Mendocino County DA faces recall effort after 13 years in power

Mendocino County DA David Eyster [Image from the Facebook page of the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office]

For 13 years, Eyster has held the top prosecutor seat in Mendocino County, winning three elections unopposed. He was widely expected to seek a fifth term in 2026, but a little-known provision in California’s Assembly Bill 759, passed in 2022, pushed that timeline back. The law moved district attorney and sheriff elections to presidential years to increase voter turnout, effectively extending Eyster’s term to 2028. For critics already uneasy with his record, those extra two years were the final straw.

Supporters say Eyster has made his mark as a tough, engaged prosecutor willing to take on challenging cases. After a mistrial disrupted the prosecution of Devin Devaun Johnson — the man who ignited the devastating Hopkins Fire in 2021 — Eyster personally took over, securing a 15-year prison sentence and $4 million in restitution.

He also led the prosecution of the so-called “Covelo Six,” a brutal case involving the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Covelo residents Kyle McCartney and Traci Bland. The last defendant to be sentenced, Samson Musselini Little Bear Joaquin, admitted to killing both victims with a splitting maul, a kind of fire axe. Joaquin was sentenced to 31 years to life, the maximum allowed.

But while Eyster’s supporters view him as an effective prosecutor, critics point to a series of ethical and legal controversies that have eroded public trust.

One of the most contentious was the launch of his cannabis restitution program, quickly dubbed the “Mendo Shakedown.” The program —legal under state law — allowed defendants to avoid felony charges by paying restitution fees, which sometimes reached over $100,000. Those who paid walked away with misdemeanors. Those who couldn’t faced felony prosecution. The program netted more than $3.7 million for law enforcement agencies and drew harsh criticism from local judges and attorneys.

Public frustration surged again between 2021 and 2022, when three police officers — two in Ukiah and one in Willits — faced serious misconduct allegations. Willits officer Derek Hendry and Ukiah’s Noble Weidlich were fired but never criminally charged. Ukiah officer Kevin Murray, accused of sexual violence by multiple women, received what many called a “sweetheart” deal: two years of probation. Protesters picketed the courthouse with signs reading, “Justice must be served” and “Are you insane? Probation.”

The most recent and polarizing episode involved Eyster’s prosecution of Mendocino County Auditor-Controller Chamise Cubbison, a career civil servant whose fallout with the DA reportedly began after she flagged him for charging steakhouse dinners to county funds. By 2022, Eyster was publicly attacking her in board meetings. In October 2023, he had her arrested on felony charges of misusing $68,000 in COVID payroll funds. She was suspended without pay, forced to sue for her job back, and spent 17 months under legal scrutiny — until a judge dismissed the case, citing no evidence of fraud or concealment.

Even then, the county sought to move her civil case out of Mendocino, alleging local bias. For many, the case reeked of retaliation and abuse of power.

It was this controversy that motivated longtime Ukiah resident Helen Sizemore to take action.

Sizemore is no newcomer to county politics. A resident for over 50 years, she’s worked for Assemblymember Dan Hauser, served as a state Democratic delegate, and currently acts as vice chair of the Inland Democratic Club. Now in her 70s, she’s channeling her grassroots organizing skills into leading the formal campaign to recall Eyster.

Sizemore says the tipping point was Eyster’s targeting of Cubbison. “He decided she needed to go,” Sizemore said, referencing the aftermath of the steakhouse spending dispute. She officially submitted the first round of signatures to launch the recall process.

Sizemore also pointed to the two-year term extension under Assembly Bill 759 as a key motivator. “He will be having too much time left in office,” she said. “If it was just going to be [the] end of 2026, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

Mendocino County Registrar of Voters Katrina Bartolome confirmed that the campaign has cleared its initial legal hurdles. Her office verified that all signatories were registered county voters and that their signatures matched those on file.

“We did receive the form proof of service, and then we received a copy of the certified mail receipt,” Bartolome said.

The next step is publishing the notice of intent in a local newspaper. Bartolome noted, “We haven’t done a recall election for years.”

If that hurdle is cleared, organizers will have 160 days to gather roughly 8,200 valid signatures. Bartolome said that if the recall qualifies for the ballot, the county will foot the bill. A standalone special election could cost $250,000, while combining it with the June 2026 primary would result in “a prorated cost of whatever the total election was.”

If voters choose to recall Eyster, the same ballot would include a list of qualified candidates to replace him. “They have to qualify to be district attorney, and there’s a list of qualifications that they have to have,” Bartolome explained.

Despite Bartolome’s claim that voters would decide both the recall and the successor on the same ballot, California Elections Code §11382, codified in 2023, explicitly states, “There shall not be an election for a successor in a recall of a local officer.” Instead, the law only specifies that the office “shall be vacant until it is filled according to law.”

Asked what would happen if no one stepped up to run, Bartolome said she would consult with County Counsel. “This is just the very beginning of it,” she said, adding that it remains unclear whether the Board of Supervisors or the Governor would appoint a replacement.

“Luckily, Mendocino County doesn’t have very many recalls,” she said.

MendoFever reached out to Eyster for comment about the recall effort but did not hear back before publication.

Looking ahead, Sizemore and her small team of determined residents face a steep road — collecting thousands of signatures in a rural county with a scattered population. But she remains resolute. “I’m not intimidated,” she told MendoFever. “I feel good that I can act on my feelings of justice.”

Editor’s Note:

This article has been updated to reflect a 2023 change to California’s election code, which now separates the decision to recall a local official from the process of selecting their successor.