Candidate says she got letter suggesting she drop out
An anonymous letter alleging a plot to reelect an incumbent councilmember has added a wrinkle to the upcoming special election to fill a seat on the Healdsburg City Council.
The letter — which candidate Erica Whisney says she received two weeks ago — accuses Healdsburg Mayor Shaun McCaffery of encouraging Whisney to run in order to take votes away from another candidate (Leah Gold) in order to assure the reelection of a third candidate (Gary Plass) who holds the seat now in an interim role.
Sent with no return address and signed only by: “An astute and concerned group of long time Healdsburg residents,” the letter suggests that Whisney would be better off “tackling other initiatives” than staying in the four-person race for one seat on the council. “Don’t let yourself be manipulated,” states the letter, which Whisney brought to the Tribune office.
Whisney said the letter won’t make a difference, given that she has already qualified for the June 6 ballot and has no intention of dropping out. “I had been approached by individuals before the filing date with similar requests that I stay out of the race and wait until I have more experience,” said Whisney. “I recognize that different groups have different ideas about who should be elected. You should stand up for who you believe in, but you shouldn’t try to clear the field.”
McCaffery rejects any idea that he’s playing kingmaker with the council race. “How low is that, to discourage somebody from running, especially a young woman?” he said. “This can’t continue to happen. Having free and fair elections — where everyone runs on their own merit — that’s an underpinning of our system of government.”
Candidate Gold agrees as well, and used similar language as McCaffery to condemn the idea of a letter. “It’s low and mean and unpleasant,” she said. “I believe that anyone who wants to run should run. That’s not the way I operate.”
McCaffery said he believes he knows who is behind the letter, but would not speculate publicly. Emails to Merrilyn Joyce and Janis Watkins (politically active Gold supporters) asking if they knew who wrote the letter were both answered in the negative. “I sign my correspondence,” Joyce wrote back.
Whisney also declined to name names, but said the people who approached her prior to the election filing deadline are, “publicly Leah Gold supporters.”
“It doesn’t come from anybody closely associated with my campaign,” Gold said. “No one on my core committee would do anything like that.”
McCaffery also said he believes that Tim Meinken, a perennial council candidate, was pressured not to run, an accusation that Meinken (who did not join the race) refutes. “Nobody asked me to step aside,” Meinken said. “”I thought I needed a break from campaigning.”
Former mayor and council member Tom Chambers said he has, “never seen anything like that happen,” in his three terms on the council. “There are always discussions about someone’s chances, but if someone wants to run, we should give them credit for wanting to serve.”
Regardless of who wrote — or did not write — a letter, Whisney will be on the ballot, along with Gold, Plass and a fourth candidate, Rosie Fabian, who also said she has no knowledge of a letter and has not received anything similar.
The special election became necessary when former city council member Eric Ziedrich resigned at the end of last year, halfway through a four-year term. The remaining four council members decided in January to spend $33,000 on a special election instead of appointing someone to fill the last two years of Ziedrich’s term.
Plass and Gold were both favored for appointment by community groups and Gold supporters garnered hundreds of signatures on a petition to appoint her, but the four council members, including two newly elected members, could not reach a decision, except to appoint Plass for a few months until the June 6 special election.
Plass and Gold both have council experience. Gold served one term from 2000 to 2004 and Plass served three terms, from 2004 to 2016, losing a bid for reelection last November.
The special election to fill the council seat will be held on June 6. The Tribune will profile all four candidates in early May.
