Lack of Transparency: Robert Pittman, Deputy County Counsel, Sonoma County

 

• The spouse of Deputy Sonoma County Counsel Robert Pittman, Greg Jenkins was the previous Director for AliBaba Group through 2016 and was appointed in 2014. The previous Senior Vice President, Head of International Affairs and G.M. Head of U.S. Operations, AliBaba Group, Jim Wilkinson also happens to be a Texas native and prominent businessman. Mr. Wilkinson happened to be employed as the Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House from 2003-2004. Mr. Greg Jenkins was also an Assistant to the White House during the same exact years (2003-2004). He was oddly appointed to the AliBaba Group in 2014 and resigned in 2016 as well. 
• Spouse of Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore, Elizabeth Mckee Gore, is a Texas native who founded the Houston based business Hello Alice which is currently partnered directly with this organization. 
• In 2016, Mr. Jenkins founded NorthBay Strategies, a communications consulting agency. This agency holds the AliBaba Group as one of their many clients.
• I would like to confirm that Hello Alice’s official partnership with the AliBaba Group was in no way, shape or form aided by the efforts of Mr. Jenkins/Mr. Wilkinson in conjunction with the Gores. Supervisor Gore was directly appointed by the White House and served many years in the Washington D.C. area. If the latter is correct, this is absolutely inappropriate. 
• Per the obituary of Diana L. Pittman, Mr. Pittman's sister, Zoe Pittman resides in Lake Forest, CA (Orange County). As referenced in the obituary, Ms. Diana Pittman is survived by numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and grandnieces and nephews. Ms. Zoe Pittman is the current Application Analyst II at Hoag Hospital. 
• I discovered that a public relations firm exists in Orange County by the name of Pittman & Associates, Inc., owned by Dan Pittman. In addition to Hoag Hospital, some of their key clients include Merck, Pfizer, Western Medical Center, the St. Joseph Health System, Children's Hospital of Orange County, the California Department of Health Services (Nutrition Network and Latino 5 a Day), Western University of Health Sciences, etc. This is quite an impressive portfolio of clients that may usually only be obtained via a direct connection to the White House. I was impressed by one of the case studies completed by this firm in which they conducted a national press conference for Merck Pharmaceuticals (our County invested taxpayer dollars into Merck). 
• Being that the full family ties are not outlined in Ms. Pittman's obituary, one could presume additional family members (aside from Zoe) reside within the Orange County area. While Pittman is a common last name, the "Pittman's" seem to hold high-ranking positions at Pfizer and Merck. Donald Pittman is the Senior Director, Group Leader Global Medical; Pfizer Inc, Diana Pittman is the Associate Director, Business Consulting at Merck and Debra Pittman is the Senior Research Director at Pfizer.