FPPC clears Robinson of financial conflict, issues $400 fine for not citing conflict

Updated on August 12, 2026 12:35 p.m.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission found insufficient evidence that Richmond City Councilmember Doria Robinson made, participated in, or influenced a government decision in which she had a financial interest, the central allegation in a complaint filed by former Mayor Tom Butt.

However, the commission proposed a $400 fine after finding Robinson failed to properly recuse herself from a 2023 vote involving Urban Tilth, the Richmond nonprofit where she serves as executive director.

The finding is outlined in a July 8 stipulation letter in FPPC Case No. 2025-00236. Investigators determined Robinson violated Government Code Section 87105 by failing to state on the record the nature of her financial interest in Urban Tilth before leaving the room during an October 3, 2023, vote on a city contract with the nonprofit.

State law requires public officials with a financial conflict to identify the conflict on the record, in enough detail for the public to understand it, and then leave the room until the matter is resolved.

Robinson left the room, according to the FPPC letter, but did not identify Urban Tilth as the source of her conflict.

"Though you stated that you had a conflict of interest and you left the room, by failing to identify the financial interest that gave rise to the conflict, you were in violation of Government Code section 87105," Theresa Gilbertson, an FPPC enforcement division attorney supervisor, wrote.

The $400 penalty is part of the FPPC's streamlined settlement program for lower-level violations and covers a single count.

Butt, who has pursued complaints against Robinson over her dual roles as councilmember and Urban Tilth executive director since 2024, described the stipulation as a vindication of his efforts in an email to his e-forum subscribers Wednesday morning.

He cited the document's statement that Robinson "has violated the Political Reform Act" and argued that the underlying conflict goes beyond the recusal violation identified by the FPPC.

"There are strict statutes that define how a recusal must be made, and Robinson did not comply, thus depriving the public about the true nature of her conflict," Butt wrote.

Robinson posted her own response online Wednesday morning, along with photos of the FPPC letter, and emphasized the narrower finding. She noted that investigators found no evidence she had improperly influenced a government decision and said the violation involved a single incident early in her first term.

"This investigation cited me because on one occasion in 2023 during my first year in office that although I recused myself and left the room not participating in the decision, I did not explicitly state the source of the conflict, my employer's name," Robinson wrote. "At the time, I did not have clear legal guidance that informed me of the exact words I would need to say to be fully compliant. After that instance, I received legal advice and have clearly stated my conflict."

"Over four years, I made one error in the very beginning before I knew the exact words to say," she wrote. "I have been cited, paid the fine."

In a follow-up post published after this story ran, Robinson described the finding as "one instance of procedural violation due to a partial verbal recusal" and said she has since recused herself from all council discussions of the TCC grant and disconnected from its management and implementation.

The finding follows an earlier development in the same dispute. In January 2025, the FPPC dismissed a complaint Butt filed against Robinson's handling of the Transformative Climate Communities grant, finding insufficient evidence that she had failed to comply with the commission's advice on the matter.

Robinson has said the TCC grant was applied for and awarded before she took office, calling it normal practice for nonprofits to collaborate with the city on securing state grants.

Robinson has said the TCC grant was applied for and awarded before she took office, noting that Urban Tilth was one of seven partners on the grant and that nonprofit-city collaboration on such grants is standard practice, and in some cases, a requirement of the grant itself.

Butt sought reconsideration of that dismissal, which led to the recusal-specific finding in the latest case.

Robinson has previously pointed to the FPPC complaints against her as evidence that the state's ethics enforcement system works as intended. She made the point during a Richmond City Council discussion this summer of the GATE Act, a ballot measure that would have created an independent city ethics commission but failed to qualify.

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