Stand out candidates
Editor: Windsor’s citizens have a large number of candidates to choose from this year when electing three town council members on Nov. 6.
Don has spent 25 years participating as a Windsor planning commissioner, working with the staff and town council on the town’s development, beginning at the incorporation of Windsor. Consequently, we believe that Town Council elections are of real importance.
There are three candidates that we both feel will best serve our community’s interests. Two incumbents, Sam Salmon and Dominic Foppoli, have already advanced our town’s quality of life while supporting sensible and sustainable growth. Â
We are also supporting one new candidate, Esther Lemus, who has expressed similar values in her campaign literature, public statements and throughout her career. Please join us in supporting these candidates for Windsor Town Council.
Don Albini and Beth Wolk
Windsor
Altering her vote
Editor: For you voters planning to support more bond issues on the November ballot, it might be instructive to look at your recent Sonoma County tax bill and see the real amount each of us pays on many old bonds, some going back years.
Then, look on page 72 of the official voter information guide. This is mailed to all voters or can be viewed, I believe, at our library.
According to the legislative analyst, the state presently has about $83 billion of general fund-supported bonds on which we, the tax payers are paying about $6 million annually to repay them. In addition, the voters previously approved $39 billion more in bonds which have not yet been sold!
I have, after reading these sources, decided to alter my vote
Barbara Cuneo
Windsor
Vote thoughtfully
Editor: Yvonne Branson’s “Voice of reason” letter on Oct. 18 about Sam Salmon’s lone voice on the Windsor Town Council favoring open space over development, and candidate Luis Diaz’s top concern about developer-driven growth was spot-on.
Now more than ever, as Windsor heads into its next 20 years under its new General Plan, we need clear-thinking voices of reason at the helm. And we need as many of them as we can get. The next town council’s decisions will affect most if not all of your remaining days here, and likely your children’s.Â
I urge everyone to vote, and vote thoughtfully. Especially for Sam Salmon, our visionary “voice of reason” for preserving Windsor’s precious remaining farmland and open spaces for us, and for future residents.
Ann Davis
Windsor
The case for incumbents
Editor: Having attended many recent town council meetings and after attending the candidates forum last week there seems to be a strong case for re-electing our incumbents, Dominic Foppoli, Mark Millan and Sam Salmon.
All 10 candidates, though they differ on some specifics and priorities, seem to share a vision that Windsor is generally great and they intend to keep it that way. We seem to have gotten this way by having stability and continuity on the council and understanding and respect for past policies that have shaped us. Together our incumbents offer diversity of skills while keeping that continuity.
I view Sam as both the conscience and wisdom of the council and is a strong voice for the principles that have guided our town’s decisions from the outset. As an infrastructure expert, Mark is our core. He is a gift for our community as running and maintaining infrastructure is the town’s primary function yet rarely considered by our representatives. Dominic is the (young) blood. His youth not only brings in the perspective of the next generation but also means carrying our existing legacy into the future after our long time leaders have moved on.
Each warrants your consideration.
Michael Freedman
Windsor
Support for parks
When I first moved to Sonoma County, several decades ago, my favorite discovery was our wonderful parks. Each weekend they provided an escape into nature from the stress of office work, whether hiking on Hood Mountain or around Spring Lake or out to the coast at Doran.
Not only do our parks provide personal enjoyment and demonstrated health benefits, parks also provide economic benefits to our local businesses from visitors who come for the natural beauty.
In recent years, park usage has dramatically increased, but park funding has lagged. Measure M on November’s ballot would greatly help by providing dedicated funding for city and county parks with a detailed expenditure plan.
Measure M would improve existing park trails, provide new trails, open publicly-owned lands for the first time, and fund needed park maintenance. These benefits, and more, would be provided by a modest one-eighth cent sales tax countywide, adding more than $11 million yearly for our parks. Please vote yes on Measure M.
Bill Smith
Healdsburg
