Part 1 —Gina Fortino Dickson
When we elect someone to represent Windsor, we aren't just voting for a name on a ballot. We are trusting that person to make decisions that affect our neighborhoods, our schools, our open spaces, our infrastructure, our safety, and the future of our town.
So we should know who we are seating.
And part of that means knowing who financially supports the people running for office — especially when those supporters have development and real estate interests in the same community those elected officials will help govern.
This isn't about making accusations. It's about transparency. These are public records, available to all of us, and Windsor residents deserve to understand what they show and ask their own questions.
Why We Started Looking
For me, the questions started with Cora Creek, but after we reached out to Gina several times via email to speak with her and ask questions, without any reply, we started wondering why.
Cora Creek is the 106-unit affordable apartment project at 8975 Conde Lane being developed by Gallaher Community Housing. The project includes two four-story buildings, an 80% density bonus, reduced parking requirements, and multiple affordable-housing waivers and incentives.
At the April 22, 2025 Planning Commission meeting, commissioners raised concerns about the project's architecture, visibility and access to Windsor Creek, impacts on adjacent roads, landscaping, and other design issues.
Commissioner Gina Fortino Dickson made the motion to approve the project.
Commissioners Fortino Dickson, Rennie, and Richards voted yes. Vice Chair Zahner and Chair Kubota voted no.
The meeting minutes also show that Fortino Dickson disclosed that she had visited the project site and received correspondence from the applicant's representative.
Source: Town of Windsor Planning Commission Minutes, April 22, 2025.
As a resident, Gina's strong support of Cora Creek confused me.
Other commissioners were raising significant concerns and asking for changes. Councilmember Tanya Potter, whose District 4 residents are directly affected by development in this area, has dedicated considerable personal time to advocating around development impacts and state housing requirements.
For me, it didn't pencil.
So we started looking deeper.
Gina Fortino Dickson's History Running for Office
Gina Fortino Dickson is not new to local government.
She served on the Clearlake Planning Commission before being elected to the Clearlake City Council in 2012. She later served as Vice Mayor before resigning from the Council in 2016 when her family moved out of Lake County.
After moving to Windsor, she ran for Windsor Town Council in 2018, finishing eighth in a field of ten candidates.
She ran again for Windsor Town Council, District 1, in 2022, receiving 811 votes to Mike Wall's 1,386.
She is now running again for Windsor Town Council, District 1, in 2026.
That makes four City/Town Council campaigns: Clearlake in 2012, Windsor in 2018, Windsor in 2022, and Windsor again in 2026.
And when we looked at the public campaign finance documents from her 2022 Windsor campaign, some names stood out.
Among her financial supporters were Mark Millan, Natalie Balfour, Richard Coombs, and Rich Carnation and his wife.
So we started asking a very simple question:
Who are these people?
Natalie Balfour
Natalie Balfour is very clearly involved in real estate development in Windsor.
Town records identify Balfour as the Asset and Project Manager for Airport Business Center, a California limited partnership. In correspondence with the Town of Windsor regarding its General Plan, Balfour advocated on behalf of Airport Business Center for increased residential density and greater flexibility for residential development in commercial areas.
That matters when we're looking at who is financially supporting candidates for Windsor Town Council.
Balfour has been the applicant, developer, or project manager on multiple Windsor projects, including:
19th Hole: A 4.95-acre, 11-lot residential subdivision at 1340 19th Hole Drive. The Town identifies the developer as “Natalie Balfour / Airport Business Center.”
Elowen Oaks Apartments (Formerly known as Shiloh Apartments): Town records identify Balfour as the applicant for a project at Shiloh Road/Golf Course Drive involving approximately 60 residential units in six three-story buildings, along with approximately 3,571 square feet of commercial space.
There is another important connection here: Balfour isn't simply an unrelated Windsor developer who happened to contribute to Gina Fortino Dickson's 2022 campaign. She has publicly represented Richard Coombs and his development interests.
The Town's 2019 Planning Commission records for the 19th Hole project identify the applicant as “Natalie Balfour / Richard Coombs.”
And in December 2020, Balfour wrote directly to the Windsor Town Council stating:
“I am writing on behalf of Richard Coombs and Airport Business Center…”
That letter encouraged the Council to appoint either Mark Millan or Clay Fritz to a vacant Windsor Town Council seat.
So when we started following the names appearing among Gina's 2022 financial supporters, we weren't looking at completely unrelated people.
We found documented connections between them.
Natalie Balfour → Airport Business Center → Richard Coombs → Windsor development projects.
And we found Balfour, writing on behalf of Coombs and Airport Business Center, previously advocating for Mark Millan to hold a seat on the Windsor Town Council.
Those facts don't prove anything improper. But they're relevant, and Windsor residents deserve to know about them when evaluating who financially supports candidates seeking decision-making authority over development and land use in our community.
Sources:
Town of Windsor General Plan correspondence: Windsor Granicus
19th Hole development records: Discover Windsor / Town of Windsor
Shiloh Apartments records: Town of Windsor
2019 Planning Commission records: Town of Windsor
December 2020 correspondence to Windsor Town Council: Town of Windsor
Richard "Rick" Coombs
Richard Coombs is a longtime Windsor-area property owner and developer associated with Airport Business Center and Coombs Development.
Town records connect Coombs and Airport Business Center to multiple Windsor properties and development projects, including the 19th Hole project and properties around Shiloh Road, Golf Course Drive and other areas of Windsor.
More recently, Windsor's 2026 Major Project Development List identifies Richard Coombs and Larry Wasems as the applicants/developers of the Arata North Subdivision, a proposed 55-lot residential subdivision on approximately 10.47 acres at 115 Arata Lane.
There is also a documented political connection between Coombs, Balfour and former Windsor Mayor Mark Millan.
In 2020, Balfour wrote to the Windsor Town Council on behalf of Richard Coombs and Airport Business Center, encouraging the Council to appoint either Mark Millan or Clay Fritz to a vacant Town Council seat.
Again, none of this proves wrongdoing.
But these relationships are relevant public information when the same individuals are financially supporting candidates who may ultimately vote on development and land-use decisions affecting Windsor.
Mark Millan
Mark Millan is different from Balfour and Coombs. Based on the records we reviewed, we would not characterize him as a developer.
Millan is a former Windsor Town Council member and former Mayor of Windsor. He is also the founder and CEO of Data Instincts, a consulting company specializing in public outreach and engagement, particularly involving water and recycled-water infrastructure projects.
Millan and Fortino Dickson also have a documented civic history together.
Both ran for Windsor Town Council in 2018.
Today, both are listed as Advisors to Leadership Windsor through the Windsor Chamber of Commerce — Millan as a past Windsor mayor and CEO of Data Instincts, and Fortino Dickson as an attorney and Windsor Planning Commissioner.
And, as noted above, Airport Business Center and Richard Coombs, through Natalie Balfour, publicly supported Millan's appointment to the Windsor Town Council in 2020.
Those are documented connections. What they mean is something Windsor residents can decide for themselves.
Rich Carnation
This connection deserves particular attention because it intersects with an issue Windsor residents are dealing with right now.
Rich Carnation is a longtime Windsor Unified School District trustee and has served as both President and Vice President of the Board.
He is also a founding director of Gallaher Community Housing — the same nonprofit developer behind Cora Creek and currently involved in the proposed acquisition and redevelopment of the Windsor Creek Elementary School property.
This relationship has generated enough community concern that WUSD addresses it directly on its Windsor Creek information page.
According to the District, when Gallaher Community Housing approached WUSD, the District sought guidance from the California Fair Political Practices Commission regarding whether Carnation could participate in discussions involving Gallaher. Carnation recused himself while that guidance was pending.
WUSD states that the FPPC subsequently advised in April 2026 that his participation would not constitute a conflict of interest because he receives no financial benefit from his nonprofit board position.
However, the District also says Carnation has chosen to continue recusing himself from discussions and negotiations regarding the Windsor Creek sale because of community concerns.
But this is where residents began asking more questions.
During the period when the Town of Windsor was engaging with WUSD about potentially purchasing the Windsor Creek property, closed-session meetings became a regular part of the process. This created concern among residents who were trying to understand what was actually being discussed and where negotiations stood.
And despite his stated recusal, Carnation was present during closed sessions related to the property.
We don't know what was discussed behind those closed doors, what Carnation's participation was, or whether he participated at all. His presence does not, by itself, establish that he violated his recusal or participated in negotiations.
But when a trustee also serves on the board of the organization interested in acquiring and developing the property — and has publicly stated that he is recusing himself from discussions surrounding that property — residents have every right to ask why he was present and exactly what that recusal included.
That's not an accusation. It's a question of transparency.
If the purpose of the recusal was to remove the appearance of a conflict and give the community confidence in the process, residents deserve clarity about what his role was during those closed sessions.
To be clear, we're not saying Rich Carnation has been found to have a legal conflict of interest. According to WUSD, the FPPC advised otherwise.
We're saying residents have every right to understand that he holds positions connected to both sides of this proposed transaction — as a WUSD trustee and as a founding director of Gallaher Community Housing — and to consider that information when evaluating the process.
And this brings us back to Gina Fortino Dickson.
Public campaign records show that Rich Carnation and his wife financially supported Fortino Dickson's 2022 Windsor Town Council campaign.
Again, a campaign contribution does not prove wrongdoing or establish that a candidate is beholden to a donor.
But when we're asking Windsor residents to understand who financially supported a candidate — and what interests, organizations and development projects those supporters are connected to — this is part of the public record that deserves to be seen.
So What Does All of This Mean?
Maybe nothing improper.
And that needs to be said clearly.
We are not claiming Gina Fortino Dickson is receiving kickbacks. We are not claiming a secret agreement exists between Gina and these individuals. We have not found evidence establishing either of those things, and Save Windsor is not going to manufacture claims that the public record doesn't support.
What we are doing is asking questions.
Why did several people with significant development, property, or development-related interests in Windsor financially support the same candidate?
What relationships exist between these individuals?
What projects have they brought before the Town?
What decisions has Gina participated in as a Planning Commissioner involving those interests?
And as she asks Windsor residents to elect her to the Town Council in 2026, what should voters know about the people who have financially supported her previous campaigns?
Those aren't accusations.
Those are questions residents should be asking of every candidate seeking power over land-use, housing, development, and public property decisions in Windsor.
Know Who You're Seating
We are the community of Windsor, and it's up to us to hold the people who run for leadership roles in our community accountable and ensure we are seating people who have all of our interests in mind — not simply the interests of developers, political supporters, organizations, or any other special interest.
Campaign contributions don't automatically mean someone is beholden to a donor.
Knowing who those donors are still matters.
Knowing what they own matters.
Knowing what they're developing matters.
Knowing which projects come before our Planning Commission and Town Council matters.
And knowing how our leaders vote matters.
Save Windsor is questioning the relationships and allegiances here because that's part of what an engaged community is supposed to do.
We're looking at public documents. We're connecting documented relationships. We're asking questions.
And we're encouraging every Windsor resident to do the same.
Read the records. Follow the money. Watch the votes. And know who you're seating. Review all candidates’ contributions here, and you can see the documentation for yourself. Don’t just take it from us!
This post is not paid for by or in support of any candidate. It is meant to create transparency and help residents understand candidates and who is funding them. As of this post, no contributions have been made to Gina Fortino Dickson's 2026 campaigns.