District Three Candidate for Board of Supervisors Sued for Sexual Harassment, Retaliation
Original complaint was presented to the HR contact who is also the candidate's mother
The owner of a chain of cannabis dispensaries and a candidate for the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors is facing a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and whistleblower violations, according to a complaint filed in Superior Court on March 24.
The suit was brought by Alyson Swartz, a former employee who was terminated almost immediately after submitting a written complaint of sexual harassment on Jan. 10, 2026, according to her attorney, Oscar Ramirez.
Russell Green, the founder, CEO and owner of Kure Wellness, acknowledged the suit in an email to MendoLocal.News. “We strongly deny the claims set forth in the complaint and believe them to be without merit,” he wrote. “We have full confidence in the judicial system and look forward to defending ourselves through the appropriate legal channels, where the facts will speak for themselves.”
Ramirez, a principal at Los Angeles-based firm Blair & Ramirez, said the complaint was filed after Swartz completed the mandatory administrative process required under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and received a right-to-sue notice. “The process, not any external event, governed the timing of this filing,” Ramirez wrote in an email to MendoLocal.News.
According to the complaint, Swartz was hired by Kure in 2023 and maintained a record free of disciplinary warnings, reprimands, or corrective actions.
The suit alleges Swartz’s claims arose after Green, who served as her direct supervisor, began sending degrading and sexually charged text messages to her personal phone.
Among the messages allegedly written by Green and quoted in the complaint: “[A]s a guy who loves women lol, [y]ou look trashy af.”
He also allegedly asked, “[D]on’t you have a boyfriend or someone [sic] to argue with?”
After Swartz characterized the messages as sexual harassment, Green allegedly responded, “it’s sexual harassment if you are retarded / I am married and have hot women, any jury will see that / sleep it off bebe.”
The suit states the messages referenced and disparaged Swartz’s appearance and were rife with disability-related slurs.
On Jan. 10, 2026, Swartz filed a written complaint with the company’s human resources contact, whom the suit identifies as Green’s mother.
According to the complaint, Kure acknowledged receipt of the complaint and, on the same day, informed Swartz it was “reviewing significant compliance irregularities regarding the Metrc system that occurred under your supervision.” Metrc is a state-mandated software platform used to track cannabis products through the supply chain.
Within days, the suit says, Swartz was suspended and effectively terminated, with an offer of severance, which she rejected. “A company whose sole HR contact is the accused harasser’s mother is a company with no meaningful complaint process at all,” Ramirez wrote.
Swartz is seeking $10 million in damages on three causes of action, as well as punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Mendo Local is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit publication that is funded by monetary donations from our readers and in-kind donations from our volunteer editor. Similar to nonprofit newsrooms like CalMatters we believe that for nonprofit news to be trusted, the public must know who is paying for it. Transparency distinguishes legitimate, objective journalism from propaganda or advocacy funded by hidden interests. We disclose supporters who donate more than $5,000 and we do not accept anonymous contributions.
Mendo Local has currently received $6,137 in donations toward $10,000 in annual operating costs from nearly 100 donors whose giving ranges from $4 to $500. We are also seeking to separately raise $400 to update our voter registration analysis with current data following the June election.
You can help by subscribing for pre-set amounts on Substack or donating any amount to our current effort to raise operational funds. Or, you can send a check made out to our fiscal sponsor, The Tiny News Collective, to P.O. Box 362, Mendocino, CA 95460. Please note that we will need your email, along with your check, for compliance purposes. The Tiny News Collective is a registered 501c3.