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Kern County Board of Supervisors releases memo connected to case involving Supervisor Leticia Perez

Kern County Board of Supervisors
Posted at 4:36 PM, Oct 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-10 14:26:37-04

The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted in closed session Tuesday to release a memo to the Kern County District Attorneys Office. According to the DA's office, the memo concerns Supervisor Leticia Perez's potential conflict of interest regarding cannabis in Kern County. 

Perez has been charged with two misdemeanor counts in connection to failing to disclose conflicts of interest while serving as a county supervisor. According to the DA's Office, during the investigations into those charges, it was determined that a memo was written and provided to Perez by Mark Nations who serves as Kern County's Counsel. The DA's office writes in their request for that memo that Perez claims it cleared her of any conflicts of interest relating to a cannabis vote on October 27, 2017. The request states, "the memorandum Mr. Nations drafted may contain material evidence pertinent to [the charges Perez faces]."

The release of the memo required a closed session vote after attorney-client privilege was claimed by Nations on June 12, 2018, according to the DA's Office letter. They write that Nations claimed his responsibility was to Supervisor Perez and that overrode the Board's position to release it. 

Tuesday a 4 - 0 decision was made in closed session to release the memo overriding the attorney-client privilege claimed by Nations. Supervisor Perez abstained from the vote, according to Nations.