It wasn’t the revival of the Jerry Springer Show. Rather, it was the San Mateo County Harbor District Commission meeting. But the display was just as theatrically combative.
The meeting, conducted via Zoom on April 15, ended in explosive fashion when Commissioner Sabrina Brennan launched into a long tirade during which she repeatedly called fellow Commissioner Tom Mattusch a sexual predator. Commissioners who attempted to calm and reprimand Brennan were shouted down by Brennan and called enablers. Brennan’s choice of words were risqué enough that Climate has chosen not to post the publicly-available video, but rather to share the link with a Not-Safe-For-Work warning here.
The incident unfolded after Mattusch cast a vote in favor of hiring Questa Engineering Corporation to design and build a new public restroom and green space at pillar Point Harbor RV Park. Brennan voiced opposition to the agenda item and began commenting on Mattusch’s character and past actions that she claimed should nullify his vote.
The pair of commissioners have history. In 2017, Brennan accused Mattusch of sexual harassment stemming from allegations that in part included a 2014 email he sent to her and reportedly dozens of others that included pornographic images. At the time, Brennan was assisting Mattucsch in his campaign for commissioner. Mattusch claimed the email was a misguided attempt at a joke. An investigation commissioned by the Harbor District found Brennan’s sexual harassment allegations “more likely than not unfounded.”