By Jennifer Sawhney

Flyers recently mailed to voters by a political action committee have raised questions about Sylvia Lemus serving on the same board as a disgraced Catholic priest who was defrocked after being suspected of sexually abusing children.

With only days to go in the election, the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 PAC, which represents employees in government agencies, nonprofits, schools, and healthcare, denounced Lemus’ ties to the Order of St. Michael the Archangel. According to its website, the Order of St. Michael is a “charitable interdenominational Christian law-enforcement, public safety, and common defense Knighthood."

The organization provides scholarships for law enforcement students, has donated equipment to local first responders, and led a school safety and active shooter symposium, according to its website.  

Lemus is listed on the site as secretary of the Monterey County-based order alongside vice president Carl Faria. Faria was on a list of priests released in January 2019 who – dating back to 1950 – were considered “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children by the Diocese of Monterey. The incidents tied to Faria occurred between 1968 through 1971 and 1973 through 1976, according to the list.

After the diocese released his name, Faria resigned from his post as a board member for the Monterey County Peace Officers Association, according to reporting by Monterey County Now from 2019.

Until this week, Lemus hadn’t publicly acknowledged the ties to the former Catholic priest, who retired in 2002. The church removed his priestly capabilities a year later.

Lemus said she just learned of Faria’s accusations on Oct. 29 when a reporter from the Press Democrat called her. Lemus said she has not been active with the group since 2019 and the website is not up to date. “Some people on the website have died,” she said.

She said she initially joined the group to support her husband, who previously worked in law enforcement.

“I know who Carl Faria is, but I didn’t know anything about that background,” she said when Petaluma Voice reached her by phone on Friday, Oct. 30, adding that the group only met a few times per year, and she didn’t know him well.

By the time the accusations against Faria came out in January 2019, Lemus had already left the organization, she said, but couldn’t pinpoint when exactly, saying that she was busy working full time, serving on Los Cien’s board, and actively involved with the Cinco de Mayo committee for the annual event in Roseland.

She pushed back on the accusations, which she pointed out are coming late in the race. She said the Service Employees union is “trying to buy the race because they want a 13% raise for their members.”

Reached by phone Friday, Ryan Williams, political lead at the union, said, “No financial proposals have been passed by either side yet,” he said. “That’s one more lie by Sylvia to distract people from this extremely concerning association with this organization and this priest.”

When asked to clarify where she got the 13% figure, Lemus said that was a number she’d heard as the union seeks higher pay, though she wasn’t certain that that was a definitive figure. She later sent a text that listed the figures from previous negotiations, which amounted to a 13.5% increase for county employees. She said that the union is trying to control the election, with this being yet another distraction. 

Williams, whose union endorsed Paun, questioned Lemus' candor, contending the candidate falsely claimed that his union backed her during a recent forum in Penngrove.

Lemus later clarified she didn't say she was endorsed by the union at the event. She was pointing out that she has a lot of support from line staff, she said. After a 30-year career with the county she has many friends and family members who are represented by the union who support her, she said.

“As part of our normal candidate research, we found multiple concerning things with Sylvia Lemus and this was one of them,” Williams said. “We conducted research and we were quite concerned with her ongoing ties.” He said she was signing documents “as late as June 2025 for (the Order of St. Michael the Archangel).”

The document he referenced was a Secretary of State nonprofit filing from June 2025 that lists Lemus as the secretary. Faria is listed as an agent on the document, which was signed by another member of the order.

Lemus said she was unaware that she was listed on the public document. “I hadn’t given anyone permission for that," she added.

With days left before the Nov. 3 election, she said she has not been in contact with members of the order because she has been busy knocking on doors and attending events.  

A message left at a phone number associated with the Order of St. Michael was not immediately returned, and it is unclear what current role, if any, the former priest serves at the organization.

Reached for comment on the flyer, Brian Sobel, a Petaluma-based political analyst, said “it’s a stretch to suggest” that Lemus condoned or should be held responsible for the priest’s behavior.
“Does that mean that all the parishioners, all the people who knew them who are associated with the Catholic Church, are guilty of accepting that behavior? That’s outrageous.”

Sobel continued, “There are dozens and dozens and dozens of priests who’ve been uncovered and they knew hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people. Do I for a moment think all those people who they came in contact with, somehow condone their behavior? Absolutely not. ... To suggest that Sylvia has any knowledge or somehow, some way agreed with this guy’s behavior is outrageous.”

Jennifer Sawhney is a reporter and co-founder of Petaluma Voice. She can be reached at jsawhney@petalumavoice.org.