By Tobias Young

With the Nov. 3 election approaching, the two Sonoma County supervisorial candidates for the district that includes Petaluma faced off in a Rohnert Park town hall on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The pair, who are aligned on many issues, tried to highlight differences in experience and priorities while answering questions about things like police oversight and affordable housing.

Sylvia Lemus and Joanna Paun are vying for the District 2 seat after a June primary left them in a runoff. The pair took questions for two hours from NorCal Public Media, in a forum that will be broadcast Oct. 1 on NorCal Public Media’s TV, radio, and streaming platforms.

Whoever wins the seat held by retiring supervisor David Rabbitt, it will mark the first time a woman of color will represent the district and the first time in 16 years someone other than Rabbitt will hold the position.

Lemus, a mother of two who worked in the county’s Human Services and Human Resources departments, is the first Latina to be Cotati mayor. She highlighted her decades of experience in local government and a long history of local leadership, including as a member of the Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force, created in the wake of the 2013 shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a sheriff deputy who said he mistook the boy’s airsoft rifle for a real gun. The committee led to the creation of an independent oversight panel that received pushback from the sheriff’s office, although Sheriff Eddie Engram and the Sonoma County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association have endorsed her.

Lemus is also endorsed by Rabbitt, the outgoing supervisor; Petaluma City Councilmember Karen Nau; former councilmembers Mike Harris, Mike Healy, Gabe Kearney, and David King; and local dairy farmers Marilyn Herzog, Kathy Tresch, and Dayna Ghirardelli. Ghiradelli is executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which also endorsed Lemus. Find her full list of endorsements here.

Paun, a mother of four and a trustee on the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education, was the first Black person to be elected to office in Petaluma. At the forum she noted that she also served as Sonoma County’s education coordinator for foster and homeless youth, “our most vulnerable students.”

Included on her list of endorsements, aside from high-profile names such as Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from San Rafael, and California Assemblymember Damon Connoly, are several prominent Petalumans including former mayors Teresa Barrett and Pamela Torliatt-Ghirardelli; former councilmembers Dennis Pocekay and Matt Maguire; and current councilmembers Brian Barnacle, Janice Cader Thompson, and Frank Quint.

A dust-up ensued when the Petaluma Federation of Teachers, the union in Paun’s own district, flirted with endorsing Lemus over Paun, according to an online petition. No formal endorsement was subsequently announced, and Paun retained support from several Petaluma school officials, including current and former trustees Caitlin Quinn, Ellen Webster, Ryan Williams, and Sheldon Gen.

Among the attendees at the town hall meeting, which included questions submitted by youth, was Penngrove resident Tomi Henry, who works as a land manager and small farm advisor and operates a teaching farm in Penngrove called Fern Homestead.

Although youth submitted questions in advance to the candidates, the audience was all gray-haired, Henry said. Because it was a TV studio audience, she said the experience was different than a usual town hall. For example, the well-behaved audience was coached in advance on keeping quiet and avoiding outbursts, and instructed on things like when clapping was permitted. "The audience understood that any noise whatsoever would be detrimental to the broadcast," Henry said.

As far as the forum with the two candidates, there were no surprising answers, stunning revelations, or animosity between them, Henry said. “This is not a controversial pair. They are professionals. They are very similar, although as the campaign goes on their differences start to emerge.”

Paun and Lemus expressed concern over the growing popularity of automated license plate readers, mostly Flock cameras, used by police all over the country including in Petaluma and Santa Rosa. The cameras, assisted by AI, are allowing officers to trace vehicles in real time throughout multiple jurisdictions without a warrant. Mass surveillance by the cameras, and documented abuses, have sparked a backlash against the programs by critics who fear violations of civil rights.

Henry, who took notes on the town hall exchange for Petaluma Voice, said Lemus expressed a concern to balance the benefits of the cameras with privacy rights. Paun said equity issues can arise based on where cameras are placed.

When speaking about local agencies cooperating with U.S. immigration agents, Lemus said the county should continue supporting immigrants and providing protection. Paun strongly condemned the Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions against immigrants, and said no county resources should go toward ICE. She noted that she took a proactive approach as a school board trustee, arguing for schools to be a safe haven for students, Henry said.

The pair also answered questions about climate change, housing insecurity, how to create jobs and raise wages, creating a healthy workforce, groundwater, public transit, mental health services, giving a voice to youth, and the police oversight committee.

Lemus said groups like seniors and the unhoused require increased support, and the county’s strategic plan needs to be updated. Paun said she supports tenant protections and prioritizing food programs, according to Henry.

Paun said transportation would be one of her priorities, and focusing on people. “If people aren’t taken care of, we can’t do anything else,” she said. Lemus said public services like the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, mental health, housing, and economic development are among her priorities.

In regards to creating jobs, Lemus said people should be trained in the trades, and given help with job placement. Paun said workforce housing is a priority, working with schools and colleges, and streamlining permitting processes for new businesses.

What would success look like after their first term?

Lemus said she would like to see residents feel safer, a stronger economy, increasing sales tax revenue, and more trust, collaboration, and accessibility with the community. Paun said she’d like to see disparities and gaps in resources closed, mobile home park protections, and more youth workforce and senior housing.

In addition to Petaluma and its surrounding areas, District 2 covers southwest Sonoma County and Cotati, Penngrove, a portion of Rohnert Park, and the neighboring farm and coastal region.

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