So what happens if the city and/or county move forward with their plans to ban plastic grocery bags? I still need to clean the litter box, so I guess Safeway and G and G get a few dimes on top of the grocery bill. A few less lunches might be good for what’s left of my physique, but I expect I’ll still be carrying a sandwich to work. And my son’s gym clothes may look and smell like they can walk but …

And about those waste baskets. It took less than one summer of composting food scraps to convince me that wet garbage – and, hey, most everything else already is recyclable – has got to be bagged or everyone near it will gag. Of course, even if a ban is adopted, stores will be free to sell plastic bags to line garbage cans. It’s just those convenient, reusable (free) ones that groceries come home in that seem to be a concern. Hmmm.

– Jim Sweeney

Tim Smith, right, talks with Janice Little about his campaign for the third district Sonoma County Supervisors seat as he goes door-to-door in Rohnert Park on Thursday, May 10, 2012. (Christopher Chung / PD)

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Tim Smith knows his campaign to unseat 3rd District Supervisor Shirlee Zane is a long shot.

He got into the race late. He doesn’t have much money or major endorsements. And his track record isn’t great — he was one of the candidates Zane beat out for the seat in 2008.

Despite these challenges, Smith hopes his modest campaign and will fuel further public debate about whether Sonoma County is doing enough to control its ballooning pension costs.

Shirlee Zane. (Crista Jeremiason / Press Democrat)

The county’s pension system is “out of control” and the changes proposed by the current board are “cosmetic” ones that don’t come close to the kind of sweeping overhaul needed avoid a dire fate, Smith said.

“We are on the track of Stockton, Vallejo and potentially, if we don’t do anything, we’re looking at Greece,” Smith said. “Eventually you have to say STOP!”

Whether what is essentially a one-issue campaign will give Smith enough political horsepower to overcome a well-positioned incumbent is a key question in the race for the Sonoma County’s central supervisorial district.

Political observers doubt it. They say Zane may be slightly vulnerable on the politically charged issue of public pensions, but it will be difficult for Smith to win the June 5 primary without a well-funded campaign to drive that point home to voters.

“This is a real uphill battle for him,” said David McCuan, an associate professor of political science at Sonoma State University.

That’s partly because Zane has taken a leadership role in the board’s effort to tackle the pension problem, co-authoring last year’s report on the subject.

Zane has been dismissive of Smith’s candidacy, lamenting it as a “diversion” that will keep her from her job. She labeled his promise not to accept a pension himself if elected a “cheap campaign trick” and questioned the self-employed attorney’s claim to be a “small business owner.”

“He doesn’t have a job. Give me a break!” Zane said recently.

In many ways the 3rd District is home to the year’s least compelling supervisorial race. Far more money, energy and attention are being expended on the primary contests for the two other board seats up for grabs in November. The 1st District race is a six-way contest to replace long-time Sonoma Valley Supervisor Valerie Brown, while in the West County’s 5th District, Supervisor Efren Carrillo is facing a surprise challenge from former Supervisor Ernie Carpenter.

The demographics of the compact 3rd District give a decided home field advantage to Zane, 52. Sixty percent of the district is made up of voters from her base in Santa Rosa, while 34 percent live in Rohnert Park. The balance, 6 percent, reside in unincorporated areas.

Zane also has endorsements from across the political spectrum, including labor, environmental and business groups. In February, she reported $50,000 in contributions. For months it appeared no one would step forward to challenge her for the seat.

When no one did, Smith said he felt compelled to do so. He launched his campaign Feb. 29, loaned himself $3,000 and said he hoped to give voters a choice they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“I think democracy deserves debate,” he said at the time.

Zane said the campaign gives her an excellent opportunity to discuss her record in her first term on the board.

She said she is proud of the smoking ban the board adopted covering county buildings, parks and multi-family housing units. She also cites creation of the mobile mental-health crisis unit that provides law enforcement officers with access to mental health professionals during emergencies. The move was in response to the 2007 death of Jeremiah Chass, 17, whom deputies shot and killed in a confrontation after his parents called 911 to report he was having a psychotic episode.

Zane also claims she helped create “$400 million worth of jobs.” The figure is an estimate of the value of four projects the board has advanced during her tenure: The SMART train, expansion of the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, construction of a new Sutter Hospital and a new state courthouse, now delayed by a year.

She said that as board chairwoman she’s tried to be a “consensus builder” and to keep the board working well together.

“I think I’m really good at bringing people together and listening and respecting their views,” Zane said.

When it comes to her opponent, however, she doesn’t have much respect for his pension platform, which she says amounts to a “hare-brained idea of taking the unions to court.”

“He really doesn’t have any ideas, essentially, if that is his only strategy,” Zane said.

The county’s pension costs, including payments, are $87 million this year, up more than 300 percent since 2000, and are expected to double within the next decade if not changed.

Zane said she believes Smith would try to impose pension benefit cuts on existing workers, a strategy that “20 county attorneys and a county administrator” have said would face an expensive legal challenge.

Instead, the board’s strategy is to negotiate lower benefit formulas for new workers, cut pension debt, seek pension flexibility at the state level and eliminate pension spiking.

“We’ve had outrageous pension spiking in this county. It’s got to go,” Zane said. “You shouldn’t be able to make more money in your retirement than you made when you were working.”

A good example, Zane agreed, is former county auditor-controller Rod Dole, who retired in 2011 and is now receiving the county’s top pension of $254,625 a year. Dole added $44,140 to his final year’s salary by cashing in accumulated administrative leave, nearly $20,000 of which was included in his pension calculation.

Former supervisors Paul Kelley and Mike Kerns, who left the Board of Supervisors last year, each added $12,850 to their final year’s pay used to calculate their pension benefits .

Zane said she has “no idea” if her former board colleagues and other officials engaged in pension spiking, but wouldn’t doubt it.

“I believe that everyone from top down has taken advantage of the pension perks, I think they are unacceptable,” Zane said.

Smith counters that Zane is misrepresenting his pension proposal. He would negotiate with unions and thinks the best way to do so is to lead by example. The supervisors and top county elected officials and non-unionized managers should immediately reduce their own pensions from the formula known as 3-at-60, or 3 percent of the highest annual salary for every year of service after age 60, to the lower — but in Smith’s view still generous — formula of 2 at 60. Once they do that, the unions will know they are serious, he said.

He said his pledge not to accept a pension if elected is “not a stunt.” He said one of the reasons the pension system in trouble is because county leaders, including supervisors, have historically had a self-interest in approving more generous pension benefits.

“It’s a corrupt system. It’s not illegal, but it’s corrupt,” Smith said.

But change is under way, Zane said. The board has made it clear that top officials must lead the way by accepting concessions themselves, she said.

“There’s got to be shared sacrifice and it’s got to start at the top,” Zane said.

How significant those will be remains to be seen. Negotiations with various union groups are under way, and Zane said she expects unrepresenyted employees — the 600 or so executives, managers and confidential staff not represented by unions — to accept concessions comparable to those requested of union members.

If there’s any misrepresentation going on in the campaign, it’s by Smith, Zane said.

In his ballot statement under occupation, Smith listed “small business owner” and “educator.” Zane questioned both, characterizing him as an unemployed insurance attorney.

“I think you shouldn’t misrepresent yourself to the public. If you are an insurance attorney, you should say that on the ballot statement,” Zane said.

She said he hasn’t taught since 2008.

Smith, 57, spent most of his career as an insurance attorney, working for Fireman’s Fund and the senior insurance arm of GE Capital. Since leaving a local firm last March, Smith remains a licensed attorney but is now a sole practitioner specializing on estate and business planning, he said.

He said his ballot statement is accurate and he chose to refer to himself as a small business owner instead of an attorney to avoid the negative impressions voters sometimes associate with attorneys.

He remains an adjunct professor teaching business law at Sonoma State University and the University of San Francisco but said it has been “a couple years” since he’s taught courses.

Smith said he’s happy to go “head-to-head on resumes with Zane but believes her criticism reveals an underlying insecurity.

“Perhaps she views me as a real threat to her re-election,” Smith said.

Not likely, McCuan said.

Smith’s candidacy isn’t really about winning, it’s more of a protest aimed at pushing Zane to take the pension issue more seriously, he said.

“I don’t think she’s going to be spending many sleepless nights,” McCuan said.

THE CANDIDATES:

TIM SMITH
Age: 57
Residence: Rohnert Park
Political background: Rohnert Park city councilman, 2004-2008; placed third in 2008 primary for 3rd District supervisorial seat, which Zane went on to win
Other: Former insurance attorney now practicing estate and business planning

SHIRLEE ZANE
Age: 52
Residence: Santa Rosa
Political background: Elected to county Board of Supervisors in 2008. Serves on several boards, including SMART rail agency and Sonoma County Transportation Authority.
Other: Former CEO of nonprofit Council on Aging in Santa Rosa, which runs Meals on Wheels and other senior programs.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Santa Rosa supports a countywide ban on single-use plastic bags, with a twist.

While many of the eight other cities in Sonoma County support a single ordinance covering the entire county, Santa Rosa officials said Tuesday they’d like to maintain a measure of local control.

“I just have concerns about relinquishing our authority,” Vice Mayor John Sawyer said.

The board of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency is meeting today to decide whether to move forward with an environmental impact … assessment on the proposed countywide ban and 10-cent fee on paper bags.

The Santa Rosa council told Assistant City Manager Jennifer Phillips to advise the board to move forward with that review, but not to commit the city to participating in any countywide version of ban until more information is available about issues such as enforcement.

Several city council members said they were more comfortable with a “model ordinance” being established by the county that can be tweaked, implemented and enforced locally instead of imposed countywide.

City Attorney Caroline Fowler said this option is preferable to her. She said it’s not clear if the joint powers authority, formed in 1992 by the county and its nine cities to divert more waste from landfills, has the legal authority to pass and enforce ordinances applicable to the member cities.

In addition, it is still uncertain how the county would enforce the ban, or provide recourse for businesses hit with the proposed $100 to $500 fines, Fowler noted.

The intent of the ban is to convince consumers to switch to reusable bags and prevent tons of plastic from fouling waterways and harming the environment.

Steve Birdlebough, chairman of the Sierra Club Sonoma Group, lamented the “exceedingly slow” process of rolling out a local ban.

Many people have already gotten the message about reusable bags, but the ban is needed to “nudge the rest of us into the reusable mode,” he said.

Retailers support a countywide approach because they want consistency and don’t want to have to comply with different rules in individual communities.

Santa Rosa’s position on the issue is important because it produces more trash than any other cities and because implementing the countywide ordinance requires a unanimous vote.

If Santa Rosa or other cities balk at a countywide ordinance over concerns about autonomy, then the model ordinance is another option.

But smaller cities don’t like the idea of a model ordinance because it requires them to bear some additional costs.

“They’ve expressed grave reservations about the model ordinance,” Henry Mikus, waste authority executive director, told the council.

For Santa Rosa, the cost of drafting a local ordinance and complying with the California Environmental Quality Act was pegged at between $30,000 and $40,000.

Councilman Scott Bartley said the model ordinance may allow individual cities to enact their own ordinances more quickly because they won’t have to wait for the a countywide enforcement or administrative bureaucracy to be established.

“It just seems like that a more efficient way to go,” Bartley said.

By JEREMY HAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Construction of an Indian casino next to Rohnert Park could start within months and it could be open to gamblers next year, the Las Vegas company that is financing the project said Tuesday.

Site of the newly approved Rohnert Park casino. (PD FILE, 2012)

“We anticipate starting construction on the project this summer and opening by the end of 2013,” Station Casinos said in its latest quarterly statement.

Brief as it was, the statement was the most definitive timeline made public about the 65,000-square-foot casino, which will have 3,000 slot machines as well as game tables. It has been planned since 2003 by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

Station officials have said they expect the casino, just south of Home Depot and west of the Scandia Family Fun Center, to cost upward of $700 million, including land purchase. A 200-room hotel is to be built later, they say.

Local union leaders confirmed Tuesday they have reached new agreements governing the use of union workers on the project. Those were finalized in April at a meeting in Santa Rosa with Station officials and Perini Building Co., a Las Vegas contractor involved in many Station ventures.

The agreement “gives preference to our local workforce,” said Jack Buckhorn, secretary and treasurer of the Building Trades Council of Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino.

The tribe’s statements that the casino construction will employ about 900 workers “are a very good estimate,” Buckhorn said.

The Legislature ratified the tribe’s agreement with the state last week. Known as a compact, it is under review at the Department of the Interior, which has 45 days to approve or reject it. If the department takes no action within 45 days, the compact automatically takes effect.

Station officials Tuesday declined comment.

Opponents of the casino, which would be one of the state’s largest, have vowed to continue to fight it on environmental and other legal grounds.

Under the compact’s terms, before work can start the tribe must reach an agreement with Sonoma County about how it will financially address casino impacts.

Station Casinos also operates an Indian casino in Michigan and is backing one proposed in Madera County.

The company reported its revenues grew to $318 million during the first quarter, up 8.4 percent from a year ago. It reported quarterly profits of $6.8 million, compared to a loss of $6.1 million a year ago.

“Our first quarter results were the best quarterly results we have achieved in three years,” Marc Falcone, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.

By CLARK MASON

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Healdsburg is bracing for another blow to its already depleted general fund, possibly within weeks, because of the loss of its redevelopment programs.

Visitors to Healdsburg Square in 2003. (PD FILE, 2003)

The City Council was informed Monday evening that the general fund may have to cover $600,000 in administrative costs that were in the redevelopment budget.

That comes on top of an estimated $984,000 deficit the $7 million general fund already faces at the close of the 2011-2012 budget year on June 30.

“I’m holding my breath and the shoe has not fallen,” Finance Director Heather Ippoliti told the council during a budget workshop. “There is a possibility the $600,000 might hit the general fund this fiscal year.”

More than 95 percent of the general fund goes to the Police and Fire departments’ budgets. Although the city has $4.7 million in reserves, those are projected to dry up by mid-2016 because of more anticipated chronic deficits.

Redevelopment programs were ended last year by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature in an effort to redirect the property tax revenues they relied upon to schools and other underlying agencies.

Ippoliti said the state Department of Finance, which is determining how much redevelopment money cities and counties can hang on to for existing projects, is limiting the way local governments allocate administrative costs to those programs.

Healdsburg planned to have redevelopment funds pay for $856,000 in costs associated with city administration, consultants, the City Council and the finance department because they oversee redevelopment programs but now expects it will be limited to $250,000.

“This is money we thought we were allowed to run the Redevelopment Agency,” City Manager Marjie Pettus said.

“A lot of cities are being limited this fiscal year” to $250,000, Ippoliti said. “That’s a big difference.”

She said she expects to hear by June 11 whether the state will enforce a similar limit for Healdsburg.

“We incurred expenses as the redevelopment agency,” said Councilman Jim Wood, adding the city is being told “after the fact” it can’t.

In effect the state is saying, “‘We’re going to go back six months into your pocket.’ I’m dumbfounded by it,” he said.

“The rules have changed,” Ippoliti said.

Assistant City Manager David Mickaelian said it is unclear if the state Department of Finance is overstepping its boundaries.

“The Department of Finance is not the final arbiter. Who is is yet to be seen,” he said. “My guess is you will see litigation in the near future if it’s not resolved.”

The possibility of potentially more bad news for the general fund comes after it already was projected to be $620,000 in the red at the start of the current budget year. That increased to $984,000, mainly because of a decline in projected sales tax revenue with the departure of solar power company DC Power, one of the city’s top revenue generators

There were a few bright spots Monday, including growth in hotel room taxes. Year-to-date revenues are 17 percent above the same period last year.

The budget is emerging as political issue during a year when three council members are up for re-election.

The City Council has been criticized recently by a group of citizens, including former Mayors Eric Ziedrich and Leah Gold for not doing enough to address the city’s financial “crisis,” particularly cutting pension costs.

As a result, council members recently ratified a letter stating they have been “working diligently over the past three years to decrease operating expenses and promote sound financial practices,” including reducing the city work force by 18 percent and gaining concessions from employee groups.

In all, audited numbers show salaries and benefits decreased by $2.1 million over a two-year period, the council said.

City administrators are negotiating with police and fire unions, But even if the city manages to get those employees to pay more of their medical and pensions costs — equivalent to new agreements with the other employee groups — Ippoliti said, the savings for fiscal year 2012-2013 will be about $127,000.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com

With Huffman considered favorite, 11 opponents vie for second spot in November runoff to fill 2nd District seat

By GUY KOVNER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

In the North Coast’s congressional race, it all comes down to second place.

The June 5 primary election will narrow the field of 12 candidates down to two finalists, who will compete in November for the $174,000-a-year job awarded by about 400,000 registered voters from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman of San Rafael is considered the favorite based on his $865,000 in campaign funding, 800-plus endorsements and name recognition after six years in the Legislature, securing approval of more than 60 bills.

A feisty competition for second place pits Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams, businesswoman and political newcomer Stacey Lawson and activist/author Norman Solomon.

The other eight — four more Democrats, two Republicans and two candidates with no party preference — are long shots, their chances diminished by lack of funding, obscurity and Democrat domination of the district.

A series of candidate forums established little difference among the Democratic contenders on issues such as Afghanistan, health care and the environment. But two of them focused attention on Lawson, a well-funded political newcomer.

The winner will replace Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a Petaluma Democrat whose liberal politics, including early and vocal opposition to the Iraq War, endeared her to North Bay Democratic voters for 20 years.

Woolsey’s retirement and California’s redistricting set up a wide open race in the 2nd Congressional District, which covers a long stretch of the entire North Coast, excluding Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati and the Sonoma Valley.

Huffman is competing as the only Sacramento legislator, termed out of the Assembly; Adams as a county lawmaker with a health care background; Lawson as an entrepreneur and Solomon as a liberal advocate with a national following.

“In this district, you have to be progressive, you have to care about working people and you definitely have to care about the environment,” said Lisa Maldonado, North Bay Labor Council executive director.

Adams, Huffman and Solomon said they would join the House Progressive Caucus, which Woolsey previously led, but that group’s influence is waning, said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist.

Assuming Republicans retain control of the House, the progressives, in the wake of Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich’s primary election loss, will have “marginal influence” in the chamber, McCuan said.

Running on record

Huffman, 48, a former environmental attorney, is running on his record of getting bills passed amid the partisan gridlock in Sacramento. “I’m the only candidate who’s been tested that way,” he said.

His favorite measures, Huffman said, include a law that compensates residents for surplus energy they spill into the grid from renewable sources such as wind and solar arrays, and lighting efficiency standards that have been adopted into federal law and will cut electricity use for lighting in half by the end of the decade.

His endorsements include more than 50 current and former female elected officials from around the district, a clear bid for consideration by voters who may consider the North Coast a “woman’s seat” in Congress.

Huffman also pointed to endorsements from across the political spectrum, including environmentalist Bill Kortum and business-oriented former Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith.

But the notion that he’s the front-runner, Huffman said, is “a dangerous thing to start thinking in politics.”

In April, the campaign — by then about 9 months old — turned testy as Adams, Lawson and Solomon began publicly trading shots.

“There’s no doubt this is a fierce competition,” Solomon said last week.

Adams and Solomon faulted Lawson’s voting record, missing eight of 12 elections from 2003-08, and some of her business credentials.

Lawson, a self-made millionaire in business who moved into the district three years ago, apologized for her spotty voting and bristled at the other attacks that she said were off the mark.

“There’s no secret why folks are coming after me,” Lawson said, describing her candidacy as a “big threat” to the other Democrats.

Huffman, or any other Democrat, would easily defeat a Republican in the November election. Democrats account for 50 percent of registered voters in the six-county district, compared with 23 percent Republicans.

But in a two-Democrat runoff, seen as the more likely outcome, Huffman would face the greatest challenge from Lawson, perceived as the most moderate of the leading Democrats.

Touts county experience

Adams, a three-term supervisor, said it was “fair game” to challenge the credentials proffered by another candidate. “That’s debate, not negative campaigning,” she said, regarding her public criticism of Lawson.

A single mother with a background in nursing, Adams, 55, said her 10 years as a supervisor, balancing a county budget and dealing with issues such as energy, health care and transportation, distinguish her candidacy.

Adams cast the deciding vote in 2008 to establish the Marin Clean Energy program, which aims to provide county residents with electricity 50 percent to 100 percent from renewable sources.

Her gender will be an asset in Congress, where 16 percent of members are women, Adams said. “Women are usually better at collaboration and cooperation.”

Adams brushed off Lawson’s criticism that she and the other Marin supervisors were to blame for filmmaker George Lucas’ withdrawal of plans to build a studio at Grady Ranch, injecting millions of dollars into the county’s economy.

Adams said she worked with Lucas for 18 months on the “fast-tracked” project, which was derailed by the threat of litigation from neighbors in Lucas Valley.

Focus on jobs, economy

Lawson, 41, a virtual unknown when she announced her candidacy last year, made a splash by raising more than $740,000 — second only to Huffman — in a race on pace to spend a North Coast record total of more than $3 million.

Her campaign focus on jobs and the economy sets her apart, Lawson said. “It’s the No. 1 issue on people’s minds,” she said. “None of my opponents have effectively addressed that issue at all.”

A sound economic engine, she said, provides the revenue to support education, social services and public facilities.

Lawson’s business career took a turn in 2004, when she visited India and met a guru named Baskaran Pillai, and began cultivating her spiritual life.

In 2007, she participated in Emerge California, a political candidate training program for Democratic women and connected with Susie Tompkins Buell, a San Francisco Democratic fundraising powerhouse.

History of activism

Solomon, 60, calls himself “an independent, progressive Democrat” with a history of activism, research and writing that dates back to his teenage years.

While some Democrats promote the need for bipartisan engagement with Republicans, Solomon said there are issues — such as women’s reproductive rights and defending Medicare and Social Security — on which no compromise is possible.

“If your hand keeps getting cut off, why would you keep reaching across the aisle?” he said.

Solomon said he vocally opposed the bank bailout and troop surge in Afghanistan before either step was taken, and neither has achieved its ends.

Asked if he needs to expand his support beyond progressive circles, Solomon said the North Coast, a “deep blue, deep green” region, is a perfect fit for his politics.

Long-shot congressional candidates espouse range of views

Dan Roberts can do the math.

The stockbroker from Tiburon, one of 12 candidates for the North Coast congressional seat, knows that support from fellow Republicans isn’t enough in the June 5 primary election.

“I need 3 to 5 percent of the Democrats to come my way,” he said.

Republicans are outnumbered more than 2-to-1 by Democrats among registered voters in the six-county 2nd Congressional District stretching from Marin to the Oregon border, and hold a base of less than 30 percent of the vote.

Roberts, a political newcomer who has loaned his campaign $160,000, probably had a chance at finishing second — and advancing to the November runoff election — until Michael Halliwell of Cotati, unsuccessful in three previous bids for Congress, registered for a fourth race.

In the 2010 Republican primary, Halliwell got 32 percent, limiting the winner, Jim Judd of Rohnert Park, to 68 percent.

Roberts, 69, a Vietnam War veteran, might appeal to moderate Democrats by advocating an immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan “to halt the loss of life and limb” and the “drain on our national treasury.”

But he is otherwise in step with GOP orthodoxy, saying the nation “can’t spend or borrow our way out of the malaise we’re in” and advocating elimination of the Energy and Education departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.

If a liberal Democrat wins the North Coast seat, “we’re going to live with them for years and years,” he said.

Roberts and Halliwell are among the eight long-shot candidates in the race, which has no incumbent.

Democrat Andy Caffrey of Garberville, a lifelong activist and organizer, puts the “climate crisis” foremost among the issues, saying at a candidates forum in February, “There are no jobs on a dead planet.”

“The task of our time is to get citizen leaders elected,” he said in an interview, because members of Congress “are not going to do anything.”

Larry Fritzlan, a Democrat and therapist from Mill Valley, insists that “politics is poisoned” by the influence of money and the “massive corruption of Congress.”

Democrat William Courtney of Mendocino, describes himself as a “cannabis physician” and says marijuana could be a lucrative legitimate industry and the basis for a heart attack remedy.

John Lewallen, a seaweed harvester from Philo, espouses a liberal platform — end the war, legalize marijuana and establish single-payer health care — as a no-party-preference candidate on a campaign budget of about $5,000.

Three others — Halliwell, Fritzlan and Brooke Clarke of Ukiah, also a no-party-preference candidate — reported no campaign funding.

Clarke, a small business owner, advocates electing independents like himself because Democrats and Republicans are the same on “big issues.”

Democrat Tiffany Renee, vice mayor of Petaluma, said she was obliged to scale back her fundraising to about $15,000 and still hopes to follow Rep. Lynn Woolsey’s leap from the Petaluma council to Congress.

“I think this race is still very wide open,” said Renee, who said she would be the ninth Latina elected to the House.

The new 2nd Congressional District

Not since the 1960s has California’s North Coast — from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border — been included in a single congressional district.

The new 2nd District, created last year by a citizens redistricting commission, includes the five coastal counties plus Trinity County.

However, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati and the Sonoma Valley were lumped into an adjacent inland district.

Veteran North Coast Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson’s home in Napa County also went into the inland district — the new 5th District — taking Thompson with it.

Petaluma Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey’s retirement created an open seat in the 2nd District, attracting 12 candidates to this year’s election.

It is Democrat-friendly territory, with 50 percent of voters registering as Democrat, a better than 2-to-1 advantage over the 23 percent of Republican voters.

Almost as many voters — 22 percent — have no party preference, the term for independents.

Marin and Sonoma County, anchoring the district’s southern end, dominate with nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the district’s 394,292 voters. In Marin, Democrats have a nearly 3-to-1 advantage over the GOP.

Slightly more than a third of the voters are in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties.

Democratic strength declines in Mendocino and Humboldt counties. Republicans have a slight advantage in Del Norte and Trinity, but the two counties total just 20,005 voters, or 5 percent of the district total.

Meet the candidates:

SUSAN L. ADAMS

Age: 55

Residence: San Rafael

Occupation: Marin County supervisor; nurse

Party: Democrat

Experience: Adjunct professor, Dominican University; Association of Bay Area Governments, Bay Conservation and Development Committee, Transportation Authority of Marin, Marin Housing Authority

Campaign funding: $158,909

JARED HUFFMAN

Age: 48

Residence:

San Rafael

Occupation: State assemblyman

Party: Democrat

Experience: Former civil rights and environmental attorney; former water district board member

Campaign funding: $864,567

STACEY LAWSON

Age: 41

Residence:

San Rafael

Occupation: Educator, small-business advocate

Party: Democrat

Experience: Entrepreneur, corporate executive; co-founder, Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, UC Berkeley

Campaign funding: $740,797

NORMAN SOLOMON

Age: 60

Residence: Inverness Park

Party: Democrat

Experience: National co-chairman, Healthcare Not Warfare campaign; California Democratic Party Central Committee; co-founder, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting media watchdog group

Campaign funding: $538,503

ANDY CAFFREY

Age: 54

Residence: Garberville

Occupation: Green conversion consultant

Party: Democrat

Experience: Green Party and Earth First activist

Campaign funding: $10,528

BROOKE CLARKE

Age: Declined to state

Residence: Ukiah

Occupation: Small-business owner

Party: None

Experience: Engineer, sales, marketing and general manager

Campaign funding: None reported

WILLIAM COURTNEY

Age: Not available

Residence: Mendocino

Occupation: Physician

Party: Democrat

Experience: Medical cannabis advocate; inventor

Campaign funding: $47,419

LARRY FRITZLAN

Age: Declined to state

Residence: Mill Valley

Occupation: Marriage and family therapist

Party: Democrat

Experience: Author; adjunct professor, California Institute of Integral Studies

Campaign funding: None reported

MICHAEL HALLIWELL

Age: 69

Residence: Cotati

Occupation: Retired college professor

Party: Republican

Experience: Unsuccessful congressional candidate in 2006, 2008 and 2010; Sonoma County Republican Central Committee

Campaign funding: None reported

JOHN LEWALLEN

Age: 69

Residence: Philo

Party: None

Experience: Author, activist; first treasurer of California Green Party; member of citizen action groups including Veterans for Peace Chapter 116, Mendocino Environmental Center

Campaign funding: $5,204

TIFFANY RENEE

Age: 40

Residence: Petaluma

Occupation: Petaluma vice mayor; small-business owner

Party: Democrat

Experience: Assn. of Bay Area Governments; Sonoma County Transportation Authority, Commission on the Status of Women, Democratic Central Committee

Campaign funding: $15,322

DANIEL ROBERTS

Age: 69

Residence: Tiburon

Occupation: Securities broker

Party: Republican

Experience: Strawberry Area Community Council, Citizens League of Marin, Bel Aire Flood Control District, San Francisco Better Business Bureau; Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran

Campaign funding: $177,792

While supervisorial hopefuls Carpenter, Jacobi earn green support, Carrillo touts broader stance

By MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

There are almost 50,000 voters in Sonoma County’s 5th Supervisorial District, and Ernie Carpenter is betting that many of them won’t vote in the June primary.

The three candidates for the 5th District seat on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors debated last month. (Crista Jeremiason / PD)

What’s more, the 69-year-old candidate is banking that the lion’s share of most likely voters — those over 50 years old — will cast their ballots for him.

“If everyone with a little gray and slightly balding votes for me, I’m in good shape,” Carpenter quipped recently.

When he entered the race two months ago to challenge first-term incumbent Efren Carrillo, he both shocked the district and pleased one of its biggest constituencies — the conservation and environmental community.

Environmentalists had been concerned that Carrillo’s opponent, former Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Veronica Jacobi, was no match for Carrillo’s four years in office and his ability to raise money, as evidenced by his current campaign war chest of about $80,000.

Dennis Rosatti, executive director of Sonoma County Conservation Action, reiterated this week that Carpenter’s entry instantly turned an “election” into a “race.”

There will be a runoff in November of the top two finishers if no one wins more than 50 percent of the vote.

For his part, Carrillo, 31, rejects attempts to characterize him as pro-development at the expense of the environment. Carrillo, the first Latino elected to the board, says he balances his political views to also encourage jobs and says he’s worked to represent all of the district. Rampant development, he said, is a “ghost of Sonoma past.”

“They’re tilting at windmills that aren’t there anymore,” Carrillo said, adding that growth in Sonoma County has been sluggish for more than a decade.

“I frame my decisions with a lot of consideration and thought,” Carrillo said. “My job is to look at the realities before us, to recognize the need for jobs and the need to keep the community viable.”

Carrillo’s endorsements are extensive and include Rep. Mike Thompson, State Sen. Noreen Evans and Assemblymen Jared Huffman and Wes Chesbro. He also is endorsed by his fellow supervisors, District Attorney Jill Ravitch, Sheriff Steve Freitas, a number of former county supervisors, the North Bay Labor Council, the North Bay Association of Realtors, the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce and Sonoma County Alliance.

Jacobi, who served as a Santa Rosa councilwoman from 2006 to 2010, has been endorsed by Sonoma County Conservation Action, which also endorsed Carpenter, an unusual move for the group. Jacobi’s individual endorsements include Santa Rosa council members Marsha Vas Dupre and Gary Wysocky and former Petaluma Mayor Pamela Torliatt.

Jacobi, 53, said she’s raised about $18,000 for her campaign and has kept busy visiting areas across the expansive district while trying to keep her carbon footprint low. Whenever possible, she carpools to election forums and recently she rode a bus back from Jenner, engaging some of the riders in lively discussions.

At a recent forum, Jacobi said she has a “jobs and climate recovery plan” that would encourage the creation of a “green mecca” modeled after Silicon Valley. She also wants to promote a self-sustainable local food system.

“I have a proven voting record that takes care of people and doesn’t put big money above the greater good,” she said, adding that she “will never forget the future when solving current challenges.”

The district covers the largest area of county’s five supervisorial districts. It includes the coast, the lower Russian River area and all of Sebastopol, as well as areas of west and southwest Santa Rosa.

Redistricting added 2,167 people to the district, which included 97,005 in 2011. It has 49,039 registered voters.

One of the most significant changes was a newly drawn precinct in west Santa Rosa bounded by Fulton Road, West College Avenue, Marlow Road and Jennings Avenue that went from a little more than 700 registered voters to 1,345. Much of the neighborhood was formerly in the 4th District and, not surprisingly, all three candidates have campaigned there.

David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist, said redistricting changes — with votes added in the Santa Rosa section of the district — benefit Carrillo, who lives in west Santa Rosa.

At a forum late last month in Graton, the three candidates established their campaign priorities, and Carpenter and Carrillo set a decidedly personal tone by hammering away at each other.

Carpenter, who left office in late 1996 after serving as supervisor for 16 years, says he wants to get back in office to fix county roads, protect timberlands from vineyard conversion, focus on recycling and reuse and incorporate Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood.

He says that in order to deal with long-term unfunded pension liabilities, the the county will likely have to implement various benefit caps and a “two-tier” system where county employees will be working side-by-side with different levels of benefits.

He criticizes board decisions on key environmental issues and claims that it is “slipping” in its land-use protections.

He cited Carrillo’s approval of the Dutra asphalt plant in Petaluma, gravel mining in the Russian River and the Best Family Winery project, which through a general plan amendment allowed a production facility, tasting room and vineyard to be placed in an apple orchard off Highway 116 and Occidental Road.

And there’s Preservation Ranch, the timber-to-vineyard conversion project on nearly 20,000 acres outside Annapolis that has become a rallying point for conservationists in the district.

During the Graton forum, Carrillo confronted the issue head-on, bringing it up before Carpenter or anyone else did. Carrillo fired back at Carpenter’s criticisms about Preservation Ranch, pointing out that back in the late 1990s, the former supervisor was a paid consultant for a project that preceded Preservation Ranch. In that plan, some 10,000 acres of coastal forest were to be converted to vineyards.

Rosatti, of Conservation Action, said his group endorsed both Carpenter and Jacobi because of their strong environmental positions. He said Jacobi’s “heart is absolutely in the right place.”

“Voting on the council, she was pretty right on,” Rosatti said. “As for climate change, we’re very happy that that voice is being brought up.”

He said Carrillo gets “high grades” for his extensive outreach in the district during his time in office, “but when it comes down to voting on the resource extraction issues, that’s when we have doubts.”

Eric Koenigshofer, a former 5th Distinct supervisor who is an adviser to Carrillo, said he has tried to represent all the constituents of the 5th District, not only the environmental community.

“Efren has demonstrated to people that he’s been a good conscientious protector of the environment and at the same time he’s trying to tend to the biggest problem that we have, and that is the condition of the economy,” Koenigshofer said. “When I listen to Ernie, it sounds like he’s running 25 years ago.”

Carrillo cites his work on the board in helping to launch the county’s Energy Independence Program as a way of putting people back to work. The program helps finance energy and water efficiency and renewable energy improvements through a voluntary assessment.

Carrillo said he’s helped bring federal dollars to the county for fisheries restoration and has expanded tourism opportunities, which are critical to the west county economy.

Lisa Maldonado, executive director of the North Bay Labor Council, which opposed Carrillo in 2008, said Carrillo’s performance in office has “changed our perception.”

“We basically have been convinced that he cares about working people and has tried hard to be open and be accessible to working families,” she said.

Maldonado said that while Carrillo’s biggest challenge comes from Carpenter supporters whose priority is protecting the environment, “there are very few single-issue voters in that district,” she said.

But Carpenter’s strategy is to get to those who are most likely to vote.

“I think we know that universe and we’re focused on it,” he said.

THE CANDIDATES:

ERNIE CARPENTER
Age: 69
Residence: Sebastopol
Political background: 5th District Sonoma County supervisor from 1980 to 1996; political consultant
Other: Former social worker

EFREN CARRILLO
Age: 31
Residence: Santa Rosa
Political background: 5th District Sonoma County supervisor
Other: Former financial counselor for Redwood Credit Union and president of the Southwest Community Health Center

VERONICA JACOBI
Age: 53
Residence: Santa Rosa
Political background: Former Santa Rosa city councilwoman from 2006 to 2010
Other: Mechanical engineer specializing in energy management and conservation

(You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.)

By KERRY BENEFIELD
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Santa Rosa School Board will consider 12 applicants for the superintendent’s job in Sonoma County’s largest school district.

The pool of contenders includes five school district superintendents and the remaining applicants are either assistant or associate superintendents.

Sharon Liddell.

“It’s a strong field of candidates,” said Wendell Chun, executive director of Educational Leadership Services, an Oakdale-based firm hired by the district to conduct the search.

He would not say Friday where applicants currently work, citing confidentiality. The deadline for submitting applications was Friday at 5 p.m.

Sharon Liddell, 65, announced her resignation effective June 30 last February after nine years with the district.

In March, the board approved a $23,500 contract with Educational Leadership Services to conduct the search for her successor.

The firm likely will recommend four to six candidates for the board to interview, Chun said. The board can create its own interview list if it differs from the recommendations of his firm, he said.

All candidates also will meet with a community advisory committee expected to be made up of teachers, school staff, community members and administrators. The committee will forward its recommendations to the full board.

The makeup of the committee is not yet established, said Mark Klick, assistant superintendent of human resources for the district.

“Of course the board will handle the final interviews and make the final decision,” Klick said.

The first round of interviews is scheduled for June 1 with finalists returning on June 2, Chun said.

The earliest the board could approve a contract is June 13.

Liddell’s current salary package is $179,500 annually, from which she pays her own medical benefits.

Come up with your own caption … Every week, we’ll post a new cartoon on Watch Sonoma County and invite you to write the caption. Enter the contest by posting your caption below. Vote for your favorite by clicking “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on each entry.

PD staff will select several winners and publish them every Thursday on the Forum page in the Empire News section. Want a shot? Leave your real name and your email address for verification.

The cartoons are drawn by Gary Varvel, who has served as political cartoonist for The Indianapolis Star since 1994.

Click here to see last week’s winners.

By JEREMY HAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

SACRAMENTO — The plan to build one of California’s largest casinos just outside Rohnert Park moved to the verge of fruition Thursday when the state Assembly approved a gambling agreement to allow work to start on the project.

The Assembly ratified the agreement between the governor and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, called a compact, on a 64-3 vote with no discussion. That sends it on the federal government for final approval, which most experts believe is virtually assured.

Site of the newly approved Rohnert Park casino. (PD FILE, 2012)

Greg Sarris, the tribe’s chairman of 20 years, did not respond to a request for comment. But tribe supporters indicated the Legislature’s ratification of the compact had been seen as the key remaining step for one of the county’s most controversial projects in decades.

“Greg Sarris finally delivered what he always promised people,” said Susan Moore, of Santa Rosa, who leads an informal community advisory group to the tribe. “That is, a business that will benefit Indian and non-Indian communities alike.”

Labor leaders, who have been the biggest boosters of a project that could cost more than $700 million, were delighted, hailing the predictions of 900 construction jobs and more than 2,000 permanent union positions the tribe says will be created.

“I’m very happy that we’re near the end of what has been a long and very difficult process,” said Jack Buckhorn, secretary and treasurer of the Building Trades Council of Sonoma, Lake & Mendocino.

“It looks like the final major hurdle has been cleared,” Buckhorn said. “The jobs and prosperity that this project will bring to Sonoma County will be substantial.”

Casino opponents, who have fought the project for nine years, said their efforts would continue, though they were back on their heels.

“We’re certainly not giving up,” said Petaluma Councilman Mike Healy, who spoke against the compact at legislative hearings last week. Attacking the accuracy and completeness of environmental reports done for the project will be one avenue of opposition, Healy said.

Also possible, he said, is the revival of a lawsuit alleging that the federal government’s 2010 decision to take into trust the tribe’s 254 acres outside Rohnert Park improperly exempts the site from state laws.

The tribe on Thursday issued a statement calling the ratification an “important milestone” and highlighting the “much-needed services” that revenues from the 3,000 slot-machines would provide its members. It also called attention to what it described as an “unprecedented level of revenue sharing” with Rohnert Park, Sonoma County and tribes that do not run casinos.

The compact, in a first, requires that a range of financial agreements to address the casino’s impacts be in place between the Federated Indians and Sonoma County and Rohnert Park before work work can begin. The tribe has a 20-year, $200 million agreement with Rohnert Park and an agreement to negotiate a similar type of deal with the county.

The compact also requires the tribe to contribute what eventually will reach $12 million a year into the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for tribes without gambling operations. That fund, which the Federated Indians once drew from, too, now has a $28 million deficit.

In hearings last week, Jacob Applesmith, a senior advisor to Gov. Brown who negotiated key parts of the compact, called the amount of money the tribe will direct to local agencies and the state fund “unprecedented.”

Voting no on Thursday were Democratic Assemblymembers Michael Allen, who is running for re-election in the newly-formed 10th District and as a labor leader supported the casino; Mariko Yamada, running for re-election in the newly-formed 4th District, which includes Rohnert Park; and Jared Huffman, who is aiming to succeed Lynn Woolsey in the newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District.

Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, voted yes. His redrawn district will include Santa Rosa.

The compact, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed May 27, was approved 34-4 by the state Senate Monday. It moved speedily and without drama through the Legislature. Experienced Sacramento observers had predicted it could be a six month process for what Huffman once said would be one of the most controversial compacts ever. Instead, it took little more than a month.

The development leaves just one governmental hurdle for the tribe before it can start work on the project. That is the approval of the compact by the federal Department of the Interior, which has 45 days to ratify or reject it.

“I would put the odds at 99 percent” that the Interior Department will approve it, said Santa Rosa attorney Anthony Cohen, an authority on Indian law and tribal gaming.

“The attorneys for the tribe, the state, and the Secretary of the Interior all have the benefit of very recent court decisions clarifying the federal legal standards that gaming compacts have to comply with so it’s unlikely that they will see things differently,” Cohen said.

If the Department of the Interior does not reach a decision on the compact within 45 days, it automatically takes effect, Cohen said.

Station Casinos of Las Vegas company has bankrolled the tribe’s venture so far with more than $200 million and will manage the casino for its first seven years. Company officials declined to comment Thursday.

The company, however, has said it wants to start work this summer. The approval of the project issued in 2010 by the National Indian Gaming Commission requires ground to be broken only between April 15 and October 15, or what is considered the dry season.

Work cannot start until the county and the tribe sign an agreement to address the casino’s impacts, which they have 90 days to do should the Interior Department approve the compact.

Tribal representatives said last week that a six-story, 200-room hotel that is envisioned as part of the project will be built at an unspecified later date.