Two incumbents face three challengers in Nov. 3 election
Five candidates, including two incumbents, have qualified for the Nov. 3 Sebastopol City Council election for two four-year seats. The filing deadline was Aug. 7 and not everyone who officially considered a candidacy by “pulling papers” finalized their applications.
Incumbents Neysa Hinton and Michael Carnacchi will face challengers Diana Rich, Evaristo “Evert” Fernandez and Vaughn Richard Higginbotham. Rich is a former executive director of the Sebastopol Community and Cultural Center. Higginbotham, a 2014 graduate of Analy High School, previously ran for city council in 2018. Fernandez is a financial advisor and currently serves on the city’s Planning Commission.
Three incumbents on the five-person council — Patrick Slayter, Sarah Glade Gurney and Una Glass — have terms that do not expire until 2022. In the last election for city council in 2018, Gurney (1,784 votes) was the top vote getter, followed closely by Glass (1,594) and Slayter (1,542.) Higginbotham finished fourth with 1,114 votes.
For the current election, Robert Jacob, a former mayor of Sebastopol; and Luke Lindenbusch, a current appointee to the Sebastopol Planning Commission, both “pulled papers” but did not file final documents by last Friday’s Aug. 7 deadline.
Voter information guides will begin to be mailed on Sept. 24 and mail-in ballots will be received after Oct. 5. Voter registration for the Nov. 3 General Election closes on Oct. 19.
The Nov. 3 consolidated General Election also will include two countywide sales tax measures, a renewal of a tax for transportation projects and improvements and a new sales tax for mental health and homeless services. There are no countywide seats up for election, but there are numerous local school board and local agency board seats scheduled for the ballot. Nov. 3 is also the U.S. Presidential Election.
