News
Sausalito City Manager to Be Released From Jail, Ordered to Seek Mental Health Evaluation
Elaine Forbes, who previously served as director of the Port of San Francisco, faces multiple misdemeanor charges after trespassing on two boats on Saturday.
Jul 22, 2026
Updated 6:44 pm PT
Katie DeBenedetti
Elaine Forbes, Sausalito City Manager, appears for her arraignment at the Marin Superior Court in San Rafael on July 22, 2026. Forbes faces multiple misdemeanor charges after she was accused of trespassing on boats over the weekend. (Gina Castro for KQED)
Sausalito City Manager Elaine Forbes will be released from jail and undergo a psychological evaluation after she was arrested over the weekend for trespassing amid what her family said is a mental health crisis.
Forbes, who previously served as the director of the Port of San Francisco, agreed to voluntarily go to Marin General Hospital for a mental health assessment, according to her attorney, Randall Knox
“Given the fact that Ms. Forbes has never been arrested [before] and the circumstances of these particular allegations, the judge agreed to release her on her own recognizance,” he told KQED after her hearing on Wednesday.
Family spokesperson Sam Singer said Forbes’ wife and family “believe that this is the right judicial move and are very pleased” with the court’s action.
Forbes, 53, assumed the role of Sausalito city manager earlier this month, but had been on a leave of absence since Thursday.
During a special city council meeting on Tuesday night, Sausalito Mayor Steven Woodside said Forbes remains on leave, and that “no decisions were made regarding her employment.”
“I want to assure everyone that we are gathering and evaluating all of the facts surrounding this matter,” Woodside said. “This moment calls for a sensitive balance between individual privacy rights and the rights the public have for accountability. It’s not easy. But we will get through this.”
For the time being, Assistant City Manager Brandon Phipps has assumed the role of acting city manager.
Woodside said Tuesday that the city was also in negotiations to have former City Manager Chris Zapata come back to serve in an advisory capacity. If he does, it would be on a “loan” from Marin County, where he is now the assistant county executive, Woodside said
Forbes was found aboard the Lisa Marie, a 66-foot, three-story yacht docked at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor, just after 6 a.m. Saturday morning, hours after she had been reported missing by her wife He said her phone and wallet were found outside of an addiction recovery center in Sausalito that evening
Marin sheriff’s deputies located Forbes amid empty alcohol bottles, having manipulated the boat’s controls “as if she was attempting to steal the vessel,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Domenick Yazzolino said. She was initially arrested on suspicion of felony burglary
When deputies found Forbes on Saturday, they said she told them she was having a “bad morning” and to get off of her boat.
According to nearby boat owner Rand Siegfried, Forbes also told officers she had been on his boat, the Sea Dog, that morning
There, they found clothes strewn around the deck and items missing, he said.
“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
Forbes was later charged with four misdemeanors: trespassing onto private property, petty theft less than $950 and two counts of unlawful lodging for entering the two boats
Siegfried, who was out of town at the time, said he believes the value of the items Forbes took from the Sea Dog is likely worth more than $950, but he and his wife had not yet determined what was stolen
“It didn’t seem like there’s malicious intent, but boy, it was damaging,” he said
“I hope she seeks out help to get better, but I also hope she is responsible for what she has done,” Siegfried said
During a court appearance on Wednesday afternoon, Judge Cindee Mayfield in Marin County Superior Court granted Knox’s request to release Forbes without posting bail
Forbes is set to return to court on Aug. 11. During her hearing on Wednesday, Knox said it is possible he would appear on her behalf if she is in treatment
“This is a blip,” he said Tuesday, adding that 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.”
KQED’sJoseph Gehacontributed to this report
