Eight vie for three city council seats

He was first elected to the City Council in 1998 and served three times as mayor.

Brown describes himself as, “a consistent supporter of affordable housing in Sonoma, even when that support has been controversial in some quarters. I am a founding member of the Affordable Housing Task Force.”

He states that, “The balance between our residents and our tourists is of utmost importance. I have no intention to be the council member that destroys this balance. We must keep our relations with the tourist-serving community and our business community strong and vibrant.”

Also high on Brown’s agenda is water. “We are working on the water issue from every possible point of view, and will continue to do so,” he says. “We are working very closely with the Sonoma County Water Agency where we draw the majority of our water. We need to have a vibrant ground water monitoring system in place.”

• Lynda Corrado, a facility planner for AT&T, wants to be on the Sonoma City Council because, “I have the courage and the strength of character to face my fears. I believe that all politics are corrupt and know I can run and win. Once placed in political life, I can and will sustain my commitment to truth, integrity, and direct, decisive communications with and for the community.”

While growing up, Corrado wanted to be an architect. With a penchant for space design and artistic creativity she had to put that dream on the back burner. Her father, whom she describes as being “from the old school,” only allowed her brother to attend college, with a business emphasis.

She was given the choice of being a teacher or a nurse. She chose teaching.

In her late 20s however, she knew that teaching, which she enjoyed, was not her heart’s passion. She moved to California, was hired as a facility planner for AT&T, and although not an architect, became involved with all construction projects within her assigned area. She switched her major from teaching to business organization and later went into a graduate program for project management with an emphasis in construction.

This led her to become recognized for her achievement and long range planning ability. She was nominated to the AT&T women achievers club.

“This was a great honor, especially during a time when women were just coming forward to shatter glass ceilings,” she said.

Corrado didn’t shatter any ceilings, but through her ability to take on problems with significant scope, she created dynamic, realistic solutions, earning her recognition for her achievements in her field.

She did this by planning for future growth through consolidation, expansion yet with reduction – and saved the company almost $5 million a year in lease costs.

“I can and will do that for Sonoma,” she said. “All I need is the chance to lead the community in that direction.”

In political circles, Gary Edwards is known as a sitting member of the City of Sonoma’s Planning Commission. But he may be better known around town as a longtime cook and organizer of the Thanksgiving Free Meal at the Community Center, which named him volunteer of the year.

It’s a role he’s held for the “last 11 years and counting,” Edwards says.

Now Edwards is making his second run for City Council, where he hopes to “continue the work that I have done, and be a voice for the citizens in all areas of Sonoma and Sonoma Valley.”

Edwards is married with two young children. He says he has been doing business in Sonoma since 1983, and became a permanent resident in 1992. He is owner of Sage Marketing LLC, which he describes as “a fully integrated dairy and international cheese marketing and sales company.”

Besides his volunteer role on Thanksgivings, Edwards has participated in other ways around town - as president of the Rotary Club, board member of the Redwood Empire Food Bank, volunteer at WillMar Family Grief & Healing Center, volunteer at the Ecology Center and more. He was even named “Angel of the Year” once, he says, by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley.

The Slow Food movement, and the social-ppolitical values it embraces, also have played an important part in Edwards’ life. He is a founding member of Citta Slow Sonoma, as well as a founding member of the Sonoma Valley Slow Food Convivium.

His campaign material cites infrastructure investment, in sidewalks, streets and parks as a major priority, along with securing both surface and underground water supplies.

Politically, Edwards has also served on the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Board - and personally, he is a pilot who enjoys flying airplanes and hot air balloons.

In campaign literature, Tom Rouse, Sonoma’s current mayor, describes Edwards as “a driving force in Sonoma over the years” and offers his full endorsement.

• Rachel Hundley is a relatively new arrival, having lived in Sonoma for some two-and-a-half years. She is a native of Charleston, South Carolina, graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in both journalism and speech/communication, and she earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina.

Hundley practiced law for three years in New York, focusing on commercial law, intellectual property, securities litigation and international arbitration. She left New York to found Drums & Crumbs, a Sonoma catering company and pop-up cafe serving organic southern comfort food, including fried chicken and peach/pecan cobbler. She reports the company will soon have a food truck as well.

Hundley is a member of the Sonoma Chamber of Commerce, she serves on the advisory committee for Sonoma’s Young Professionals and volunteers with Sonoma Valley Teen Services.

She describes herself as having nursed an interest in government since childhood and, as an adult, recognizing that local government offers “an opportunity and a responsibility to make decisions that affect people’s day-to-day lives and quality of life.”

Hundley has articulated extensive positions on a number of local issues, including the Sonoma business climate. “Maintaining Sonoma’s character, quality of life and property values requires a balanced approach to regulating business,” she says. “In addition to limiting the kinds of businesses we don’t want, we must support and encourage the kinds of businesses that we do want.”

She says she supports regulations to preserve historic architecture, and supports the formula business ordinance, but doesn’t believe that “the answer to every problem is a new regulation.” Some permitting processes and business regulations, she writes, might need to be overhauled to make them “easier to understand and more efficient to implement.”

Regarding the hot-button issue of raising the minimum wage, Hundley states, “We owe it to our workforce to explore this issue thoroughly,” but expresses concern about the burden of enforcement, the impact on teenagers trying to enter the work force and new businesses trying to get a toehold in the market.

On the issue of water supply security, Hundley rates it “the most pressing issue for the city,” and says she supports the installation of rainwater catchment systems and greywater systems.

• Andrew Sawicki is a podiatrist and has been a Sonoma resident for 27 years.

Sawicki arrived in Sonoma from London, via Chicago, and following his college and medical training in California. After graduating from medical school, he became an officer in the U.S. Army, serving four years on active duty and four years on reserve duty.

He arrived in Sonoma with a growing family to set up a private medical practice. Shortly after settling in Sonoma Valley, he became an active staff member at Sonoma Valley Hospital, a consultant at the California Correctional Medical Facility in Vacaville and at the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center.

Sawicki said he and his family – wife Katie, and daughters Kelsie, Alison and Harper – have lived in Sonoma a major portion of their lives and feel privileged to have made this their home. Sonoma is a very diverse community with a variety of views and expectations, he notes.

“After many years of serving the community as a physician, I have learned how to listen and when to speak with thought and purpose,” he said. “I am a student again. Excited, nervous and hungry for knowledge. If the community gives me the opportunity I will be a freshman, learning what makes our town tick. However, this time around, I will have the background of being an upper classman with the experience life brings.”

Sawicki is also an avid swimmer, fisherman and hiker.

• Cameron Stuckey, 46, is a 17-year resident of the City of Sonoma, where he has worked as a personal physical trainer, a motivational speaker, a football and baseball coach, a mentor, a member of the Community Services and Environment Commission and a small business owner. He is married and is the father of five children.

Stuckey grew up in Los Angeles and San Francisco before settling in Sonoma. This is his second campaign for a seat on the City Council.

He says he is running because, “With Sonoma’s ever growing diverse population, and the community being marginalized by tourism at a rapid rate, Sonoma needs an advocate for the elderly, the youth, the local workforce and the disenfranchised. I want business and commerce to thrive, not only with goods and services for tourists, but with a keen eye towards locals and the community at large. I will continually work with the community and city council to find ways to keep Sonoma thriving while we preserve our rural cultural heritage.”

Stuckey recognizes water availability as one of the key issues facing Sonoma. He notes that the Sonoma County Water Agency’s Water Supply Strategies Action Plan represents significant expert research and the city should “trust the experts to handle the bigger source issues.”

But for local water management, Stuckey would like to see “city water maintenance workers do their jobs more efficiently by providing more manpower, better equipment, more knowledge and more resources.” He thinks the city could “provide better customer service for customer leaks and water quality complaints” while surveyingand developing more wells.

Stuckey believes the city needs to attract more new business owners and entrepreneurs to Sonoma. He adds, “Streamlining the permitting process, utilizing existing programs and providing incentives for landlords to offer lower rent, are some ideas that can help energize the business economy.”

Stuckey says he supports the city’s Tourism Improvement District, and has equivocated on the issue of raising the minimum wage. After urging the City Council to support it, he now articulates his position as wanting to see more research on its impacts before approving an incremental increase.

On affordable housing, Stuckey says, “I want the people who work in town to live in town, so I prefer to call it ‘workforce housing.’Our work force, the people who work in this town such as city employees, teachers, policeman and firefighters should be able to live here and be more invested in our day to day life.”

• Jack Wagner was born in Sonoma in 1980, grew up in the Valley, graduating from Sonoma Valley High School in 1998. He attended Sonoma State University receiving a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in political science.

Wagner has traveled throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. He lived and worked in San Francisco for five years in the video game industry, spending part of that time in the U.K.

He has held a variety of jobs, including in farming, food service, music, writing, fundraising, community organizing and acting. He is the volunteer Sonoma County Community Organizer for the Public Banking Institute and, earlier this year, both the Sonoma County Democratic Party and the Green Party of Sonoma County adopted resolutions supporting public banking, which he drafted.

Recently, Wagner presented a policy paper at an economic conference in Canada promoting both basic income and public banking as a means of abolishing poverty.

He has volunteered on a number of campaigns, local-to-national, collecting signatures, knocking on doors, and organizing meetings. This is his first campaign for himself.

He said he’s running for City Council to focus his long-standing interest in government on his hometown, to help manage and promote it as a leader in arts, culture, food and politics.

“I want to bring my unique and diverse political and professional experience to the City Council in order to best benefit our community.

He says he supports the chain-store ban within the Plaza and Historic Corridor and would “let tourism and smart management keep our budget balanced.”

To that end, Wagner says he supports promoting events that spread tourism throughout the year rather than increasing summer/peak tourism, and would promote public banking within Sonoma County. He would also use existing City funds to increase non-tax revenues, and make more credit available locally for small businesses, families and students.

Wagner says he supports an industrial corridor along Eighth Street East and would promote more film production in the Valley.

Wagner also supports graywater use, groundwater restoration projects and using treated wastewater for irrigating public lands and vineyards.