Council candidates make their pitch

Eight candidates for Sonoma City Council gathered with several dozen locals at The Lodge on Broadway Wednesday night for one of the largest in a series of candidate forums.

The event was sponsored by the Sonoma Index-Tribune and Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce. The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa donated the space, and Dick Fogg, a retired executive and longtime community volunteer, moderated the event.

“We have eight good candidates here,” Fogg said in opening remarks – but he added that this meant brevity would be needed to get through all the questions, which ranged in topic from emergency preparedness to affordable housing.

Before those questions – prepared by the Index-Tribune and Chamber, along with a few from audience members were asked, each candidate gave some introductory remarks of their own.

“The reason I’m running for City Council is because I believe it is time for a shift,” began Cameron Stuckey, a personal trainer and motivational speaker. “Tourism is here. That train is moving as fast as possible.” Stuckey called for a better balance between the interests of the tourism industry and those of the community.

“I’m here tonight because I care about the community,” said Rachel Hundley, who has a law degree and runs her own catering business. “I have something new to offer, and I get things done.” She said her focus was on housing and supporting local businesses.

Ken Brown, the only incumbent, said he’s running “because I still have more to give. There’s a lot of things that are happening in the City of Sonoma.” He cited water, affordable housing and “community balance” as major concerns.

“My first priority is I’m a family man,” said Gary Edwards, a local business owner who sits on the city’s Planning Commission. “I’m running for City Council because I want to continue to serve.” In the current race, he added, “We’re talking about exactly the same issues as we were talking about eight years ago.”

Madolyn Agrimonti, a retired fundraiser, noted that, “For the last three decades I’ve dedicated myself to volunteerism and public service.” She said she hoped to continue that service on the City Council.

“I am a planner,” said Lynda Corrado, touching on a theme she would repeat several times that evening. “I am educated and trained in long-range planning for AT&T. ... I have a long-term idea for what I want to see in Sonoma.”

Jack Wagner, who was born and raised in Sonoma Valley, said he has studied and traveled the world, and “now I want to serve my hometown ... I love my home, this will be my home for the rest of my life.” He added that he is “deeply invested in the longevity of Sonoma and Sonoma Valley.”

Finally, Andrew Sawicki, a podiatrist who has practiced medicine here for 27 years, said that he hoped to find a balance between what is good for residents and for local business. “We are a small city that has big-city problems,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_16962" align="alignnone" width="300"] An extimated 40 people attended a Sonoma City Council candidate forum that was sponsored by the Sonoma Index-Tribune and the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce. Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune[/caption]

With that, Fogg began asking questions, posing one to a candidate, and then having another candidate provide a follow-up response. A new question would then go to a different set of candidates.

He began by asking Stuckey: What should the city to do to prepare for an earthquake?

“We’re on the edge of a fault line,” Stuckey said, and he focused on increasing the city’s water reserves to guarantee that citizens don’t run out, should a natural disaster cut off water delivery from the Sonoma County Water Agency.

Agrimonti, following up, stated that, “There are a couple things that are already in place” – such as Sonoma’s Emergency Operations Center, located behind the police station – “so we’re prepared for that.” She also noted the importance of retrofitting the city’s older structures.

Switching to water rates, Fogg asked Hundley if she approved of higher rates, and how should the city deal with water shortages? She responded, “There should be a bigger difference between the higher rates that we have for the higher tiers” – an element of proposed rate increases currently being considered. It is fair, she said, to have bigger water users, whose water often goes to unneeded irrigation, “shoulder a bigger burden of the cost.”

Sawicki, who cites water conservation as one of his top priorities, commented that, “I think that there will be an increase in water rates, no matter what I say.” He also called for greater incentives to capture and conserve water, as through rainwater harvesting.

Fogg then asked Brown, a board member of the nonprofit Sonoma Splash working to build a local community pool, whether he supports using city funds to get the pool built.

“I do support the community pool,” he said. “Pools save lives,” because they give people a place to learn how to swim. He added, “We are very close to our goal, and we are going to move forward.”

Corrado followed up by saying she is an avid swimmer, and “I’m for another community pool. However, as I said, I don’t think this particular plan fits a broader picture, and I would like to see more studies done and (the pool) within city limits. But then again, I have a broader picture of what city limits are.”

Perhaps no issue was more closely followed than affordable housing. Fogg asked Edwards how the city might encourage development of more affordable housing, including rental properties. He responded that the Planning Commission always guarantees, per city rules, that new developments include an affordable housing element. He also pointed to ideas intended to lead to more housing, such as a “bonus incentive for extra sewer hookups for granny units.”

Wagner said his own family relied on affordable housing growing up, and agreed that “We do have strong affordable housing elements to our planning.” He also said he would like to see more “income-based rental units” of the sort currently being used in San Francisco’s Presidio.

The event, which lasted about one-and-a-half hours, also covered downtown traffic, vacation rentals, hotel taxes, the urban growth boundary and whether Sonoma should consider annexing nearby neighborhoods. The discussion remained cordial throughout, and ended with candidates explaining why they deserve Sonoma’s vote.