November 2016 Elections

Greetings!

Well, the November, 2016 local elections have begun.  Candidates for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Santa Rosa City Council are announcing themselves, and seeking support.

Those seats up for election (and candidates confirmed (c) or rumored) are:

Supervisor
2nd District
Susan Gorin (c, incumbent)
Gina Cuclis (c)

3rd District
Shirley Zane (c, incumbent)


5th District
Lynda Hopkins (c)
Eric Koenigshofer
Dennis Rosatti
Taway Tesconi
Rue Furch
Noreen Evans


Santa Rosa City Council
Julie Combs (c, incumbent)
Erin Carlstrom (c, incumbent)
Ernesto Olivares (c, incumbent)
Jack Tibbetts (c)
Brandi Asker (c)
Nelly Schuyler (c)
Gary Wysocky (incumbent)
Ashlee Crocker

Who gets Power?

Greetings!

Periodically, you hear that our political system is stacked in favor of the insiders, the rich, the connected, those with friends in power.  When I saw that this morning's Press Democrat had the names and addresses of the judicial nominees for next year's Grand Jury, I thought it might be interesting to examine that common belief that the power brokers live in a few known neighborhoods.

Here is a  Google Map of the homes of the nominees:

Santa Rosa City Council - Open Government and New Faces

Greetings!

For those of you who missed the December 2nd Santa Rosa City Council meeting, I encourage you to review it as a stored video on the City's website.

After some preliminary business by the outgoing Council, including the acceptance of the Open Government Task Force Report and ending with the formal acceptance of the results of the November 4th Council election, the retiring council members (Swinth and Barkley - Oars was absent) said their goodbyes and received their colleagues acclaim and thanks.  Then the meeting got interesting.

The new members were sworn in, and said their own thanks to their supporters.  Next up, choosing a Mayor and Vice Mayor.  Without anyone to lead the meeting at that moment, the seven of them struggled to find a way to proceed.

What becomes clear in the next 30 minutes is the concern that historically the first person nominated to become Mayor is voted on first, and is usually selected.  So who gets the floor to make a motion - has the most power in the process.  So, who selects who gets to make the first motion when there is no one to chair the meeting?

After all of them offering ideas as diplomatically as can be done without being recognized, the comments of the City Manager and City Attorney help the Council come up with a solution.  They will let the City Clerk draw their names out of a hat to determine the order in which they can offer nominations for Mayor.  After a short break, in which Coursey spends time talking to Sawyer, Wysocky with Schwedhelm, Carlstrom leaving the room, and the others remaining apart, the results are announced.  Sawyer does not nominate.  Coombs nominates Sawyer, and Wysocky seconds.   Schwedhelm does not nominate.   Coursey does not nominate.  Wysocky does not nominate.   Olivares nominates Carlstrom, and Schwedhelm seconds.  Carlstrom does not nominate.

Following their rule, Sawyer's nomination is the first voted upon, and he gets the support of Coursey, Wysocky, and Coombs.  Taking the leadership, he recognizes Olivares who nominates Carlstrom.  Coombs nominates Coursey.  The vote for Carlstrom receives the support of Olivares and Schwedhelm.  Coursey is then elected unanimously.  Coombs then moves to make the election of Sawyer unanimous, and they do.