Wolff Out as Town Manager, Council Launches Investigation Amid Ravasio Conflict-of-Interest Furor

Town Manager Adam Wolff resigned from his post, and the Council moved the same night to appoint Adam Politzer as interim Town Manager, approve a second amendment to Wolff's employment agreement, and adopt a resolution formalizing the resignation — all bundled into Resolution No. 38/2026 on the September 1 regular meeting agenda.

“I find the payout to the town manager to be an outrage. This money comes directly from our pockets.”— Maureen O'Rorke, public comment on the Town Manager's departure

In a related action, Council considered hiring A.W. Blan Workplace Legal Services to run an independent investigation into two closed sessions, held May 20 and August 11, 2026, and to grant a limited waiver of the Brown Act's confidentiality rules so people who were in the room could talk to the investigator without violating the law.

The personnel moves came hours after a fraught special closed session where residents lined up to question whether Councilmember Pat Ravasio should even be voting on Wolff's fate. Resident Matthew Kaufmann pressed the council directly: "Has the Town Counsel reviewed Councilmember Ravasio's August 5, 2026 email to Mayor Rosa Thomas stating that the way Adam allowed the Brown Act matter to proceed is 'why I have come around as the third vote against him'?" He added, "A number of us in the community have become increasingly very concerned with how allegations of Brown Act violation(s) involving councilmember Ravasio have been handled."

Resident Maureen O'Rorke went further, calling for Ravasio's recusal and objecting to the financial terms of Wolff's departure: "We're asking Ms Ravasio to recuse herself from tonight's vote. We ask the council and city attorney to remove her from the vote for conflict of interest." No outcome or vote tally on the personnel resolutions was recorded in the materials reviewed; the independent investigation, if approved, would examine the closed sessions at the center of the dispute.

Council Takes Up First Reading of Tobacco and Nicotine Sales Ban

Council held a public hearing on introducing an ordinance that would end the sale of tobacco and nicotine products by businesses in Corte Madera, covering cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, vapes, heated smoking systems, and nicotine pouches — including delivery sales to town addresses. The ban would not touch personal possession or use.

This is the ordinance's second trip to Council. On August 4, members voted 4-1 to send staff back with changes: extend the transition period for existing sellers by 30 days, to January 31, 2027, and tweak a finding in the ordinance's language. Staff returned September 1 with two versions reflecting those edits — Option 1A with just the Council-directed changes, and Option 1B with an additional wording tweak to Finding L adding "and nicotine" and dropping a reference to "or other therapeutic purposes."

September 1 was a hearing for possible introduction only, not final adoption — Corte Madera ordinances require two readings. If introduced, the measure would need to come back for a second reading before it could take effect.