By Tobias Young

An endorsement of Cotati Mayor Sylvia Lemus for Sonoma County supervisor by a Petaluma teachers’ union has created a dustup among some of its members who support Joanna Paun, a former member of the Petaluma City Schools Board.

One person identifying themselves as a teacher and union member, who objected to the Petaluma Federation of Teachers endorsement anonymously created an online petition asking for a reversal of the decision and a poll of its members. The petition gathered 51 signatures as of Thursday, Oct. 22.

Mike Watt, one of the district’s 415 members who is on the union’s Committee on Political Engagement, said Lemus came across as a strong candidate for District 2 supervisor, which includes Petaluma. She has deep experience in county government, and she was the only supervisorial candidate who sought the endorsement and met with the committee, he said.

“There were some people disappointed in our decision,” Watt said. “But I think the majority is OK with what we came up with. It's just an endorsement – you vote how you vote in the end. I wouldn't argue with anybody taking a different position. In any given situation it's going to be hard to please everyone, we just try to do our best.”

Paun did not return a phone call for comment. Her campaign manager, Samantha Rodriquez, replied to an email, taking issue with the idea that Paun didn’t seek the endorsement from the union.

Rodriguez wrote, “Joanna spoke with a member of the (Petaluma Federation of Teachers) exec team and was told they believed no endorsements would be made for the supervisor's race. When we became aware that interviews were being held, we reached out immediately to coordinate a time for Joanna to be interviewed.”

The federation replied in an email that it had already issued its endorsement decisions, Rodriguez said. She declined to identify the person Paun spoke with so Petaluma Voice could verify, saying it wasn’t appropriate to single anyone out.

“Our focus is on the progress and support we continue to receive for this campaign,” Rodriguez said.

Despite the union’s endorsement of Lemus, Paun retained support from several Petaluma school officials, including current and former trustees Caitlin Quinn, Ellen Webster, Ryan Williams, and Sheldon Gen.

The union at its Sept. 14 meeting also endorsed Brent Newell, Eric Vazquez, and Janice Cader Thompson for Petaluma City Council; Kevin McDonnell for mayor; and Sarah Seitchik Sebastian and Laura Holmes for Petaluma School Board. The union is not obligated to poll the membership, although some political committees do.

About a dozen of the union’s 70 political committee members showed up for the interviews and endorsement votes, as well as some members not on the committee, Watt said. The committee asked Lemus five questions before discussing the endorsement and voting on it.

The Change.org petition does not reveal the organizer’s name, nor does it show a list of the signers, making it impossible to know how many are union members. Petaluma Voice reached out to the petition organizer through Change.org for a comment, but did not get a reply as of Friday, Oct. 23.

Petition calls out Lemus

In the petition, Lemus opponents said she has not taken a strong enough stand against Sonoma County Sheriff cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; that she is backed by sheriff allies; and that she criticized the independent committee created to oversee the sheriff’s office.

The petition states that more than 40% of the city’s student population are people of color and many come from immigrant families of mixed legal status. School employees sense a fear among students who worry about a parent being unexpectedly detained, and families skipping campus events and doctor visits to stay under the radar, according to the petition. Even though the sheriff limits cooperation to people convicted of serious or violent crimes, the petition said ICE continues to target individuals who are not in that category, and is calling for Lemus and the rest of the sitting supervisors to end all cooperation. The petition pointed out that only one supervisor, Chris Coursey, has adopted that stance.

The petition also criticized donations to the Lemus campaign from development and business interests.

“We do not take lightly the decision to publicly challenge our own union,” the petition states. “But an endorsement carries the name and credibility of every member, and this one does not reflect our values, our students, or our families.”

John Peregoy, a teacher and union member, said he signed the petition. He supports Paun, and said he was upset at how the endorsement was handled, without reaching out to give her a chance to interview and asking the members who they wanted. 

“I know myself and other teachers are upset my this endorsement, too,” he said, adding that Paun has advocated for teacher and student rights.

Lemus responds

Aside from her experience, Lemus stood out in her promise to seek solutions to an affordability problem for workforce housing, including for teachers, Watt said, and her ability to find compromise. “She was very strong,” he said.

Lemus, in an interview Tuesday as she was walking Petaluma precincts, said her positions are being misrepresented.

“I think people should hear it from me directly, instead of hearing a narrative and not knowing the real truth,” Lemus said.

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 added that she is “definitely against ICE,” despite what opponents are saying. She reiterated that the sheriff’s cooperation with the agency is very limited, although she remains “very concerned about it.” She pointed to her role in helping to create the sheriff watchdog agency as evidence of her independence.

When the oversight committee and the sheriff were at loggerheads, she said she felt like a protective parent.

“I’ve worked with them for so many years, I feel like a mom with two kids who are fighting,” Lemus said. “What can we do to work it out? But mom didn’t have to decide, the courts decided.” She supports the decision of the courts to enforce the oversight of the sheriff’s office, she said.

The winner in the supervisor race between Lemus and Paun will be the first Latina or Black person to represent the district, and the first woman in 42 years.

Another complaint in the petition is that Lemus would be continuing the political perspective of retiring Supervisor David Rabbitt, instead of representing change. The petition, as evidence, pointed to Rabbitt’s endorsement of her and her use of the same political consultant as Rabbitt and three other sitting supervisors, Rob Muelrath.

Lemus disputed that characterization.

“I bring a totally different perspective,” Lemus said, adding that she is bilingual and has advocated for farmworkers and underserved community members.

In the June 2, 2026 primary, out of four candidates, Paun came in first with 41% of the vote and Lemus second with 25%, forcing a runoff on Nov. 2. Lemus said she opted to run only after Rabbitt announced he wasn’t seeking reelection, so she had a short window to introduce herself to voters.

Now that she’s had time to walk the precincts and knock on doors, she’s confident about her chances and feels like she’s making up ground.

“I’m feeling very good,” she said.

Other endorsements in the supervisor race

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 a recent candidates’ 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 City Council members Dennis Pocekay and Matt Maguire; and current council members Brian Barnacle, Janice Cader Thompson, and Frank Quint.

Lemus is also endorsed by council member Karen Nau; former council members Mike Harris, Mike Healy, Gabe Kearney, and David King; and local dairy farmers Marilyn Herzog, Kathy Tresch, and Dayna Ghirardelli. Ghirardelli is executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which also endorsed Lemus. Find her full list of endorsements here.

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