The election has been over for days, but one particularly provocative campaign mailer is still reverberating through the Sonoma County labor and business worlds. The North Bay Labor Council pulled out of the Sonoma County Alliance, criticizing its financial support of a committee that sent a mailer attacking supes candidate Pam Torliatt over her support for an immigration “sanctuary” policy. The issue has sparked mutual accusations of racism.

6:45 PM UPDATE: Independent expenditure committees pumped $41,000 this month into the hotly contested south county supervisors race, according to the latest batch of campaign reports filed Thursday. One one side: Business groups and development interests. On the other side: labor unions. See what the candidates have to say.

By Paul Gullixson Those who were logged into the Santa Rosa Twitter world last week witnessed a heated word feud that reflects the divisions among Sonoma County labor groups in this election. Here’s a sample: (Truncated Tweet-speech and all): Brad Conners, vice president of the Santa Rosa Police Officers’ Association, responds to Lisa Maldonado of [...]

Local labor groups have rarely been in lock-step agreement at election time. But the disagreements have rarely been this heated — and public. PD Editorial Director Paul Gullixson asks what is driving some public employees to support candidates who appear most eager to cut spending and trim employee benefits?

Pancakes and political pep talks were served up equally Monday at the annual Sonoma County Labor Day breakfast. Rep. Lynn Woolsey and other Democrats called on organized labor to rally voters for the November election. “If independent voters and Democrats don’t go to the polls, it could be a disaster for Democrats,” Woolsey said.

The county is negotiating with its unions this weekend to persuade workers to accept unpaid furloughs. County Administrator Veronica Ferguson says the proposal is “a humane approach” that will help the county reduce spending and preserve programs. But Supervisor Paul Kelley says it is a short-term fix and is calling for job cuts.

Without public polling, you’re left to look for signals about how contested races are shaping up. Well, in the 7th Assembly District, there were signs in the mail box over the weekend that Santa Rosa Democrat Michael Allen’s supporters thought this race was going to be close And they may be right. Absentee returns from [...]

The county is asking its workers to accept double-digit pay cuts and 12 days of furloughs, according to union officials involved in contract talks. Union leaders are concerned that front-line workers will suffer more hardship than managers under the budget-balancing plan.

A seemingly benign local ballot measure that would change several aspects of Sonoma County’s civil service system has irked some local labor representatives, who are calling one part of the measure a “power grab” by the Board of Supervisors.

Leaders of Sonoma County’s leading environmental group, Conservation Action, and its largest labor coalition, the North Bay Labor Council, deny they are breaking up over endorsements in the north county supervisorial contest. But, there’s no doubt they have parted ways in the race between Debora Fudge and Mike McGuire.