By Robert Haugh

We all know Santa Clara is a great place to live. But not if you’re on the Imperial County Office of Education (ICOE) Board Trustees.

Last week, Annette Gonzalez-Buttner was ordered to stand trial in Imperial County. She’s accused of falsifying documents in 2017 that said she lived in that county. She was allegedly living in Santa Clara with her domestic partner Chris Stampolis.

Gonzalez-Buttner will be charged with two counts of perjury, one count of grand theft and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy.

Julio Morales of the Imperial Valley Press wrote a great story about what’s happening. This is interesting:

That key witness turned out to be the defendant’s 81-year-old father, Juan Manuel Gonzalez, who (Superior Court Judge Christopher) Plourd characterized as being an “entirely credible” witness with intimate knowledge of his daughter’s permanent place of residence.

“What he said was that Ms. Buttner asked to use (his home) as a mailing address,” Plourd said. “Well, that’s not a domicile.”

On Wednesday, Gonzalez testified that his daughter had not lived at his Rockwood Avenue home on a permanent basis since having left for college more than 30 years ago.

The DA’s Office alleges that Gonzalez-Buttner used her father’s address on a candidate intention statement and a driver’s license application in 2017, both of which are signed under penalty of perjury.

Gonzalez-Buttner is no stranger to controversy. Neither is her domestic partner Stampolis.

Last time we wrote about him, Stampolis was photographed on the ground at an ICOE meeting. He dropped to the floor and demanded to speak after the time for public testimony was over.

For years, Stampolis wreaked havoc on the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) Board. Stampolis was censured by his board colleagues for his behavior and he was banned from representing the district at events.

He’s trying to wreak havoc on the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). Stampolis had two committees that failed to file FPPC reports. But Stampolis won’t admit it’s his fault. He’s asked for an administrative law judge to review the matter.  

He almost wreaked havoc on Santa Clara City Hall. But he lost his 2018 election to be City Clerk. Stampolis finished 5th out of six candidates.  

We’ve been hearing news around town for awhile about the interest in Stampolis’ legal residence. Now we know why.

Santa Clara’s slogan is that we’re “the center of what’s possible.” Except it’s not possible to live here and Imperial Valley at the same time if you want to be on their board of trustees.