Sat. Jul 19th, 2025 2:50:58 PM

By Linda Sutter, Investigative Reporter – January 25, 2025

The Crescent City Harbor District has once again found itself embroiled in controversy over
what many are calling deliberate and repeated violations of California’s open meeting laws.

At approximately 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, 2025, the District quietly taped an agenda to
their office window announcing a special meeting to be held just two days later—on June 25
at 2:00 p.m.—inside the harbor district office. Less than 24 hours later, at 11:57 a.m. on
Monday, June 23, yet another agenda was posted—this time for a separate closed session
meeting. Oddly enough, all the items listed on these two “special” meetings also appear on
the regular agenda for the board’s upcoming meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 25,
2025.


This pattern of rushed and redundant agendas raises serious legal and ethical concerns,
particularly given the history of Brown Act complaints lodged against the Harbor District.

For example, on Monday, while in closed session, the board discussed not one but two cease
and desist letters submitted by Commissioner Annie Nehmer. Rather than address the legal
merits of her letters in open session—as is required by law—the board excluded Nehmer
from the discussion, effectively silencing a sitting commissioner and whistleblower.

What’s more concerning is that the staff report prepared for the following day’s
meeting—authored by Harbormaster Michael Rademaker—contains legal arguments
discrediting Commissioner Nehmer’s Brown Act concerns. It is written in the tone and
language of an attorney, yet Rademaker is not an attorney, nor has he been authorized to
speak on legal matters for the board. His report, which appears on the open session agenda
for June 25, attempts to justify the board’s conduct and delegitimize Nehmer’s
claims—ironically without any mention of legal counsel’s actual input.

Meanwhile, the Harbor District’s contracted legal counsel, Craig Plotz, remains
conspicuously silent. Plotz, whose contract was signed on May 12, 2025—one day before
the May 13 board meeting—was apparently hired before the public ever saw his
appointment on an agenda. If that wasn’t a Brown Act violation, it certainly smells like one.

The troubling trend is clear: the Harbor District is increasingly relying on an unqualified employee to speak for the board on legal matters, while sidelining elected officials who
raise legitimate concerns. These repeated closed-door meetings, surprise agendas, and staff-
authored legal opinions are textbook examples of serial meetings and Brown Act
circumvention.

Rademaker, whose track record includes a growing number of public complaints, continues
to erode public trust and credibility. His legal overreach, combined with the board’s
apparent unwillingness to conduct proper due diligence, has created a culture of secrecy,
retaliation, and lawlessness.

At what point will Del Norte County residents—and perhaps the Attorney General—say
enough is enough?

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