The city council reviewed letters of interest for local and regional board and committee vacancies and gave Mayor Una Glass, or a designated delegate in her absence, direction on who to vote for at the Feb. 11 City Selection Committee and Executive Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Mayors’ and Councilmembers’ Association Meeting.
Mary Gourley, city clerk and assistant city manager, said all Sonoma County’s cities come together every other month, five times across the year, to amplify and advocate for their needs through the association’s board of directors and city selection committee.
The city of Cloverdale will hold the meeting for voting on candidates to fill the vacancies on Thursday.
The council first considered letters of interest for City Selection Committee appointments, then appointments to the Board of Directors and concluded with a single unanimous vote regarding all nominations.
By the end, Glass received direction to vote for Petaluma Mayor Teresa Barrett to fill her own expired term for another two-year term for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Cotati Vice Mayor Mark Landman to fill Barrett’s expired two-year term on the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
Both were the only ones who sent received letters of interest for the respective committees’ vacancies.
The council directed Glass to propose Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli take up an expired two-year term with the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District. Glass reminded everyone that ultimately, the Board of Supervisors makes this appointment.
Next, Glass received direction to advance Councilmember Neysa Hinton, Santa Rosa City Councilmember Victoria Fleming and Petaluma Vice Mayor Brian Barnacle, in order of support, to assume the one vacated position on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The Board of Supervisors appoints this figure from the three names put forth by the City Selection Committee, according to Glass. The council discussed the tactical aspect of this vote to clear some confusion.
According to Gourley, the council does not need to direct the mayor to choose three candidates, in which case Glass would only vote for the candidate she received direction for.
“We would be doing it on purpose to strengthen our candidate,” Vice Mayor Sarah Glade Gurney said. The council swiftly decided their top candidate would be Hinton, though she reminded them the top three names are ranked by who receives the majority votes.
The council members decided to boost Fleming for her experience and then Barnacle as well in case Hinton did not win out, though she said she was leading as of that night with support from Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, Rohnert Park and Healdsburg city councils.
Because the Remote Access Network (RAN) Board and the Sonoma County Oversight Board Committee did not receive any letters of interest, the council voted to direct the mayor to vote if the city selection committee makes a recommendation or if late nominations are received.
Moving on to board of directors appointments to consider, the council agreed to have Glass
nominate Barnacle, Hinton and Healdsburg City Councilmember Skylaer Palacios for three two-year terms on the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District Citizens Advisory Committee.
As the sole local politicians with letters of interest for the positions, the council directed Glass to vote for Cloverdale City Councilmember Melanie Bagby to fill one vacated term expiring in 2023 on the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Commission (SMART) and Windsor Town Councilmember Debora Fudge to fill her own expiring term on the SMART Commission.
As for the board of directors, the council directed the mayor to advance Rohnert Park City Councilmember Susan Adams and Petaluma City Councilmember Dennis Pocekay for the alternate position.
The North Bay Division, League of California Cities has one two-year alternate position open and the council directed the mayor to put forward its only candidate, Santa Rosa City Councilmember John Sawyer, to fill his own expired term.
