Section 2: Statements on City of Angels Camp Record-Keeping

October 3, 2023 - Christopher Buttner’s General Public Comments to the City of Angels Camp City Council regarding the executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau. Part 1. 

"My name is Christopher Buttner.

On September 4, 2023, I submitted a public records act request to the City Attorney, White Brenner LLP, for the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM entered into between the "City of Angels," a municipal corporation, and the Calaveras Visitors Bureau, a "non-profit association," authorized by resolution 23-02 unanimously approved by the City Council on January 3, 2023.

On September 14, 2023, I was informed by the City Attorney that the City had determined that my request described identifiable records that were disclosable under the public records act, and I was provided with a digital copy of the City Council’s executed resolution number 23-02.

I was additionally informed on that date by the City Attorney that the City was still searching its files responsive to my request for the signed tourism agreement, and required as much as an additional fourteen days to conduct its search.

On Sept. 27, 2023, I was informed by the City Attorney that the City did not have any additional records responsive to my public records act request dated Sept. 4, 2023, for the executed AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM.

Quoting the City Attorney, “After a thorough search, staff is unable to locate the executed agreement.”

I respectfully request of this City Council that the City resumes and successfully concludes its search for the missing AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM so that my public records act request dated Sept. 4, 2023, for identifiable records that were disclosable under the public records act, may be fulfilled in a timely manner.

To that point, I shall plan to return to the next City Council meeting two weeks from this evening, on October 17, to address this in greater detail should my Sept. 4, 2023, public records act request for the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM not have been met by that time.

Thank you and good evening."

October 17, 2023 - Christopher Buttner’s General Public Comments to the City of Angels Camp City Council regarding the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau. Part 2. 

"My name is Christopher Buttner.

I appeared before this City Council on October 3rd, respectfully requesting the City of Angels resume – and successfully conclude – its search for the missing January 3, 2023, executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the Calaveras Visitors Bureau (hereinafter referred to as ‘the CVB’), so that my Public Records Act request dated Sept. 4, 2023, for identifiable records that were disclosable under the California Public Records Act, may be fulfilled in a timely manner.

The City of Angels’ administrative challenges with record-keeping processes, in this instance specific to the missing January 3, 2023, executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism, has disrupted the timeline of my fact finding and evidence discovery process.

It is essential that each of you understand my intention is non-hostile; that I bear no ill-will toward the City despite the lengthy delay in producing for me an identifiable record that the City had determined to be disclosable under the California Public Records Act.

To eradicate any misconceptions by this City Council and its administration, the CVB is definitely not a “non-profit association.” The CVB is a nonprofit corporation, not a “non-profit association.”

The CVB intentionally converted its legal entity type with the State Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office, from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” had failed for over two years to officially notify the City of Angels of its conversion of its legal entity type from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been operating illegally since July 12, 2021, without valid bylaws.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been deceiving the public since July 12, 2021, as evidenced by displaying invalid bylaws on its website and purporting these invalid bylaws to be current and valid.

It is alleged that the CVB committed fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type by falsely entering into an amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the City of Angels on  July 1, 2019 and again on January 3, 2023.  

This alleged scandal exhibits disturbing parallels to the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority Joint Powers Agreement scandal that rocked neighboring Tuolumne County in 2018 and took over four years to resolve, pitting the City of Sonora’s government, Tuolumne County’s government, and the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority against each other, leading to the dissolution of the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority at great public expense.

These allegations regrettably jeopardize the City of Angels’ administration by drawing it into an expanding scandal that also includes the Calaveras County government having been similarly duped by the CVB on August 22, 2023, when it entered into a formal contractual Tourism Promotion Agreement, with the CVB claiming its legal entity type to be a “California non-profit public benefit corporation.” 

On October 10th, I received an email with an attached two-page document from the City Attorney’s office. That email notified me, “I do apologize for the delay in providing you with these records. Please be assured that this was an unusual occurrence, staff have looked into the issue, and it is not the City’s intent to obstruct transparency or prevent disclosure of its public records.”

That attached document I received on October 10 from the City Attorney’s office was, unfortunately, an obviously altered official government record – a re-creation – and also was not fully executed as it lacked the signature of the President of the Board of Directors of the CVB.

I shall plan to return to your next City Council meeting three weeks from this evening, on November 7, to more fully address allegations of the CVB’s fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type.

Thank you and good evening."

November 7, 2023 - Christopher Buttner’s General Public Comments to the City of Angels Camp City Council regarding the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau. Part 3. 

"My name is Christopher Buttner.

I’ve appeared twice before this City Council, on October 3rd and again on October 17th.

My appearances have been regarding Public Records Act requests for the July 1, 2019, and January 3, 2023, executed amended Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism with the Calaveras Visitors Bureau (hereinafter referred to as ‘the CVB’), for identifiable records that were disclosable under the California Public Records Act.

We’ve already established with certainty that the City of Angels has had administrative challenges with its record-keeping processes for over four years, this statement being valid with specificity to the missing executed amended Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism from July 1, 2019, and January 3, 2023.

In September 2023, upon its continuing inability to locate the missing executed amended Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism from January 3, 2023, the City administration endeavored to recreate the document and obtain the required signatures to enact the terms of the contract.

To eradicate any misconceptions by this City Council and its administration, the CVB is definitely not a non-profit association. The CVB is a Mutual Benefit nonprofit corporation.

The CVB formally initiated the conversion of its legal entity type by having sought consent from the State Attorney General’s Office in April 2021, and then, upon receiving that requested consent, the CVB formally completed its conversion of its legal entity type with the Secretary of State’s Office.

The CVB’s conversion from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” became effective with the Secretary of State’s July 12, 2021, filing date.

It is imperative that the city administration understand that at no time during the timeframe by which the July 1, 2019, and January 3, 2023, Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism have been understood to have been in effect, has the CVB ever been a nonprofit association, despite having been stated so in the Agreements.

The CVB’s representative and signatory to the most recent Agreement, CVB Executive Director Martin Huberty, falsely affirmed the CVB’s legal entity type on that September 2023 Agreement as a nonprofit association.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” had failed for over two years to officially notify the City of Angels of its conversion of its legal entity type to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been operating illegally since July 12, 2021, without valid bylaws.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been visibly and persistently deceiving the public for whom it was purported to be of benefit, since July 12, 2021, as evidenced by it still displaying invalid bylaws on its website as I address herein, the CVB purporting these invalid bylaws to be current and valid. They are not.

It is alleged that the CVB committed fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type by falsely entering into the January 3, 2023, Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism, formally executed with the City of Angels on September 18, 2023.

These allegations regrettably jeopardize the City of Angels’ administration by drawing it into an expanding scandal that also includes the Calaveras County government having been similarly duped by the CVB on August 22, 2023, when it entered into a formal contractual Tourism Promotion Agreement, with the CVB claiming its legal entity type to be a “California nonprofit public benefit corporation.” 

Thank you and good evening."

"My name is Christopher Buttner, publisher of CalaverasWatchdog.com – a government accountability blog. (Note to reader: Calaveras2026election.com is currently in the process of rebranding to CalaverasWatchdog.com).  

I appeared before the City of Angels’ city council three times during autumn 2023; on October 3, October 17 and November 7. (Click link to watch all of Mr. Buttner's previous statements before the 2023 Angels Camp City Council).  

The majority of you were not yet serving on the city council at that time, so my message now requires repetition to ensure that you are accurately informed and may take appropriate, corrective action accordingly, because regrettably, the two remaining 2023 members of this city council failed to heed my explicit caution and take corrective action.  

As recently as September 4, 2025, I was informed by the office of the City Attorney, White Brenner, LLP, that the Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism from January 3, 2023, between the City of Angels and the Calaveras Visitors Bureau had still not been revised to ensure the accurate legal designation of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau.   

Nearly two years passed between my appearances before this council and September 2025, with no revision to the fraudulent Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism.   

This afternoon, January 6, 2026, at 3:28 PM, I emailed the City’s legal counsel, Douglas White of White Brenner LLP, a public records request to discover if the January 3, 2023 Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism between the City of Angels and the Calaveras Visitors Bureau had been revised since September 4, 2025, to ensure the accurate representation of the legal designation of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau.  

It is alleged that the Calaveras Visitors Bureau committed fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type by falsely entering into an amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the City of Angels on July 1, 2019 and again on January 3, 2023.   

The Calaveras Visitors Bureau is a mutual benefit nonprofit corporation. It is not a “non-profit association” as claimed.   

There is no innocent mistake here.   

There is only alleged negligence and intentional misrepresentation here.   

There is also alleged incompetence and malpractice by your legal counsel, White Brenner LLP.  

The Calaveras Visitors Bureau converted its legal entity type with the State Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office, from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.   

Let’s revisit the timeline now.  

On September 4, 2023, I submitted a public records act request to the City Attorney, White Brenner LLP, for the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM entered into between the "City of Angels," a municipal corporation, and the Calaveras Visitors Bureau, a "non-profit association," authorized by resolution 23-02 unanimously approved by the City Council on January 3, 2023.   

In September 2023, upon its continuing inability to locate the missing executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism from January 3, 2023, the City of Angels administration and City Attorney, White Brenner LLP, endeavored to recreate the document and obtain the required signatures to enact the terms of the contract.   

This recreated contract was emailed to me by a representative of the City Attorney, White Brenner LLP, on October 10, 2023.   

The Calaveras Visitors Bureau’s representative and signatory to the most recent Agreement, Calaveras Visitors Bureau Executive Director Martin Huberty, falsely affirmed the Calaveras Visitors Bureau’s legal entity type on that September 2023 Agreement as a nonprofit association.  

In light of these facts, continued funding of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau by the City of Angels must necessarily cease until the Calaveras Visitors Bureau’s corporation type is legally corrected and an amended agreement is drafted and voted upon.   

Failure to do so subjects the City of Angels to a formal, external audit.  

My name is Christopher Buttner, publisher of CalaverasWatchdog.com – a government accountability blog." 

"My name is Christopher Buttner, publisher of Calaveras2026Election.com.

The subject of my comments this evening is the Calaveras Enterprise’s violation of The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics for conflict of interest.

On January 16, 2026, the Calaveras Enterprise published a favorable article about the presentation delivered during the January 6, 2026 Angels Camp City Council meeting by the Calaveras Visitors Bureau's Executive Director, Martin Huberty, who also serves as Calaveras County’s District 3 Supervisor. 

The article was written by one of the (Calaveras) Enterprise’s regular contributing reporters, Tori James, who, in an irrefutable conflict of interest, also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau, the subject of her biased January 16, 2026 article.

Ms. James authored a second article, also appearing in the Enterprise on January 16, 2026, recapping the City Council meeting.

Ms. James failed to disclose her affiliation as a current member of the Board of Directors of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau in the body of either article, or as an addendum.

Corissa Davidson, the owner/editor/publisher of the Calaveras Enterprise, failed to ensure the disclosure of Ms. James’ conflict of interest to the newspaper’s readership and advertisers.

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states, “The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public. Journalists should avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Journalists should disclose unavoidable conflicts.”

It is readily evident, based on the demonstrated pro-Calaveras Visitors Bureau bias of the article and Ms. James’ failure to disclose her affiliation as a member of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, that she and Ms. Davidson are in urgent need of a refresher on the most basic fundamentals of The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics pertaining to what constitutes a conflict of interest.

This co-mingling of roles is a deeply troubling circumstance and should be of great concern to all citizens that place value in unbiased local reporting.

Ms. James’ and Ms. Davidson’s ethical gaps have the effect of undermining and diminishing the trust the community places in the Calaveras Enterprise. This loss of trust in local news is highly corrosive to democracy. 

It is an egregious display of pro-Calaveras Visitors Bureau bias by the Enterprise, publishing what is arguably a propaganda piece written by Calaveras Visitors Bureau Board of Directors member, Ms. James, without any disclosure of her relationship and evident conflict of interest favoring the Calaveras Visitors Bureau.

The Calaveras Enterprise’s intentional disregard for holding the Calaveras Visitors Bureau, a California Mutual Benefit Nonprofit Corporation, accountable for Mr. Huberty and the Board of Directors, of which Ms. James is a member, for its ongoing alleged fraudulent misrepresentation of the business bureau’s nonprofit type deceives two government entities, Calaveras County and the City of Angels Camp.

A Mutual Benefit Nonprofit Corporation is a distinctly different entity than a nonprofit association and a Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation, and this distinction is significant.

The Calaveras Enterprise failed to inquire of Mr. Huberty as to why Calaveras County, on his watch as the Executive Director of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau, experienced a staggering reported combined loss of 420 tourism jobs between 2023 and 2024, and a reported loss of 4.6 million dollars in direct earnings from tourism between 2023 and 2024.

Ms. Davidson and Ms. James, in the publication of both articles in the Enterprise failed to report objectively on Calaveras County’s precipitous visitor and tourism employment declines, and the corresponding revenue declines, plaguing Calaveras County’s tourism and wine economy.

Ms. Davidson and Ms. James both owe the Calaveras Enterprise’s readership and advertisers a prompt apology for their grievous journalistic ethics lapse, for the newspaper’s failure to meet its fourth estate responsibility to the community, and for the Enterprise’s timidity in investigating and reporting on blatant irregularities and alleged malfeasance and criminality in local government and business bureaus.

Ms. James was asked by me today to promptly notify the Calaveras Visitors Bureau Board of Directors of her immediate resignation as the business bureau’s District 1 representative.

My name is Christopher Buttner, publisher of Calaveras2026Election.com - a government watchdog and accountability blog." 

"My name is Christopher Buttner, publisher of Calaveras2026Election.com. 

I will now summarize my six appearances before the Angels Camp City Council since October 2023. 

The Calaveras Visitors Bureau is not a nonprofit association, and it has not been a nonprofit association since April 2000, at which time it incorporated as a public benefit nonprofit corporation. 

21-years later, effective July 12, 2021, the CVB converted its legal entity type with the State Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office from a “Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation” to a “Mutual Benefit Nonprofit Corporation.”

It is alleged that the CVB, falsely identifying itself as a "non-profit association,” again committed fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type by executing the amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the City of Angels Camp, a municipal corporation, on January 3, 2023.

The City of Angels Camp subsequently misplaced that signed and executed amended January 3, 2023 Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the CVB, and due to its continuing inability to locate the missing contract, the city’s attorney, White Brenner LLC, was required to recreate the document to obtain the required signatures digitally in September 2023.

It is alleged that the CVB is legally a Mutual Benefit Nonprofit Corporation and continuously deceived the public for three years from July 2021 to July 2024, as evidenced by having displayed defunct bylaws on its website during that time, purporting those invalid bylaws to be current.

On January 6, 2026, CVB executive director, Martin Huberty, who also serves as Calaveras County District 3 Supervisor, presented to you a Tourism Status Report long on activities, but short on results. 

At that time I asked; Why, and for what benefit, did the CVB change its legal designation from a public benefit nonprofit corporation to a mutual benefit nonprofit corporation in July 2021? 

That and my other questions remain unanswered by Mr. Huberty.

Ten days after Huberty’s January 6, 2026 CVB tourism status presentation, the Calaveras Enterprise published what is arguably a propaganda piece written by Calaveras Visitors Bureau Board of Directors member, Tori James, without any disclosure of her relationship and evident conflict of interest favoring the CVB, in clear violation of The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics for conflict of interest.

My January 20, 2026 email requesting comment and clarification from Calaveras Enterprise owner/editor/publisher Corissa Davidson, and the request that Tori James resign from the CVB Board of Directors, remains unanswered. 

Since early 2019, nearly 600,000 dollars in Angels Camp transient occupancy taxes and nearly 2.3 million dollars in (Calaveras) county transient occupancy taxes, totaling approximately 2.9 million dollars, has funded the arguably anemic tourism promotion results from the CVB while county tourism employment is hemorrhaging.

Calaveras County’s staggering combined loss of 420 tourism jobs and a reported loss of 4.6 million dollars in direct tourism earnings are glaring when reviewing the corresponding 2023 and 2024 Visit California annual reports.

A tax-exempt organization complaint referral was submitted to the IRS on July 22, 2025, seeking investigation to corroborate allegations of the CVB’s misuse and abuse of its tax-exempt 501(c)(6) status, as a precursor to revocation of the CVB’s tax-exempt status for persistently and willfully violating the laws and rules governing mutual benefit nonprofit corporations. 

My allegations of negligence, intentional misrepresentation, incompetence and malpractice by the City of Angels Camp legal counsel, White Brenner LLP, should be of grave concern to this city council.

I’ll conclude tonight’s remarks with the definition of the term ‘Moral Hazard,’ and specifically how it applies to local government.

“Moral hazard is an economic concept describing a situation where one party takes on excessive risk or acts irresponsibly because another party bears the consequences of those actions. It occurs when an entity is insulated from risk, such as through insurance or government bailouts, often resulting in increased, harmful behavior.”

What I’ve described here this evening equates to the definition of moral hazard.

My name is Christopher Buttner, publisher of Calaveras2026Election.com."