By Tobias Young, Jennifer Sawhney

The Nov. 3 election here – like the blue wave across the nation – appears to have rejected conservative voices in favor of more progressive candidates, both at Petaluma City Council and the Board of Supervisors.

Political analyst Brian Sobel, a former Petaluma council member himself, said voters wanted change at every level, sweeping progressive candidates into office. That trickled down to city and county government where the posts are considered nonpartisan in nature, meaning they are not normally associated with any particular political party.

“There was a progressive sweep across the country, including in many red states, and certainly not surprisingly in California,” Sobel said. “It’s occurring nationally, and it's occurring in Sonoma County and Petaluma.”

In the mayoral race, voters favored incumbent Kevin McDonnell at 58% with ballots still to be counted, over Shelina Moreda, a motorcycle racer and dairy farmer at 32%, and John Hanania, a small business owner at 10%. Moreda campaigned frequently with council candidate Alan LaPierre and sitting council member Alex DeCarli, reflecting a conservative coalition in the campaign – at least when compared to much of Sonoma County.

Youngest member to join council

The likely addition of two new council members brings a decidedly younger and perhaps slightly more progressive edge to the council. Housing advocate Eric Vazquez, with 61% of the vote so far, will be Petaluma’s youngest council member ever at 27. He will also be the first full Latino on the council, bumping two-time council member and retired preschool teacher Karen Nau, 66, at 39%, out of her District 3 seat.

Petaluma’s District 2 race pitted two candidates, both of whom could be considered progressive, against each other. Environmental attorney Brent Newell, 56, at 53% of the vote, seems poised to take the District 2 council seat. Incumbent John Shribbs, 73, a retired research scientist and former public school teacher, has 47% of the current vote.

In the other council race, incumbent Janice Cader Thompson, 71, with 70% of the vote, easily won her seat over Staples district manager Nate Martin, 49, at 16%, and contractor and mobile home park manager LaPierre, at 15%.

Joanna Paun, who won the District 2 race for Sonoma County supervisor over her opponent, Sylvia Lemus, represented the change that voters were seeking, Sobel said.

“I think Joanna Paun did a good job of communicating to the electorate that she was about change, and she was about a more progressive change,” Sobel said. “I think people wanted to see something different at the Board of Supervisors, something more progressive.”

Sobel said the victories for Paun and Vazquez also represented a big win for the labor movement throughout the country. “They poured money and people into all kinds of races, including (supporting Vazquez). That cannot be discounted.”

Additional factors at play

McDonnell himself downplayed the role of a blue wave filtering down to the mayoral and council race. He said the results primarily reflect a general support of the city’s overall direction.

While national politics may have been a factor, political observers also point to a rejection of negative campaigning, the power of boots on the ground, and the influence of district elections that the city switched to in 2022.

McDonnell said Moreda, who relied on town hall-style events for public outreach, ultimately was not a strong challenger in a town where voters often get to know who they vote for personally. He said voters may have also reacted unfavorably to negative campaigning.

“It was certainly a negative campaign, and I don’t think negative campaigns get traction with the general public,” McDonnell said.

Current council member Brian Barnacle, who helped with the campaigns of Cader Thompson, McDonnell, and Paun, said he was still in a bit of shock that most of the candidates he favored won across the state.

“I haven’t felt this level of hope in quite some time, maybe never,” he said.

Former council member Mike Healy cautioned that discontent remains over issues like a backlash against taller buildings. A previous plan for the city to create a zoning overlay to allow a downtown hotel led to a referendum. Healy was part of a group that qualified the measure for the ballot, although it was withdrawn after the city responded by revoking the overlay.

“You still have 40% of voters that aren’t happy with the current direction, so that’s notable,” Healy said.

No radical change expected

Mayor McDonnell said he does not see the potential addition of Vazquez and Newell to the council as a sharp change in direction, such as might have been if the slate of Moreda and LaPierre had been successful.

Barnacle agreed. “In terms of the council changing course, I don’t see major changes coming,” he said. “The challengers who were promising radical change, none of them made it through.”

McDonnell said he expects Newell will offer a new voice with a familiar destination. “I think Newell represents a freshening of the council, a new perspective on a common goal,” McDonnell said.

McDonnell, who didn’t pick a favorite in the District 3 race, said Vazquez and Nau were starkly different in many ways, including age, life experience, and some policy issues.

“That’s a real contrast. There was a stark difference between the two, and it starts resembling a changing of the guard there,” McDonnell said. “Don’t get me wrong. I will miss Karen. But having a great mix on the council can only make the discussions better.”

He continued, “You could say it’s a fulfillment of the intention of going to district elections. District elections should allow a lower barrier to entry and an opportunity to hear voices that haven’t previously been heard. A young, Latino voice has not previously been heard (on the council).”

Vazquez and Newell have both said that housing affordability is one of their top priorities.

Barnacle said the election may bring more opposition to surveillance by automated license plate readers, including Flock cameras. The change may also bring more attention to other issues: “Eric will bring an acute focus on public transportation, which isn’t a bad thing, and Brent will bring a certain expertise that you get from a lawyer.”

Even though voters wanted change, Sobel said incumbents McDonnell and Cader Thompson were known quantities, and voters were comfortable with them. “At the end of the day you have to look at who that incumbent is,” he said.

With a contentious election behind him, McDonnell said he is taking a few days off with his wife to decompress. “I’m definitely glad it's over,” he said. “It's a full-time job being a council member, a full-time volunteer gig. When you add campaigning, it's really overly consuming.”

Martin vows to stay involved

Reflecting on his own bid for the District 1 seat, candidate Nate Martin said he appreciates the time he spent “slowing down” and talking to his neighbors about their concerns.

Coming out of the election, he said he’s still concerned that overall development in town may be moving forward too quickly without enough public input.

For people like himself, who are busy balancing many responsibilities as a working parent, he sees a disconnect between what’s being discussed at council meetings, what decisions are being made, and how that information is being relayed to constituents.

He says he appreciates what he learned during the campaign and “absolutely” plans to remain involved with local politics moving forward. 

Martin also said he is proud he did not accept outside money, did not rely on endorsements, and took on the campaign himself to represent his district and city the best he could. “My heart was true to what I was trying to do,” he said – and while he may have been naive in this initial foray, “this isn’t the last of me,” he said.

Newell waits for final results

With the election results not yet certified, and leading by nearly 200 votes as of Monday, challenger Brent Newell said it was too soon to start talking about what comes next.

Vazquez sets priorities

Reached by phone Monday night, District 3 council member elect Eric Vazquez said “by far” his focus will be on affordable housing.

“One thing that gets dismissed when it comes to urban housing is putting our money where our mouth is,” he said.

Vazquez said he'd like to take advantage of a statewide opportunity to add new housing from Proposition 1, a measure passed by California voters that authorizes $11.25 billion in bonds to build affordable housing. Vazquez wants to create an affordable housing revolving loan fund with some of those funds, which would offer loans to developers and be run by the city. Developers would pay the city back with interest, while the city sets terms such as hiring a certain percentage of local workers.

Vazquez also wants to build on existing partnerships he’s fostered with various organizations, creating a bridge between residents and groups asking for changes such as preservation of open space (Sonoma County Conservation Action), and non-collaboration with ICE (North Bay Organizing Project).

Having served on Petaluma’s Public Transit Advisory Committee, he says he’s seen “where we miss the mark” on public transportation. Transportation funds have been largely severed by the Trump Administration, which has resulted in a reduction of service for regional transportation.

Other concerns for Vazquez include a focus on road repaving on St. Francis Drive, and infrastructure needs in and around Casa Grande High School, his alma mater. He also favors adding a roundabout to the intersection of South McDowell Boulevard and Casa Grande Road.

“That will make it easier for students who walk to school there safer, but keep traffic flowing,” he said.

Cader Thompson focuses on Greenway

Incumbent Janice Cader Thompson, who will represent District 1 for another four years, looks forward to picking up where she left off.

With the Petaluma North SMART train in her district, she wants to fund improvements to the nearby Corona Road overcrossing, continue working on economic development downtown, and fill business parks. She also wants to continue the city’s focus on improving and maintaining its roads and parks.

As far as future advocacy, she’d like to see more environmental protections along the north Lynch Creek Trail in what’s called the Petaluma River Greenway. A project to preserve the area, led by the nonprofit Friends of the Petaluma River, intends to “transform a 1.5-mile stretch of undeveloped land from Lynch Creek Trail to Corona Road into a vibrant, natural refuge for the whole community,” according to its website.

“There’ll be interconnected trails from the east, west, north and south” areas of Petaluma, Cader Thompson said.

Like McDonnell, she sees Vazquez’s addition to council as helping to address “something that’s really missing” – representation of the Latino community. 

“I just think that you’re going to see a community that participates more because Eric is on the council and feels comfortable about participating,” Cader Thompson said. 

Quint looks to future

Current council member Frank Quint said he feels “very positive about the next council,” and is “super excited” about McDonnell’s reelection.

“The projects I'd advocate most right now are the fairgrounds master plan, the trestle, and to continue with economic development,” Quint said. “I think the city has started to do some really good things from an economic development standpoint and I just want to keep that momentum going.”

He added that he doesn’t think his economic development aims are more important than climate, parks, or public safety, but that they can be a catalyst to reach those other goals.

“To continue to drive economic development will help invest more money into our roads, our parks, and our climate initiatives,” Quint said. “It’s a funding mechanism for everything else we want to do.”

Barnacle and McDonnell echoed Quint’s emphasis on economic development as key to the city’s continued health. “I think being progressive is being ambitious,” Barnacle said. “Not being anti-development.”

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

Tobias Young is an editor and reporter at Petaluma Voice. He can be reached at tyoung@petalumavoice.org.