Although Sonoma’s City Council didn’t act illegally in deciding to cancel this year’s municipal election, the move did violate the public trust – that’s according to a Nov. 14 decision released today by the Sonoma County Grand Jury.
“The failure was that of the City Council as a body and not just the person who cast the tie-breaking vote,” the three-page ruling said in part. “As members of the City Council and guardians of the public trust, it should have been incumbent on all of the Council members, to prevent the decision from being made under tainted circumstances.”
Sonoma City Manager Linda Kelly today deferred detailed comment, saying City Attorney Tom Curry was in the process of preparing an official response.
At issue were this year’s two vacancies on the Sonoma City Council, which saw Mayor Joanne Sanders pondering a second four-year term and Councilmember Stanley Cohen resigning from his first. As Sanders and challenger Laurie Gallian were the only candidates to file nomination papers by the Aug. 13 deadline, the council voted 3-2 on Aug. 20 to forego the election and appoint both women to the dais.
Sanders cast the tie-breaking cancellation vote, siding with fellow Councilmembers Stanley Cohen and Steve Barbose in citing electoral disinterest as well as a savings to the city of $7-8,000 in election fees. The move prompted an intense debate in local media over whether or not Sanders should have disqualified herself from a vote in her political benefit.
Part of that debate concerned the $300 monthly stipend the council unanimously voted themselves last November and which takes effect this month. But after extensively reviewing the Aug. 20 meeting and consulting state election law, the grand jury said material gains weren’t the issue.
“The Mayor’s disqualification was not legally required because she did not have a financial interest as defined in the law,” the jury’s conclusion reads. “However, we do not believe that this answer meant that the other significant issues raised by canceling an election in these circumstances could be ignored by the City Council. The absence of illegality should not be the highest standard to which the actions of our public officials are held.”
The grand jury’s report may be viewed here.
Full details will be in Friday’s Sonoma Valley SUN.
