Updated: Sonoma Councilmember David Cook retracts vow to resign

After announcing his resignation from the City Council on social media Friday, three days after the Nov. 6 election, Sonoma City Councilmember David Cook now says he will stay on the council.

“I talked to the mayor and a lot of my colleagues in the last couple days. They all understand I will be continuing on the council,” Cook said in a telephone interview Monday morning.

The councilmember’s original Facebook post announcing his resignation, made just before 7 p.m. Friday, drew more than 50 comments.

Cook said he changed his mind about resigning “when everybody responded on Facebook, even people who don’t think the way I think politically, and they were telling me, ‘You need to stay on. You need to make Sonoma a good place.’”

Cook’s original post said, “On Monday I will be meeting with the mayor of Sonoma to inform her that I will not fulfill my last two years on the Sonoma City Council.”

Cook also posted, “In all fairness I am stepping down due to the fact that I’m tired of the political games and that is not who I am. Tuesday when I am officially off the council I will tell you all the full story. You won’t like it.”

Cook told the Index-Tribune Monday that “the negativity in the recent City Council campaign” was what moved him to announce his resignation.

“Especially with all the negative mailers, I remember looking into my daughter’s eyes – she is 2 and a half – I don’t want her to say, ‘Why didn’t my dad do anything? He said he was against bullying,’” Cook said Monday.

Cook’s remark about “negativity” refers to developments including two anonymous mailers sent during the campaign.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating an anonymous postcard sent Oct. 4 and 5 that described a City Hall in turmoil due to “a polarized City Council” and recommended three candidates. Another complaint has been lodged against the second mailer.

With regard to the “polarized” council, before the election, there were three council members many would describe as politically centrist, including Cook, comprising a majority on the council. The other two councilmembers were more progressive, Rachel Hundley and Amy Harrington.

Now, in the wake of the election, the balance has flipped, with a 3-2 progressive majority.

On Nov. 6, Logan Harvey, a staunch progressive, was elected with 16 percent of the vote on his first run for office. He ran on the same slate as Hundley, who was up for re-election. Hundley was re-elected and Harrington, who wasn’t up for election, continues to serve on the council.

Harvey replaced Gary Edwards, arguably the most conservative member of the current council.

Councilwoman Harrington said, “My impression was that (Cook’s) concerns were about a majority and a minority (on the council).”

She added, “Most of the things the council votes on are 5-0 votes. We don’t have super-partisan voting.”

The councilwoman cited as an example, “All of us are for fixing the cemetery.”

At the same time, Harrington noted, “We have different opinions on land use. We have different opinions on Schocken Hill.”

In April, the City Council rejected a proposal the Planning Commission had accepted to develop three large homes on Schocken Hill.

Applicants followed through on threats of litigation in July, filing suit against the City of Sonoma and the Sonoma City Council to force city officials’ hands at allowing the controversial project to proceed. (The suit was filed on behalf of Bill Jasper, an investor in Sonoma Media Investments, which publishes the Index-Tribune.)

Harrington said she called Cook as soon as she saw his Facebook post and urged him to stay on the council. She also commented to that effect on his Facebook post.

“I told him online and also on the phone that it’s super-important for different viewpoints to be voiced,” the councilwoman said.

“I have no issue with the way the election turned out,” Cook said. “I like diversity on the council. It (election results) has nothing to do with this,” referring to his now-rescinded decision to resign.

Over the last few years, the council has developed a reputation for delaying action on major issues including legal cannabis and affordable housing, and the divided nature of the council has been linked to the delays, among other things.

“We have some decisions we have to make and I’m hoping in the coming year we feel more comfortable making those decisions,” said Mayor Madolyn Agrimonti Monday. She said, “I don’t believe we handled the cannabis issue well,” adding, “I don’t believe my vote would change.”

She said Cook discussed his now-rescinded decision to quit with her.

“There are so many factions in town right now. I understand how he feels,” she said of Cook. “I love Sonoma, it’s just factions that believe they know what Sonoma should be.”

The mayor said of the council, “One thing we need to do is circle the wagons when one of us is attacked. It’s important, as we go forward, if you attack one of us we have to circle the wagons.”

Reach Janis Mara at janis.mara@sonomanews.com.