Supervisor Rex Bohn Faces Censure After Investigation Sustains Misconduct Allegations

Every witness interviewed agreed: Humboldt County First District Supervisor Rex Bohn used profanity and acted aggressively toward county employees during a virtual Ad Hoc Committee meeting on June 24, 2025, and an independent investigation has now formally sustained those allegations, setting the stage for a public censure vote before the Board of Supervisors.

The investigation's executive summary, associated in county documents with "Kramer Workplace," concluded that the allegation Bohn "used an intense tone, an elevated voice, and exhibited body language that indicated he was frustrated, angry, and/or irritated with County employees for failing to take action regarding a waiver or amendment to the Tobacco Retail License during the meeting on June 24, 2025, is sustained."

The findings go further than tone. "It is undisputed among the witnesses interviewed that on June 24, 2025, during a virtual Ad Hoc Committee meeting, Bohn acted in a disrespectful and aggressive manner toward County employees, which included the use of profanity," the summary states. Witnesses also uniformly told investigators they believed Bohn had scheduled the meeting specifically to pressure staff into moving quickly to create a waiver or amendment to the county's Tobacco Retail License ordinance so that a friend of Bohn's could transfer all of his tobacco retail licenses when he sold his gas stations.

The investigation has cost $15,991 to date, paid from the Board's liability fund, with additional invoices still expected.

Under the county's revamped complaint procedures, allegations against a supervisor first go before a three-person review committee consisting of the county administrative officer, county counsel, and the human resources director, who must reach a two-thirds consensus before launching a formal outside investigation. Once an outside investigation substantiates a code-of-conduct violation, the board takes it up in open session. The only available formal sanction at that stage is public censure, which requires an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of board members present.

The North Coast Journal has described the censure as "largely symbolic," amounting to a public statement of disapproval against the longtime First District representative.

Bohn himself was the first to disclose that he was under scrutiny. During a November 4 board discussion held just before the board censured Supervisor Michelle Bushnell for similar behavior, Bohn announced his own situation rather than wait for it to surface. "This is not a process. This is a very slow death by a thousand cuts," he said at that meeting. "I'm going through this myself right now, before someone leaks it out."

According to the North Coast Journal, Bohn had been notified in July 2025 that the complaint process was underway and received formal notice in late September 2025 that an independent investigation had been launched.

The censure consideration comes days after the board voted to move forward with pending complaints. Whether the board ultimately votes to censure Bohn will depend on how at least a supermajority of the five-member board weighs findings that every witness interviewed described the same way.