Mayor tosses hat in civic ring

One more candidate is needed to qualify Sonoma for a general City Council election, following Mayor Joanne Sanders’ announcement this week that she’ll seek a second term.
“My family has given me their vote of support; now it’s time to see if the community appreciates my work as much as I appreciate serving the community,”  Sanders said in a prepared statement released Monday. “I’m looking forward to more time with the current council.     We’re a good representation of the town and make informed decisions together.”
Sonoma’s five councilmembers are elected to four-year terms staggered every two years, making three seats available in the 2010 race. Sanders and fellow councilmember Stanley Cohen were elected in 2004, and in May Cohen said he would not run for a second term.
So far, Sonoma’s election has drawn only one interested non-incumbent – Laurie Gallian,a member of the city’s Community Services and Environment Commission and manager of Mayor Pro Tem Ken Brown’s 2006 re-election campaign. Gallian pulled nomination papers when election season opened July 14 but as of press time Tuesday had not yet filed the necessary signatures for qualification.
The qualifying deadline is Aug. 14, but should Sonoma be faced with two candidates to fill two seats state election law calls for the city clerk to alert the public by publishing a notice in local newspapers. If the two-for-two situation still holds by Aug. 21, the council would appoint both office-seekers.
Although county Election Services Supervisor Debra Russotti said Monday that something similar happened in Sebastopol and Healdsburg during the 2006 council elections, – City Clerk Gay Rainsbarger said that to her knowledge, such a thing hasn’t happened in Sonoma.
“It’s never come up,” she said, noting that 2002’s three-vacancy council election drew nine candidates – with six people apiece vying for two seats in 2004 and 2006.
To file for Sonoma’s City Council election, call Rainsbarger at 933-2216 or visit the interim City Hall at 32 Patten Street, Sonoma