Dems Censure One of Their Own for Flouting Rules of Decorum

The verdict’s out.

A couple months after a complaint was filed against Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee (DCC) member Shay Franco-Clausen for leaking confidential details about a 911 call involving a fellow activist, the party has spoken. And while she won’t be ousted from her non-voting position on the e-board, she has been censured by her peers.

“The executive board members determined that Franco-Clausen had violated the rules of decorum,” DCC Chairman Bill James told San Jose Inside last week at the party’s monthly meeting. Only one e-board member voted against censuring Franco-Clausen, he added, and a couple abstained “for various reasons.”

But neither allies nor detractors of Franco-Clausen were satisfied with the ruling.

James’ measured announcement Sept. 5 prompted one of Franco-Clausen’s sympathizers—namely Jordan Eldridge, who worked on her failed San Jose City Council campaign last year—to yell “bullshit” from the back of the room. Allies of the woman involved in the 9-1-1 call in question, meanwhile, sat at the front of the room and showed no emotion at all.

“I’m shocked that they decided to censure her,” said Jennie Richardson, a friend of the Democratic leader whose private medical information was disseminated by Franco-Clausen. “She should’ve been removed.”

The complaint against Franco-Clausen stems from an incident in early June that her wife, Palo Alto PD Officer Yolanda Clausen, responded to. The call was placed in response to a local Democratic activist experiencing symptoms of what was later diagnosed as a brain tumor. But at the time, police responded to the incident as though the woman was having a mental breakdown and needed an involuntary psychiatric hold.

Officer Clausen apparently then told her wife about the identity of the woman. Franco-Clausen subsequently texted at least two other community leaders, suggesting that the woman didn’t have a medical condition and that something more salacious was afoot.

“That brings up multiple issues—the fact that she was spreading information that was false and the fact that she got that information from a police officer who should not have been discussing a call that they responded to,” Richardson said.

Franco-Clausen, an appointed trustee of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, didn’t respond to San Jose Inside’s requests for comment.

A previous version of this story said a Region 7 party delegate was one of the people who shouted in response to the censure when, in fact, he did not. SJI regrets the error.

Nicholas Chan is a journalist who covers politics, culture and current events in Silicon Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @nicholaschanhk.

27 Comments

  1. Her supporters (enablers) should be relieved that she was ONLY censured for this, and glad that her behavior during her campaign for city council hasn’t yet been aired out. She has long protected herself by weaponizing her identity, calling any and all criticisms attacks on her for her identity or fake, when many of these criticisms are not. She has made a habit of threatening people and using her high profile among local Democrats to shield herself against backlash, and was definitely abusive to the young people who volunteered for her campaign, not to mention fraudulent about compensating those who worked for her. Good riddance!

  2. So Jordan Elridge, who is running Carrasco’s campaign attacks the Central Committee for rightly censuring Shay Clausen for revealing medical details, because Shay Clausen and him share stingers after the meeting. Elridge should be condemned, and Carrssco, wife of DeLeon the Groper, should disavow him. If Carrasco is one the board, Jordan gets health records of opponents and tweets them out. In Sacranento accused Kevin Tittle Fingers of pursuing then, Carrasco was given their tax records.

  3. Jerry,

    I’m not managing Carrasco’s campaign. I also didn’t manage Shay’s campaign.

    Shay did not release any medical information. The medical information was being circulated by the complainer’s own husband and close confidants.

    This whole thing is the complainer’s MO. Anyone who was against the recall campaign of Persky, or goes against this person in anyway, is a target for attacks by this person.

    San Jose Inside does not care about facts. San Jose Inside is the complainer’s personal attack outlet. This is not about Shay releasing medical information because it was proven to be a false slanderous statement. The censure of Shay was about the complainer’s hurt feelings being called “dishonest”. I was there, no joke.

    Some folks may not like Franco-Clausen. However, none of this is factually accurate. Facts included in interviews with Shay were not included in these yellow journalism attack articles.

    The Democratic Party has received many complaints from Shay regarding bullying behavior from male folks in the Democratic Party, and none of those complaints were looked at twice by Chair Bill James. The Democratic Party has received complaints from other members regarding a male individual shoving a female member of the Central Committee, but those complaints were never given a hearing. A male political consultant attacks a member of the central committee at an endorsement meeting and nothing happens.

    This is completely political. Bill James is afraid of this person and won’t stand up and do what is right. Unequal treatment that tends to be against individuals of color than running a fair process. (Forrest Williams’ removal, and this)

    No one likes anyone personally bad-mouthing them privately with another friend, but everyone does it. This is not a Democratic Party issue, it is a personal conflict between two people.

    And it is pretty sad that San Jose Inside and it’s readers take everything that is written on this site as fact, even though this site is a personal political attack machine of the complainer and her allies.

    • What is this about? Some smug thirtysomething bullies somebody by texting a 911 report to ger buddies. And another whiner who is raising money for big shots is whining that she got chewed out. Neither one actually does work, and the rest if ys struggle over making a living while these little darlings whine about no one understanding them
      Gosh, do these whipper snappers ever talk about helping the public?

    • 1) it’s funny how you accuse SJI of yellow journalism when they’ve received numerous awards, year after year, for their truth telling. 2) speaking of truth telling, you’re right, bill james should address more issues in the dem party. for instance, your repeated outbursts which people always end up having to apologize for as “oh, that’s just jordan.” much like parents do for that one kid that always melts down at gatherings of other kids. but they grow out of it. 3) maxv seems fairly accurate on shay who will eventually be held accountable for all her behavior.

  4. Carrasco=Jordan Eldridge, treasurer.

    Shay Franco-Clausen, Eldridge.

    “Anyone who was against the recall of Persky?”

    So, you defend people who did not favor recalling Judge Let Them Go Aaron?

    No wonder you are the money guy, it is on the 460, for Carrasco picking up the checks raised by the wife of Kevin the Groper, who took the female legislators in the bathroom, and locked the door with a roper.

    So Shay Franco Clausen can leak personal details of a 911 Caller and it is okey dokey.

    And it all about Persky?

    I am sure Brock Turner who raped an unconscious woman and said, oh, please, I am sorry. Aaron just lets him go. So places in the world, ol Brock would be attended to.

    But if you are a Stanford swimmer, or a State Senator, you can move your hands around the town. By the way, ol Maggie Carrasco got money from Ruben Kihuen, a Nevada legislator and Congressman who did tummy rubs with staffers as well as Don Juan DeLeon.

    And you help them out, it is ok to Twitter a women,s cry for help in Palo Alto because Shay Franco Clausen was bored.

    • Nope. I supported the recall. I was in their videos. But when I see bullying and intimidation, I call it out.

      • The bullying comes from Shay who has bad blood for the recall women. Shay was pro Persky and pro Judge Cordell whom per Shay’s was not treated nicely by the recall women. Shay engages in gross behavior. When some call out her gross behavior, she brings her lesbian card to the table. If LGBTQI community want equality, they will get that. This includes making them accountable for gross behavior. Your gay card is not going to give you a break Shay even if you bring your gay friends to support you when call out!

    • Hi Tuttle.

      >No wonder you are the money guy, it is on the 460,

      I wanted to check that. Unfortunately the 460 from her last election is no longer available.

      Prior Elections: After January 1, 2018, all documents are on file in the City Clerk’s Office. Contact us at [email protected] or at 408-535-1260 to request copies.

      Not sure how this flew under SJI’s radar, but this change should not have happened. These are public documents, we’re paying out the nose in taxes for this service, the city needs to provide that.

  5. What a fairweather friend Jordan is.

    >Bill James is afraid of this person and won’t stand up and do what is right.
    Either that or you want him to do wrong, and you disagree.

    Back in February. https://imgur.com/a/KlCjPp3

    >”Bill James donated to Jordan Daniel Eldridge’s birthday fundraiser for The Trevor Project.”

    >Jordan Daniel Eldridge Thank you so much Bill!

    I made a meme out of this. https://imgflip.com/i/3a8hpe

  6. That Jordy clown is a hack. We need those who can be trusted to carry the mantle of the Democratic Party. He’s jealous that he can just never manage to pick a winner. Perhaps he should stop hanging around with his friends who have a hard time spelling the names of local schools. Speaking of schools, Jordy should stop lurking in school playgrounds looking for “volunteers.”

  7. Shay was censured because in one of her many text exchanges with a third party, this person asked her if X person had a near death experience. To this, Shay replied that was not the case and implied mental illness…substance abuse…per her wife’s PA Officer. Shay appears to have hurt feelings of those defending this person who were those that supported the recall. She stated those people who supported the recall were mean to judge Cordell who is also a lesbian and Black woman, per Shay’s statement. She also stated people misunderstood her text because it was a reference of a comment she made in her twitter account. She thought everyone had read her tweets!!! SJI could not be there because meeting was not opened to the public. Some people were kicked out. They wanted to protect Shay from more humiliation.

  8. People need to look at the actions of Omar torress. Have heard he talks to much and tells other people their business. Supper gossiper.

    People need to look at Eric Strokerrr, have heard he is just a bully who starts trouble with everyone he has worked with ever! I am sure people can tell you examples.

    People need to look at Rich Tran, he has no idea what he is doing and have heard he has not gotten a young dem endorsement lololololol.

    People need to look at that Lan guy from san jose. I heard he is a whole different person behind close doors like undercover style.

    People need to pay attention to pam folley, have heard she is really mean behind close doors to people she works with.

    People need to look at the alum rock district. We all know what they have done.

    People need to look at the milpitas school board district. Have heard many of them board members are egotistical and quick to back stab.

    Dun Dun Dun. Maybe more news to come.

  9. I read all of this from my apartment in Gilroy and it makes me sick. I do not care about hack’s obessiins with other elected hacks. They are all obsessed with each other and not our problems. But from what I read in Dan Jose Inside over the years, only two or theee of the same elected officials employ these bums. Sorry, but I have to beg your attention, Ms. Carrasco, Mr. Liccardo, Mr. Cortese do seem to like the style of these punks. The protests over the censure seem to come from people who run and play with this Franco Clausen who is lucky she has not been sued.

    I read about Omar Torres and Tran, and I never read about what they are doing for housing or schools, just about their hobbies in being little bully boys. Why does Franco Clausen deserve to be a council member? She ran a business? This Ekeidge worked 11 hours a day making pizzas or does he just sit at home plotting the march through the state capitol for wage hikes. Why do we have to elect people with ties to serial abusers of women in the Legislature? Michele Dauber might be obsessed, but she is obsessed over keeping women safe, so I am grateful.

    This Torres, this Tran, this Franco Clausen like to be on the blogs about pushing people around. Maybe their bosses need to use that energy to get us transit busses and good things.

  10. I totally agree with Omar Torres being a gossipy agency. This is why he could see no wrong on Shay’s gross gossiping behavior!

  11. LET’S GET SOMETHING CLEAR HERE: the fact is Frano-clausen actually didn’t spread truthful medical info she spread lies..she texted it was not true, that this person was lying and was actually not sick and that she could confirm it because her wife was at the scene. She also went on to state that the person who was sick was dishonest. When Franco Clauson was asked to explain what she meant by dishonest, she didn’t have an example and then stated “everyone has a different definition of what dishonesty isa nd I am not the only one who thinks so” I have seen the texts and spoken to the person who received the texts. The situation was not at all how Frano-Clauson has explained away the incident. There was no conversation about twitter this person isn’t even on twitter. I do agree that bullying must stop, our appointed and elected officials must be held to the highest of standards. It makes me sad that people are using this forum to bash people who aren’t involved in the issue. Eleridge has no idea of what happened either. It is true that many people already knew that this person was sick..that isnt the point, the point is those people told others she was sick and Franco Clauson told people she was lying and in a mallious way by adding that the person was dishonest. Police Officer Clauson should not have shared info with her wife in the first place, that is a matter for the PAPD to take care of…but the issue is Clauson Franco told other people and in the process slandered the person who was ill. I am glad it was called out, there is a long line of people who have their own stories about Clauson Franco

    • Jennie,

      I have screenshots of MD outing her own medical issues on twitter.
      This whole thing is ridiculous.

      How about we get everyone’s text messages to see who talks bad about others. I am sure everyone would be guilty of using private messages to share how one feels about someone else. People have the right to not like someone else.

      The Democratic Party Executive Board had absolutely no authority to “censure” a Director of the SCCDP. The only power they have is to remove a Director, and they chose not to. The authority of a “censure” is up to the full membership of the Central Committee. Bill James, as Chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, is not a dictator. He can’t do whatever he thinks he wants to do. He, too, has to follow the SCCDP Bylaws and he clearly didn’t.

  12. I have worked with Shay and Yolanda for years and know them to be solid, caring and committed to equity, social justice, and inclusion The will continue to the fight the good fight and I stand with them.

    • > I have worked with Shay and Yolanda for years and know them to be solid, caring and committed to equity, social justice, and inclusion

      You left out truthfulness and honesty.

      Is there a reason you left out truthfulness and honesty?

    • > that this person was lying and was actually not sick

      It’s pretty obvious by now, who “this person” is.

      By not stating explicitly who is being referred to as “this person”, San Jose Inside is engaging in and collaborating with the the deceitful sophistry of local Democrat Party politics.

      SJI has the right to be a Democrat Party organ, but their are tax and FPPC consequences.

      A “newspaper” is looked to to print “All the news that’s fit to print”.

  13. “The executive board members determined that Franco-Clausen had violated the rules of decorum,” Wait, wait, wait – – -they have Rules of Decorum? Are we presupposing they A. have decorum and B. there are actual “rules” about said decorum. If SJI had any investigative chops – you should start at the beginning. Show us the “rules of decorum” and then let readers evaluate the merits of the case from there.

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