In 2022, Monterey County Unincorporated Citizen Glenn Church ran for District 2 County Supervisor on a "small businessman" ticket with expressed interest in transparency and accountability.  

The information Church offered  the public during his campaign about his past was shockingly simple.  Son of a Christmas Tree farmer and prior Supervisor ready to become civic leader.  He had been politely voicing concerns about local Sheriff corruption in a Facebook group prior and he had been engaging in an attempt to modify water system management laws since 2018 as an interested citizen. But that's all anyone may have figured out from a cursory scan. There was reference to President of Pacific Coast Soils on some literature but no website and no details about that business. It was presumed to have blurred in with his Christmas Tree Farm work, which most know has not been overly lucrative for decades. 

He won a resounding victory with over 60% of the vote, possibly because the other candidates felt sharky or labor union connected more so than because he was a great fit.  To someone not paying attention, there are 4 other supervisors and the system has been in place for over a century, it can't go that bad, right?

In January 2023 Church, his Chief of Staff and two very young Policy Analysts took office.  One Policy was a 2020 college graduate with a sociology degree and her only relevant experience seems to have been as campaign manager for Church and another politician prior. The rest had seemingly no prior political experience, major public service experience and  seemingly no big business or major financial management, human resource or IT management experience to understand what joint managing a $1.8 Billion budget  and 5000 county employees might entail.  

The benefit to them for the campaign win was an average salary of  $125,000/year for each of them.  (Actual starting packages ranged from $90,000 to $180,000/year)  

Key Questions for Starters...

1. Where can any of us get a job with no experience -- and possibly no relevant background business experience --  starting at over 6 figures with paid holidays, good health care, and a retirement account? 

2. Have we incentivized something the wrong way?  

3. Is this system of governance even still viable given societal changes since the 1860 or prior, when it was installed?

4. Did these people truly run for office for civil service, or was there significant or even massive selfish agenda that had been hidden by a folksy hello?

 From March 2023 to December 2025 a pattern of bizarre, confusing and evasive communication emerged via email.  Something is extremely wrong.  The things most constituents may feel might matter were pushed off to other people or deflected back. Then an investigation into Church and his Chief of Staff revealed they may have been more like working "trust funders" than the common man.