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Graham Knaus, the CEO of the California State Association of Counties, has been put on administrative leave.
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The association’s president, Susan Ellenberg, said in a statement that it had “engaged outside legal counsel to conduct an independent investigation into confidential personnel-related matters.” She declined to provide more details on the conduct it was looking into.
“Out of respect for confidentiality and the rights of all parties involved, we will not share additional information at this time,” added Ellenberg, who is a Santa Clara County supervisor.
It is unclear when he was put on leave. A spokesperson for the association declined to comment beyond Ellenberg’s statement. Knaus declined to comment.
The organization represents all 58 counties at the state Capitol on issues involving courts, healthcare and California’s budget. It also advocates on federal legislation and has more than a dozen lobbyists and legislative analysts devoted to those efforts.
“We are a strong lobbying force,” Knaus said in a 2018 video after becoming the organization’s executive director. “Our success comes from our policy expertise, leveraging networks and relationships, from dexterity in navigating the political process and from being directly connected with you.”
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It was a lead supporter of several bills this year, including one that extended a domestic violence intervention program, another that affirmed local governments can charge taxes and fees for street repair and public services, and a third that allows counties and cities to round up cash payments due the elimination of the penny.
Knaus was outspoken about policies the association did not like.
During this year’s legislative session, he called an effort over the summer by Gov. Gavin Newsom to change what utility companies are liable for when their equipment starts wildfires a “corporate bailout.”
He said the governor’s May budget plan was abandoning families just as President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress had.
And after Newsom’s State of the State address in January, Knaus said the governor was playing a “shell game” with homelessness funding by not providing more money through a popular grant program.
Ellenberg said the group’s work would continue while the investigation is ongoing and that the board members were overseeing its day-to-day operations.
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This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 2:21 PM.