Vice Mayor Robert Jacob raised and spent a record amount of money in winning his seat on the Sebastopol City Council in November, the costliest campaign in city history.

Only nine votes separate two candidates vying for the final seat on the Sebastopol City Council, a race that may not be decided for days. ‘We will just see what happens,’ said Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer. ‘I do want to see what the final vote count is.’ Shaffer trails challenger John Eder by nine votes in the contest for her seat. Robert Jacob, 35, led the voting with 28.9 percent, assuring himself of the seat vacated by Mayor Guy Wilson, who did not seek re-election.

In a Sebastopol City Council election perceived as a referendum on the controversial CVS Pharmacy-Chase Bank project, marijuana dispensary executive and CVS opponent Robert Jacob has raised and spent more money than all other candidates combined. Through Oct. 20, Jacob has raised $32,004 and spent $26,004, the most ever by a candidate in Sebastopol history, according to disclosure statements filed Thursday.

In the upcoming election to fill two Sebastopol City Council seats, the defining issue is the CVS Pharmacy-Chase bank branch project at Highway 12 and Petaluma Avenue, one of the city’s most prominent and busiest intersections.

The controversial CVS Pharmacy and Chase Bank branch development and its approval by the City Council emerged as the defining campaign issue during a candidates’ forum Thursday night.

A fourth candidate has entered the race for two seats on the Sebastopol City Council.

Robert Jacob, founder and executive director of two medical marijuana dispensaries, is running for the City Council in Sebastopol, where a pot business hardly raises an eyebrow. Running the dispensaries might even be a positive, Jacob said.

Sebastopol Mayor Guy Wilson will not be seeking re-election to a second term in November, opening up a seat on the City Council that is expected to draw a lot of attention. Robert Jacob, a city planning commissioner and owner of a medical marijuana dispensary, and Kathy Austin, a former mayor and an architect, have filed papers with the Sebastopol City Clerk indicating their intention to run. Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer also has filed for re-election.