Two more Santa Rosa residents have thrown their hats in the ring for the City Council seat left vacant by Susan Gorin’s election to the county Board of Supervisors.

The election of Erin Carlstrom to the Santa Rosa City Council has created one of the youngest, most influential and most unpredictable politicians the city has seen in decades.

Mayor Ernesto Olivares and Councilman Gary Wysocky will return to their seats on Santa Rosa’s City Council, joined by two challengers, neighborhood activist Julie Combs and attorney Erin Carlstrom.

The four candidates running for Sonoma City Council expressed similar ideas Monday for how the city should be run. The candidates, who were taking part in a forum at the city’s community room, identified the city’s finances and water needs as top priorities. All four also dismissed a question from an audience member about the feasibility of charging for parking around the city’s plaza as a bad idea.

Santa Rosa City Council candidate Mike Cook dropped out of the race Tuesday.

The head of Sonoma County’s new Family Justice Center on Thursday said she has been fired less than a year after she was appointed.

When Jill Ravitch bellied up to the prosecution table in the Jarrod Miller murder trial, she became the first sitting Sonoma County district attorney in three decades to take a case before a jury. Some call it refreshing, others call it grandstanding.

Incumbents Steve Barbose and Ken Brown and newcomer Tom Rouse won a race for three seats on the Sonoma City Council. Barbose said the results for the incumbents were “pretty indicative that people feel like we’ve done a good job.”

Finding new sources of water bubbled up as the main issue Tuesday at a forum for seven candidates seeking election to the Sonoma City Council. Another hot topic was how to maintain Sonoma’s quality-of-life while also spurring economic growth. A recap from the debate.

Seven candidates are seeking three seats on the Sonoma City Council. See how they answered the WSC questionnaire on local issues.