Most people wait at least a month before completely imploding at a new job, but Sausalito's freshly appointed city manager Elaine Forbes decided to speedrun the process. According to The American Tribune, the 53 year old was taken into custody on suspicion of felony burglary after allegedly boarding someone else's yacht, messing with the controls, and apparently helping herself to the onboard liquor supply. She officially started her $275,000 per year gig on July 1st. The arrest happened on July 18th. That is fewer than three weeks, for anyone keeping score at home.
Here is how the morning unfolded. Around 6 a.m., authorities got a call about a noise disturbance at Sausalito Yacht Harbor. Deputies showed up and discovered Forbes inside a large yacht that she absolutely did not own and had zero permission to occupy. Marin County Sheriff's Lt. Domenick Yazzolino said she had allegedly tampered with the boat's controls in an apparent attempt to steal the vessel. She had also either consumed or tossed alcohol that was found on board.
But wait, it gets better. When officers confronted her, Forbes reportedly told them she was having a "bad morning" and then demanded they vacate what she insisted was her boat. Spoiler alert: it was not her boat. Authorities contacted the actual owner, who confirmed Forbes had no authorization whatsoever to be aboard.
A nearby yacht captain named Bill Aubrey provided an even more colorful account. He said he heard a horn blaring before sunrise and found Forbes locked inside the wheelhouse, just laying on that horn like it owed her money. When he climbed aboard and told her to leave, she cheerfully responded, "Good morning!" Aubrey noted that two liquor bottles which had been full the previous evening were mysteriously empty by dawn. Nothing appeared broken or damaged, so at least there is that.
The Sausalito City Council had unanimously chosen Forbes back in May, and city leaders were practically tripping over themselves with praise. Mayor Steven Woodside called her a "strong executive," while Vice Mayor Melissa Blaustein gushed about her "caliber, experience, connections, network, and also kind personality and demeanor." She had previously spent nearly a decade running the Port of San Francisco. Quite the resume for someone who allegedly tried to commandeer a stranger's yacht before breakfast.
Interestingly, two days before the arrest, the council held a closed door session and approved a leave of absence for Forbes without offering any public explanation. She was already on that leave when deputies cuffed her at 6:50 a.m. Bail was initially set at $50,000.
Her family released a statement saying Forbes was going through a "mental health crisis" and urged people not to "rush to judgment based on limited information." Family spokesman Sam Singer asked for "compassion, patience and respect." The statement notably did not dispute the allegation that she entered someone else's vessel without permission.
As of Tuesday morning, no formal charges had been publicly filed, and Forbes has not been convicted. Acting City Manager Brandon Phipps has been keeping Sausalito running in the meantime, and the council planned to discuss "next steps" at its Tuesday meeting. One imagines those steps involve updating the job listing.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
