Sausalito City Manager Elaine Forbes Faces Misdemeanor Charges Over Boat Trespassing
Elaine Forbes, Sausalito’s city manager, is set to be arraigned Wednesday on multiple misdemeanor charges after she was accused of trespassing on multiple boats at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor over the weekend.
Marin County prosecutors charged the former Port of San Francisco director with prowling, unauthorized lodging and petty theft on Monday. Forbes, 53, was arrested on the Lisa Marie, a boat docked at the harbor, among empty alcohol bottles and strewn clothing items, on Saturday. Her family has said she was experiencing a mental health crisis.
“I hope she seeks out help to get better, but I also hope she is responsible for what she has done,” said Rand Siegfried, owner of the Sea Dog, the other boat that Forbes is accused of entering.
Forbes has been in custody since Saturday morning on a $50,000 bail. She appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon, where her attorney, Randall Knox, requested her arraignment be delayed to Wednesday.
The court will also discuss bail, which Knox said was set based on the arresting charge of felony burglary, but could be lowered.
“This is a blip,” Knox said. He said Forbes “is grateful that the city of Sausalito has been so supportive … and she has a really solid network of friends and family who are going to try to help her navigate this.”
Marin County Sheriff’s deputies located Forbes at the yacht harbor around 6 a.m. Saturday after receiving a noise complaint. There, according to Siegfried, the Lisa Marie’s captain found her on board and reported “unusual things” happening on the boat.
Sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Domenick Yazzolino said that Forbes had manipulated the boat’s controls “as if she was attempting to steal the vessel.”
At the time, Forbes told officials that she was having a “bad morning” and told them to get off of her boat, Yazzolino said. Siegfried said Forbes told law enforcement that she had previously been on the Sea Dog, prompting them to check on the boat.
“There was a layer of clothing on every floor of the boat that was two or three garments deep,” Siegfried said. “It seems like she tried on a lot of my wife’s things, and I think she actually went to jail with one of my wife’s sweaters on.”
Siegfried, who was in Wyoming at the time, said that when his wife went to check on the boat, items appeared to be missing, but they hadn’t determined what exactly was stolen yet. Petty theft is defined as not exceeding $950, though Siegfried said it’s possible that the value of the missing items is higher.
“It didn’t seem like there’s malicious intent, but boy, it was damaging,” he said.
Forbes, who took over as Sausalito city manager earlier this month, has been on a leave of absence since Thursday.
Prior to the role, she led the Port of San Francisco as port director for nine years before stepping down in 2025. There, she spearheaded the effort to help the city prepare for the impacts of climate change on the waterfront. When she announced plans to depart from the role in 2025, she told the port commission: “I’m tired, I want a job with fewer than 280 employees, I don’t want to run a port city anymore, but I sure did these last nine years,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Currently, Assistant City Manager Brandon Phipps has taken over as acting city manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of city departments and staff, and implementing and enforcing city policies and laws.
“This is a difficult development for our City staff and our community,” the city said in a statement on Sunday, declining to comment on specifics of the incident or investigation.
The city council is set to discuss next steps during a special meeting on Tuesday night.
KQED’s Joseph Geha contributed to this report.