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.

A second candidate has dropped out of the race for Santa Rosa City Council, leaving seven vying for four open seats.
Shaan Vandenburg, a 47-year-old asphalt plant operator, had campaigned to bring blue-collar values back to city politics.
The married father of two school-age children had spoken of the need to bridge the ideological divide on the council and to make the city more welcoming to business.
But on Wednesday, two days after a halting performance in a candidates’ forum, Vandenburg announced he was dropping out.
I really feel that I’m not in the position that I need to be to win,’ Vandenburg said.

The eight candidates running for Santa Rosa City Council fielded questions about district elections, gang violence, mandatory solar panels and bridging the council’s ideological divide during a forum Monday, giving voters their best chance yet to size up those vying for four seats Nov. 6.

Attorney Erin Carlstrom has taken an early fundraising lead in her bid for one of the four Santa Rosa City Council seats on the ballot in November, but the field is far from settled.