agenda item was going to be passed at a previous December 15th meeting with seemingly no discussion of any conflicts. Where is the accountability? Please show better transparency in your hiring and administrative practices.
This individual has been shown to have accounts on right-wing extremists sights like Parler and has "liked" racist posts on this site specifically. One post responded to a tweet from Representative Rashida Talib about Palestinian freedom with the statement, “Where is Mossad when you really need them?”. Mossad is the Intelligence agency for Israel who take covert and lethal actions against terrorists. Rashida Taib is being positioned as a terrorist in this post. Ms. Barney "liked" or what Parler calls "echoed" this message. How are we copacetic with this person being in a position of Public Relations for our local Sheriff’s Office? The BIPOC community cannot have this kind of blatant racist concocting and disseminating messages from their Sheriff’s Office. We must show the BIPOC community that they not only matter but also mean something to our community. There are plenty of qualified candidates that would be much more empathetic to all communities within our larger County community. Please do the work to search for a better candidate and address the white supremacy that permeates this council and our community. Thank you.
I do not have confidence that Elizabeth "Liz" Barney can do her job objectively. Her Parler account is full of racist and dangerous far-right views, including one that calls for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan's assassination. She believes Donald Trump won the election including in California, and that mask-wearing is a symbol of ANTIFA. Mask wearing isn’t a political statement or choice, it’s a matter of Public Health. Liz has the right to believe what she does, however anyone working in service of the public should be held to a higher standard: employed, contracted, or otherwise.
I find her beliefs and statements to be a threat to public safety and health. DO NOT Approve of Retroactive Agreement or any further contracts with Elizabeth "Liz" Barney.
Liz Barney was contracted to work for the county to disseminate information to the public and I do not have confidence that she can do her job objectively. She is not the person who should be in that job, and her contract is up for renewal this week .
Her Parler account is full of racist and dangerous far-right views, including one that calls for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan's assassination. She believes Donald Trump won the election (including California, by the way) and that mask-wearing is a symbol of ANTIFA.
Mask wearing isn’t a political statement or choice, it’s a matter of Public Health.
Liz has the right to believe what she does, we all do, but when someone works in service of the public, they should be held to a higher standard: employed, contracted, or otherwise.
I oppose Elizabeth Barney's contract renewal. She is a liability to the county and under the current circumstances, the county does not need anymore liabilities, I would not hire people who are likely to cause more lawsuits for the county, we need to save every penny we can right now.
I oppose Elizabeth Barney's contract renewal. There is no place for someone that expresses racist views, supports terrorism, and spreads misinformation about public safety in a position that is related to public safety and funded by the public/taxpayers.
I do not approve of using county funds to support the renewed/retroactive contract agreement of Elizabeth 'Liz' Barney for social media, web design, and training services for the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Barney has expressed support on social media that spreads misinformation about COVID and election fraud. A track record of posting falsehoods on social media should disqualify a candidate from receiving a government contract to perform similar work on the public's behalf.
The fact that the MCSO is still supporting her bid after this record has come to light clearly reveals that the sheriff's office is failing to understand their place as a protector of all people in this county and dismantle systemic racism in their ranks.
When someone works in service of the public, they should be held to a higher standard: employed, contracted, or otherwise.
Lastly, Barney's spouse is also employed by the MCSO. Mendocino County Policy #52 Nepotism and Fraternization was created to "avoid conflicts of interest between work-related and personal/family obligations and to reduce favoritism or even the appearance of favoritism". This agenda item appears to be in direct conflict with the County's policy as a major conflict of interest and action of favoritism.
I hiring somebody who supports racist views, supported the insurrection, and opposes science and mask wearing is not good for our county. Hiring this person to run the public face of our sheriff whose publications are already under scrutiny for racist tendencies would be a grav error.
Ms. Barney supported the US Capitol insurrection and she claims that mask wearing has no medical value. Please do not renew her contract. We need responsible people contracting with the County.
Ruth Van Antwerp
Ms. Barney is too controversial a person at this point to be a good fit for a job on the payroll of Mendocino County, especially as a social media consultant. She has spread misinformation about Covid health measures, claimed election fraud, and has been accused of racism by our local BLM chapter. She seems to be misinformed about important matters to the people of Mendocino, who she will serve in this position.
I do not approve of using county funds to support an overt racist.
Barney has expressed support on social media that spreads misinformation about COVID and election fraud.
A track record of posting falsehoods on social media should disqualify a candidate from receiving a government contract to perform similar work on the public's behalf.
The fact that the MCSO is still supporting her bid after this record has come to light clearly reveals that the sheriff's office is failing to understand their place as a protector of all people in this county. I hope that the Board is seeing with clear eyes just how much racism and negligence the MCSO is willing to bring into their department and keep this in mind when dealing with the office in the future.
I certainly feel uncomfortable with the contract of Liz Barney given all the controversy. Her postings in the past which are not so long ago, reveals some sad ideas about race. We want to root out racism, not support it. We’ve all been trained unconsciously to be racist, and it takes effort and education to overcome that training. A book that helped me was “Waking Up White.” Surely there are other qualified bidders as Mr. Stedden suggests. We need to protect all our people.
Approval of this contract would signal implicit, if not explicit, approval of continued bias, discrimination and racsim in our sheriff's department and county. As other community members have noted, racism is not the only issue at hand in Liz Barney's PUBLIC comments. Barney also supports violence, spreads misinformation about the election results and questions public health practices and orders in relation to COVID. This is unacceptable for any person related to the sheriff's department and county leadership. Finally, the conflict of interest and nepostism in this contract to Liz Barney is unethical, and should be prohibited practice for county employment and contractors. Nepotism is defined as the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs--it could not be more clear that the sheriff is continuing in this practice by bringing this contract for approval. In the current moment when the nation is reckoning with a pandemic made worse through politization and misinformation, threats to our democarcy, systemic racism and white supremacy, this contract epitomizes an intersection of all of these serious issues and must be rejected. Thank you for your consideration.
As a citizen of this county, I do NOT approve of using county funds to support an overt racist. In 2021, social media presence has to be considered when selecting representatives of this county. For someone who works to train others in this medium to use it herself to spread misinformation about COVID and the election is appalling. Ms. Barney has no place in Mendocino County, especially not in social media. Thank you.
Barney’s has expressed support on social media that spreads misinformation about COVID and election fraud. This jeopardizes the safety of all Americans, incites violence and domestic terrorism and undermines our democracy. She should NOT be awarded this contract.
I believe the Board should reject this agreement. This role requires Barney to "share photos, videos, links, and Public Service Announcements on MCSO’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube accounts." One of the criteria for judging the RFP was supposed to be relevant experience and looking at the candidate's history of posting to social media should be a requirement for evaluating her experience. In my opinion, a track record of posting falsehoods on social media should disqualify a candidate from receiving a government contract to perform similar work on the public's behalf. Barney has such a record of posting health misinformation and racist appeals on Parler, and should therefore be effectively disqualified for this type of role. There were two other bidders for this contract position. I would encourage the Board to consider the second highest scoring bidder.
Furthermore that the MCSO is still supporting her bid after this record has come to light clearly reveals that the sheriff's office is failing to understand their place as a protector of all people in this county. I hope that the Board is seeing with clear eyes just how much racism and negligence the MCSO is willing to bring into their department and keep this in mind when dealing with the office in the future. Specifically I think this underscores to me the need for more forceful oversight of the Sheriff's office to determine whether their apparent acceptance of such racism is more systemic.
This contract is fraught and should not even be considered. The background exposed on Barney is one that cannot be ignored or swept under the rug. Even in Barneys "explanatory" letter dated 12/13 and posted 2/7/21 in the AVA continues with false accusations, conspiracy theories and whitewashing (now erased) of evidence on social media of past social media declarations:
"When I shared the post about Rep. Rashida Tlaib, it was not because of the Mossad line that someone else had written above it (and incorrectly attributed to me), but to share the article she was in. I think it’s important for all Americans to know where all their representatives stand on issues. In the article in question, she was advocating for violence against Israel."
This is not only a false accusation but a bizarrely ironic: Barney is demonstrating exactly what we can expect of someone whose opinions override facts.
Everyone is allowed opinions as Barney underscores. But county hires must be held to a higher standard and be held accountable. The county even considering this person has injected distrust into who is considered fit to serve the citizens of this county.
The county is in desperate need of bilingual, trained public health communication specialists. The MCSO does not need yet another unqualified communications person. We have plenty "communication" from the sheriff's social media posts with an agenda of opinions based on "constitutional" sheriffs and ads instructing us to not give directly to anyone from our homeless population. We also have a preponderance of sensationalist information coming out of the MCSO. We need to see data not opinions. Perhaps we need to hear less, not more from the MCSO. We also have a preponderance of sensationalist information coming out of the MCSO.
Emergency communications are essential. Nixle overseen by the sheriff (and not shared for public health emergencies) is a far better solution than this proposed contract.
There are many conflicts of interest with this item. The candidate for this contract, as I understand it, has a spouse in a position of authority within the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office. This agenda item was going to be passed at a previous December 15th meeting with seemingly no discussion of any conflicts. Where is the accountability? Please show better transparency in your hiring and administrative practices.
This individual has been shown to have accounts on right-wing extremists sights like Parler and has "liked" racist posts on this site specifically. One post responded to a tweet from Representative Rashida Talib about Palestinian freedom with the statement, “Where is Mossad when you really need them?”. Mossad is the Intelligence agency for Israel who take covert and lethal actions against terrorists. Rashida Taib is being positioned as a terrorist in this post. Ms. Barney "liked" or what Parler calls "echoed" this message. How are we copacetic with this person being in a position of Public Relations for our local Sheriff’s Office? The BIPOC community cannot have this kind of blatant racist concocting and disseminating messages from their Sheriff’s Office. We must show the BIPOC community that they not only matter but also mean something to our community. There are plenty of qualified candidates that would be much more empathetic to all communities within our larger County community. Please do the work to search for a better candidate and address the white supremacy that permeates this council and our community. Thank you.
I do not have confidence that Elizabeth "Liz" Barney can do her job objectively. Her Parler account is full of racist and dangerous far-right views, including one that calls for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan's assassination. She believes Donald Trump won the election including in California, and that mask-wearing is a symbol of ANTIFA. Mask wearing isn’t a political statement or choice, it’s a matter of Public Health. Liz has the right to believe what she does, however anyone working in service of the public should be held to a higher standard: employed, contracted, or otherwise.
I find her beliefs and statements to be a threat to public safety and health. DO NOT Approve of Retroactive Agreement or any further contracts with Elizabeth "Liz" Barney.
Liz Barney was contracted to work for the county to disseminate information to the public and I do not have confidence that she can do her job objectively. She is not the person who should be in that job, and her contract is up for renewal this week .
Her Parler account is full of racist and dangerous far-right views, including one that calls for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan's assassination. She believes Donald Trump won the election (including California, by the way) and that mask-wearing is a symbol of ANTIFA.
Mask wearing isn’t a political statement or choice, it’s a matter of Public Health.
Liz has the right to believe what she does, we all do, but when someone works in service of the public, they should be held to a higher standard: employed, contracted, or otherwise.