By Jennifer Sawhney

Petaluma Voice reached out to each of the Petaluma City Council candidates for a one-on-one interview. They were all asked the same set of 17 questions, which they heard for the first time during the interview. Interviews took place between Thursday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, Oct. 3. Candidates had one, two, or three minutes to answer each question, and they could choose not to use the entire allotted time. 

For each candidate, we are publishing their answers to five key questions below. Responses have been lightly edited for readability. Readers who want to take a deeper dive and see candidates’ responses to questions about other issues facing Petaluma voters can find the full interview transcripts here.

Each candidate also answered a questionnaire. Their responses have been lightly edited for readability.

Questionnaire

First and last name: John Shribbs

 Age: 73 years old

Occupation(s)/where do you work: Retired Research Biologist/Scientist (25 yr. experience in Pest and Weed Management Industry), Retired high school science teacher (17 yr. total, 16 at CGHS)

PhD Horticulture NCSU

MS Pest Management UCR

BS Biology UCI

How long have you lived in the district you intend to represent? 35 yrs.

How long have you lived in Petaluma? 35 yrs. 

Past committee, commission, board experience:

25 yr. experience on many of these including and many overlapping:

For City and Regional from earlier to later: 2 yr. on Technology Advisory Committee; 8 yr. on Tree Advisory, several as Chair; 2 yr. on Groundwater Advisory; 2 yr. on General Plan Advisory; 4 yrs. on North Bay Watershed; 4 yrs. on North Bay Water Reuse/Resiliency; 4 yrs. on Ag and Open Space Advisory, current Vice Chair.

Nonprofits from earlier to later, with many overlapping: 13 yr. coaching youth soccer; 3+ yr. on PCA Board, one as President; 20+ yrs. on Petaluma Wetlands Alliance, 5 as President, 3 as VP (currently VP); 5+ yrs. on Friends of the Petaluma River (founding Board Member); 5 yr. with Petaluma ReLeaf (founding member)

Would you care to describe your immediate family? Spouse, kids?

Spouse: Patty, retired Hospice Nurse; 2 adult children, both living and working in Petaluma

What is the best way for constituents to reach you? Email to jshribbs@cityofpetaluma.com

Links to social media pages, campaign site:

Website: https://www.johnshribbsforpetalumacitycouncil.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593322911945  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jshribbspcc

Filings

Funds raised: Through Sept. 19, Shribbs has raised over $1,000 in monetary contributions toward his campaign and made over $5,100 in expenditures. His campaign has a negative cash balance of more than $4,000. (Note: the latest campaign filing period spans July 1 to Sept. 19, 2026)

Treasurer: John Shribbs

Principal officer: None

Financial filings: https://netfile.com/public/pet/campaign/filingsByCandidate/204432670-Shribbs,%20John 

Why do you think you're qualified to represent the residents of Petaluma on City Council? (2 minutes)

Thank you. I've been on city council for four years now, and so I've been trained by the staff as to what my purpose is, how I function, and also by the experiences. So I now know the job pretty well. I've actually learned a huge amount as I go into university. It takes two years to actually learn a lot of the details of how the city is run and what's important and how to get things done. The major advantage of being an incumbent is I pretty well know the job and can function really well in this space. So that's a huge advantage right now compared to someone coming in brand new who has to learn. Then, the other thing that I have is a huge amount of community experience. I've been with several city committees doing things for over 25 years, many times overlapping both city committees as well as nonprofit work. I've been on five or six different committees over time. I'm currently on three or four different committees. I've learned a huge amount at each one of these, interacted with people from all over the region in some of these. Local nonprofits, I've helped evolve three of them over time, and I participate quite a bit in volunteering for several others throughout all these years – for over 25 years. So I have a huge knowledge base about local people, local functions, local activities that are here. And I participate, being retired for 10 years now, I have participated in a huge number of community events. So I meet people all the time. and talk to them. And I've learned a lot about the entire city and also within my district. So I have a knowledge base to come along with that. And I've really helped a lot with the general plan over the last six years starting off. So I have this knowledge and experience and I want to be able to move things forward. 

What do you believe are Petaluma's biggest issues and how do you intend to address them? (3 minutes)

Okay, the No. 1 issue which most people really don't bring up is just going to be preparedness for our future, particularly with the possible hazards that we have here. So that is probably, should be our No. 1 issue. No. 1 is actually earthquakes and being prepared for an earthquake happening here, which we survived in 1906. But it's been over 100 years and it is anticipated that within your lifetime, if not mine, there will be a major one, at least a magnitude 8, coming at us, which could be very destructive. So we need to make sure that we're prepared for that. There's been a shift from just doing things (normally) versus preventing, it's called risk management. And so the new philosophy is: we have risks coming at us and we need to manage for those risks to prevent loss. So that's one of the biggest things. We have climate change with flooding and drought and all that. We also have a global economy which has gone strong over the many years we've developed, but we may be at a peak and hitting a point where there may be a big shift in the whole global economy and how things are done. So, preparation. Then the other issue that I'm hearing mostly about, what people really care about, is the roads, the actual road surfaces and also being able to travel around town. The amount of traffic has increased tremendously recently, especially after COVID. So that is a major concern as well as the care of roads. We're at least 20 years behind schedule because the city almost went bankrupt a few years ago. And so we've got to catch up. It's going to take us 20 years to catch up. That's unfortunate, but we're doing well in that area there. So that's the second area. And then making sure that the city continues to function and that we have everything we need for safety. We have the police and fire coming in for the new building. We are working on our waste treatment plants. We have bonds coming in for both of those. to get us through this next system here. So those are some of the key things that we're working on. We also are working on our housing. And so that's an issue almost worldwide, actually, given that the population is now over 8 billion people. And we still have lots of immigration happening worldwide. There's up to, they say, 1 to 2 billion people that are going to be on the move over the next 20 years because of climate change. So we are expected to grow over the long term, maybe not the short term. We've been a stable population, but we have to have more housing of all types here. And that means building at our new stations, the downtown station and the north station, and some of our corridors and developing our economy. That's the other part. We need to really develop our economy, create more businesses here and more tourism, and work with the agricultural sector to make us important to everyone to come visit. 

What could be done to support small businesses here in town? (3 minutes)

We have a Chamber of Commerce that's working really well. We have a downtown association. And we have now a concierge person inside City Hall on staff to help support small businesses. And also we have a small business administration and lots of people that are doing business now within the Chamber of Commerce are helping a lot of new people come in. So new businesses need to be started up, but there needs to be a shift because what's happening instead of product-based businesses, we have to shift to service-based businesses. So that is for products that are going to be bought, it needs to be products that are going to be needed to be touched, fitted, hands-on, visual, that are experiential to purchase. Anything that could be easily purchased that's manufactured just as a basic good, that's all shifted to the internet. Those stores pretty much are going away, or shifting to the big-box stores so you can buy everything all at one time at one place, like Costco or Target or Friedman's or Home Depot. These are the large stores where it's one trip, 10 or 15 items. But if you just need one item, everyone's buying that off the internet now and coming in. So it's got to shift. And so how to help with that economy and right here locally, it's our tourism and bringing in services to people. That's got to be the way we're going to grow. The other part is green businesses. We just had a new company that came in just a couple years ago that's working on a part and developed a patented part for AI centers to use. And so it's a small company, but it's been very good about producing these things, which all have to be almost handmade at the shop. And they're testing it at the shop and sending it out, but they're servicing the entire world. So we're looking at various businesses that can distribute, manufacture, light manufacturing, that are hopefully moving us in the green revolution that's happening in our economy. So those are the things we need to work on to increase our economy. Those are the things we can do. Thank you. 

What are your main concerns about our city budget as it stands right now? (2 minutes)

We have two basic parts of our budget. We have the general fund area that basically sustains the city basic functions, which basically covers salaries. And then we have one of the largest employers in the whole city here, plus over 300 people work for the city, doing all the work that needs to get done. It's one of the largest operating businesses here in town for people and also budget. So that's 75 million. Our total budget is 400. That shows you that our staff is excellent at bringing in lots of grant money to do all the what's called CIPs, our city improvement projects. So we do a very good job of that. We're one of the best financially stable and progressive cities here in the entire region. Our city manager and staff are highly valued and looked at, respected throughout the entire region because we're able to manage everything. We have a growing budget. We have some measures that bring more tax dollars. Our population has been supportive of adding a little bit more extra time and money and effort between volunteerism and adding extra money for our schools and everything. So we're in much better shape now financially than most of the cities in the whole region here. We're doing really well. 

Anything else you'd like to address that you would like people to know about you and your campaign? (3 minutes)

Thank you. One of the things, recently, I did have some concerns and some misinformation that I would like to get corrected. I've been listening for 25 years with all the committee work and community work that I've done. So I have already heard. I've been more engaged. So I want to put that to bed that I don't listen. No, I listen and I listen very well and I actually hear. And in council, that's the other thing. I listen to both sides. I also go through the pros and cons. Five council members are trying to get me off right now and supported my opponent, and the major reason is I waste time on council. No, I provide added value because as a scientist and a researcher, I dig deep. I get into things, and I challenge staff on a lot of issues. I open it up. And the other thing is I make the pros and cons of both sides apparent. I make things transparent. I work hard at that. I'm disappointed that the other council members don't appreciate what I do, but basically I'm doing part of their job, which is challenging staff because most of the time the staff is correct and moving forward. We need to make it transparent who, what, when, where, and why. So I work really hard to make that apparent during council because we're not allowed to talk to each other. We don't have it ahead of time. We have to do it on the dais. I spend the time and the work to dig in and really make sure that things are transparent and opened up, and we have as much discussion as possible on all the things so we're making the right decision. And in general, I vote with the other council members because we come to the right decision about what's best for Petaluma. We do that. But I think the work that I do is really helpful in getting to that conclusion of what is the best for Petaluma. And so that's the added advantage that I provide. I have lots of value that I give in, lots of creative ideas that I provide for the council. So I'm being criticized for taking up some time at council, but I vote the same as everyone else. So why am I taking up so much time? No, the added value is finding out why. The city staff sets the agenda. They provide all the information up front. But we have to evaluate it. We have to look at it. And we have to look at it in depth. And that's what I do. I work really hard. The mayor said I'm one of the hardest workers on council because I dig in deep on all the major issues, and I report all the reports and I visit and I go everywhere to a lot of events. So I communicate with everyone. Please head over to my website. I've got lots of information there. It just explains all the good I've done and then also I'm totally aligned with their general plan and where we're going. And so just come to my website, please.

Find the full interview transcript here.

Jennifer Sawhney is a reporter and co-founder of Petaluma Voice. She can be reached at jsawhney@petalumavoice.org.

Tobias Young, Nate Seltenrich, and Crissy Pascual contributed to this report.