Spurned as vice mayor, Carnacchi lashes back
By E.I. Hillin, Staff Writer, [email protected] Updated Dec 13, 2018

At the Dec. 4 meeting of the Sebastopol City Council, the council unanimously voted for Neysa Hinton as the new mayor and then made a surprise selection for vice mayor, leaving one council member questioning the city’s protocol on officer selection.

Councilmember Michael Carnacchi had expected to be voted into the role of vice mayor (usually a stepping stone to becoming mayor the next year), but was dismayed after the council voted to pass him over for the position.

“If your object was to wound me deeply, you succeeded. It hurts a lot,” he stated to the council in public comment.

After Hinton was voted unanimously into the role of mayor, Councilmember Una Glass made a motion nominating Councilmember Patrick Slayter for vice mayor, a surprise choice because Slayter had just stepped down as mayor earlier this month, after completing his year-long term. (He had served as vice mayor the year before that.)

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Despite his discussion with McLaughlin, Carnacchi was not mollified. In an open letter to the city council, delivered to Sonoma West Times & News on Tuesday afternoon, he wrote, “Denying a peer equal access to a leadership role demonstrates an unfounded sense of entitlement and privilege while highlighting intolerance toward those who hold different opinions. This is undemocratic and shows the worst of our council and its practices.”

See full article and Michael's letter here