The nomination period to file for candidacy in the Windsor Town Council’s April special election will close Friday with no extension period.
As of Jan. 7, since the nomination period opened Dec. 20, Town Clerk Irene Camacho-Werby issued papers to three community members: Evan K. Kubota pulled papers Dec. 1, Stephanie D. Ahmad did so Jan. 6., and Jeffrey Leasure did so Jan. 7.
None have yet submitted the final paperwork, which includes forms such as a nomination petition, candidate’s statement of qualifications form and the forms mandated by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The three candidates and any additional prospective candidates have until Jan. 14 to file papers to be officially nominated in the election.
April’s special election will fill the fifth council seat left vacant when then-Councilmember Sam Salmon was appointed mayor following Dominic Foppoli’s June resignation. The contested seat is a regular at-large seat, meaning the whole town can vote in this upcoming election, with the term expiring in December, just eight months later.
The four-member council has remained deadlocked 2-2 on key issues that will likely fall to the fifth council member to decide. These include whether to initiate a ballot measure that would allow Windsor voters to decide whether to keep the two-year, at-large mayoral seat, which supporters say increases democratic engagement under the district system, and opponents say inflates the importance of the mayoral position and leaves the council prone to vacancies.
The fifth council member could also prove decisive on whether the town moves forward with the controversial Civic Center project proposed by developer Robert Greene.
When the new council member is seated in May, Windsor will have a full five-member council for the first time since Foppoli vacated his council seat mid-term to be elected the town’s first at-large mayor in 2020. Councilmember Rosa Reynoza was elected by special election in 2021, however, she was not seated until after Foppoli resigned in June.
With Windsor transitioning to district-based elections, this will likely be the last time Windsor voters select a non-mayoral council member via at-large vote.
In November’s general municipal election, the fifth seat, along with the seats of Vice Mayor Esther Lemus and Councilmember Reynoza, will convert to district seats, wherein candidates must live in and be selected only by voters living in their district. Windsor voters will elect council members to three regular district seats (Districts 1, 2 and 4) and select a two-year mayor through an at-large vote in November. Currently, District 3 Councilmember Debora Fudge is the only council member whose seat was determined by a district vote, and her term expires in 2024.
In order to file for candidacy, candidates must contact the town clerk’s office and file official nomination petitions prior to Jan. 14, 2022. Forms can be obtained by appointment at the Office of the Town Clerk, 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 400. To schedule an appointment, call 707-838-5315, or email Camacho-Werby at [email protected] or [email protected].
Who are Windsor’s current three candidates and where do they stand on key issues?
As mentioned above, although the fifth council member’s term will be short, the winning candidate this April will have the opportunity to help the Windsor Town Council make key decisions on at least two key issues that faced deadlock last year.
SoCoNews asked the three candidates who plan on running as of Jan. 7 a little about themselves — where they stand on the future of the Civic Center and the potential return to a rotating, appointed mayor. Candidates are listed in the order that they requested paperwork from the town clerk’s office.
Larkfield-native Evan Kubota, who lost his Coffey Park home in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, relocated to Windsor in December 2017, where his two daughters attend Windsor schools. He told SoCoNews he was running because he has “watched the current council members navigate a wide range of challenges over the years, sometimes admirably and sometimes in less-than-ideal ways.”
“I was surprised and disappointed with the way the Foppoli matter was handled by the council and in listening to some of the recent comments on the matter it still appears there are some who lack personal accountability for the events that took place and the damage it caused to the community and the victims,” Kubota said.
Kubota is not in favor of the Civic Center project, saying the project has raised “significant concerns surrounding the direction the town is heading, and whether some current council members have an appropriate view on the long-term vision for Windsor.” He called the project financially impractical and said it will damage Windsor family-oriented identity.
Regarding the process for selecting Windsor’s mayor, Kubota said he supports a fifth district position with a rotating mayor.
Kubota is the director of operations for Execushield, In., a Bay Area private security firm, where he oversees a staff of 250 security officers across northern California.
Stephanie Ahmad, is a past president and current trustee of the Windsor Unified School District (WUSD) board of trustees. She grew up in Windsor, and returned to raise her own children in the town.
As to why Ahmad is running, she said. “I care about this community — I want it to be the best possible place to live for all of its residents. I love that it’s a multigenerational community and that we also attract young families.”
She said that she is undecided on the mayoral selection process and the Civic Center project issues. Regarding the mayorship, she said, “I see the value in having district positions and one at-large mayoral position representing the will of the entire town. At the same time I currently serve on the school board where the president role rotates on a yearly basis and in my experience it’s a very good and fair system that encourages collegiality.”
For both projects, Ahmad told SoCoNews she would decide after talking to community members on both sides of the issues during her campaign.
Ahmad earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley before earning her law degree from Stanford in 2011. She works as a senior associate attorney at an international law firm.
According to his campaign website, Jeffrey Leasure is a District 3 resident who has served on the Planning Commission (2001-2005), the Redevelopment Oversight Committee, the Chamber of Commerce Board and WUSD’s Oversight Committee.
His website states his opposition to the Civic Center project. “The Town Green is not for sale and serves as a central meeting place for our children and adults alike,” the website states. Leasure did not respond to a SoCoNews email asking about his position on the mayoral seat in time for publication, however, this article will be updated with his views on the issue should he respond.
He has a background in economics, and ran against Councilmember Debora Fudge in the 2020 District 3 election. Were he elected, he would not be eligible to run for District 3 council member until Fudge’s seat is contested in 2024, however, he could run for at-large mayor this November.
