Sounds like a bargain, doesn’t it? Actually, we in Sonoma are getting a good deal. There are six candidates running for City Council, each of whom would do a good job. Not many towns are in such an enviable situation, we expect.
But choices have to be made, since voters can choose only as many as three, and readers have come to expect voting recommendations from us on local issues. We had the privilege last week of interviewing all six candidates, quizzing them on a variety of topics and discussing their views about Sonoma city and the greater Valley, and that’s helped us to arrive at several endorsements, which we offer readers for their consideration.
Our top criterion is constituent service. This requires a sensitivity to citizens’ needs, it requires knowledge of the city structure, regulations, and staff, and it requires a mind-set of service. On this basis, we unhesitatingly endorse Ken Brown and Steve Barbose. Ken has proven himself as an incumbent and seems to have even more enthusiasm for his role now than when he first took office eight years ago. Steve’s profession is mediation and he understands how to address citizens’ problems through bureaucratic protocols.
Interestingly, Ken and Steve are arguably the two most liberal candidates. But we believe that partisan leanings and labels tend not to apply at the most local levels of government. Both candidates recognize their primary responsibilities to balance the budget and to protect the citizens. These are not partisan political issues – these are local governance issues. If either candidate also wants to use his position on the council as a bully pulpit, with the concurrence of his fellow council members, we’re tolerant.
Vision is our second criterion. Brown and Barbose both have a clear view of how the city should grow, as growth is inevitable. At our next level of endorsement, we choose Aug Sebastiani and Gary Edwards, who also have visions for the future, consciously considering what’s happened in Sonoma, what can happen, and what should happen. Neither candidate has it completely worked out, and that’s okay. In fact, that’s good – we’re excited about the positive tension these candidates will bring to the City Council, to keep it looking forward, not back. Although we endorse them both, we realize that voters would have to choose between them.
Doug McKesson and Vickie Mulas are also good candidates, and we wish there were room on the council to seat them, too. Doug’s long record of service to the community is admirable, and his knowledge of how things came to be the way they are is remarkable. We hope the Alcalde selection group has Doug on its short list.
Vickie is not as familiar as some of the others with the workings of the city or with issues facing that two square miles specifically, although she has expertise on agricultural issues. Her thinking goes first to larger considerations of the Valley and its role within the County; in fact, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Vickie apply her many talents toward the District 1 Supervisor position, when Valerie Brown steps down.
Drafting players for a sports team, one tries to pick the best athletes first, and then let them develop into an effective unit. We believe that with the candidates we’re endorsing – Brown, Barbose, Sebastiani, and Edwards – voters will be selecting the best representatives. Together with Joanne Sanders and Stanley Cohen, Sonoma would be led by a top team.
