Sebastopol City Council Endorsements:

This thread is for the sake of transparency in what has been a learning experience for me. Since my candidacy for Sebastopol City Council was announced, I have received many emails from different organizations soliciting me to be considered for their endorsements only after I agree to a set of principles, fill out a questionnaire, and then meet with them for an interview.

These organizations are those which are sometimes opposed to one another and include the following:
Coalition for a Better Sonoma County, North Bay Labor Council (AFL-CIO), Sonoma County Alliance and Business Group, North Coast Builders Exchange, Engineering Contractors Association, NORBAR (North Bay Association of Realtors), North Bay Leadership Council, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, and the Sonoma County Conservation Group.

After carefully considering their requests, I responded to all of the organizations as follows: "Due to the fact that I have been inundated with requests from organizations wanting to endorse my candidacy, I have decided not to accept any endorsements but those from the individual residents of Sebastopol."

Because I have seen what happens when a candidate is endorsed by one group or another, I decided not to wear anyone's boots but my own. If it costs me the election, so be it.

Good on ya mate.
Care to share the set of principles they put forth?

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

This thread is for the sake of transparency in what has been a learning experience for me. Since my candidacy for Sebastopol City Council was announced, I have received many requests from different organizations wanting to endorse me after I agree to a set of principles, fill out a questionnaire, and then meet with them for an interview.

These organizations are those which are sometimes opposed to one another and include the following:
Coalition for a Better Sonoma County, North Bay Labor Council (AFL-CIO), Sonoma County Alliance and Business Group, North Coast Builders Exchange, Engineering Contractors Association, NORBAR (North Bay Association of Realtors), North Bay Leadership Council, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, and the Sonoma County Conservation Group.

After carefully considering their requests, I responded to all of the organizations as follows: "Due to the fact that I have been inundated with requests from organizations wanting to endorse my candidacy, I have decided not to accept any endorsements but those from the individual residents of Sebastopol."

Because I have seen what happens when a candidate is endorsed by one group or another, I decided not to wear anyone's boots but my own. If it costs me the election, so be it.

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Thank you for your question. Yes, I will share the attachments to the emails that I received from organizations soliciting me for their endorsement, but only under this one condition; that the other two candidates for Sebastopol City Council agree because they most certainly received the same emails. The attachments are made up of four questionnaires from various organizations and one set of principles from another. If we agree to release this information publicly, we will have to rename this thread Waccoleaks.

Thank you, Michael, for educating us about these important electoral details. I especially liked your last paragraph, which brought a smile to my face. It evoked our mutual admiration for our deceased friend and artist Don D., whose art show I believe is still up at the Sebastopol Library. It reminds me to go see it once again, as I suggest others do, before it probably goes down soon. I also want to appreciate the three candidates for City Council who have stepped forward and qualified to be on the ballot.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

This thread is for the sake of transparency ...
Because I have seen what happens when a candidate is endorsed by one group or another, I decided not to wear anyone's boots but my own. If it costs me the election, so be it.

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I certainly agree to disclose and publish them.

I do not like the concept of signing off on a "pledge," which is what two of the organizations essentially asked for. I will not respond to those two. However, I am responding to three other organizations that sent questionnaires. Still, I agree with you that the important endorsements are the local ones from our neighbors here in Peacetown.

And I like the name Waccoleaks!

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

Thank you for your question. Yes, I will share the attachments to the emails that I received from organizations soliciting me for their endorsement, but only under this one condition; that the other two candidates for Sebastopol City Council agree because they most certainly received the same emails. The attachments are made up of four questionnaires from various organizations and one set of principles from another. If we agree to release this information publicly, we will have to rename this thread Waccoleaks.

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Only you Michael, a world famous bootmaker and big bank slayer could choose to be so independently principled. These organizations know you will probably win a seat given the field and number of openings. I am excited by your representation and expect to be surprised and delighted by your creativity and integrity in local decision-making.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

This thread is for the sake of transparency in what has been a learning experience for me. Since my candidacy for Sebastopol City Council was announced, I have received many requests from different organizations wanting to endorse me after I agree to a set of principles, fill out a questionnaire, and then meet with them for an interview.

These organizations are those which are sometimes opposed to one another and include the following:
Coalition for a Better Sonoma County, North Bay Labor Council (AFL-CIO), Sonoma County Alliance and Business Group, North Coast Builders Exchange, Engineering Contractors Association, NORBAR (North Bay Association of Realtors), North Bay Leadership Council, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, and the Sonoma County Conservation Group.

After carefully considering their requests, I responded to all of the organizations as follows: "Due to the fact that I have been inundated with requests from organizations wanting to endorse my candidacy, I have decided not to accept any endorsements but those from the individual residents of Sebastopol."

Because I have seen what happens when a candidate is endorsed by one group or another, I decided not to wear anyone's boots but my own. If it costs me the election, so be it.

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oh dear Mr. Michael...i don't live in Sebastopol but if idid i would bring a baby over to you for you to Kiss. Most people in office or running for office are so full of crap. you are the real deal. Hope politics doesn't change ya up!
stay strong lol
peace

Quote:

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

This thread is for the sake of transparency in what has been a learning experience for me. Since my candidacy for Sebastopol City Council was announced, I have received many requests from different organizations wanting to endorse me after I agree to a set of principles, fill out a questionnaire, and then meet with them for an interview.

These organizations are those which are sometimes opposed to one another and include the following:
Coalition for a Better Sonoma County, North Bay Labor Council (AFL-CIO), Sonoma County Alliance and Business Group, North Coast Builders Exchange, Engineering Contractors Association, NORBAR (North Bay Association of Realtors), North Bay Leadership Council, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, and the Sonoma County Conservation Group.

After carefully considering their requests, I responded to all of the organizations as follows: "Due to the fact that I have been inundated with requests from organizations wanting to endorse my candidacy, I have decided not to accept any endorsements but those from the individual residents of Sebastopol."

Because I have seen what happens when a candidate is endorsed by one group or another, I decided not to wear anyone's boots but my own. If it costs me the election, so be it.

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Continuing my transparency in the Sebastopol City Council elections, on Thursday last I received an invitation to attend a luncheon hosted by the Construction Coalition made up of the North Coast Builders Exchange and the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area. This invitation stated in part as follows:

"Our Construction Coalition believes that you will be a better candidate during this election season and a more effective City Council Member if you are fully-aware of how our industry works, the significant fees paid to cities by the building industry, and the issues we face."

In keeping with my determination not to accept any endorsements or find favoritism with any organization, and because I am already aware of the fees paid to the city by the building industry, I respectfully declined their invitation.

Candidates know that Americans are increasingly disappointed with politics as usual and candidates seem to be jumping on the "I'm independent" bandwagon. I actually think endorsements are helpful to identify where people really stand. Many working class struggling people are going to vote against their own interests in the Presidential election for Trump and locally in the Supervisor race because someone says they are independent. Maybe in Sebastopol too? I'm not sure where the candidates stand, but "I'm independent from special interests" doesn't tell us what agenda or policies a candidate will push forward which is where the rubber meets the road in my book.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

...I received an invitation to attend a luncheon hosted by the Construction Coalition ...
I respectfully declined their invitation.

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Posted in reply to the post by jerichsalud:

I'm not sure where the candidates stand, but "I'm independent from special interests" doesn't tell us what agenda or policies a candidate will push forward which is where the rubber meets the road in my book.

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Thank you for stating your point which has merit. My agenda and policies as a candidate for Sebastopol City Council are clearly stated and openly welcome to discussion or questions under the Wacco thread titled Carnacchi's Candidate's Qualification Statement. The only interests that I consider special are those expressed by the residents of Sebastopol.

You should go anyway. Free lunch! Then you can report back to us what went down.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

.... I respectfully declined their invitation.

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While I appreciate your wish to remain independent of monied interests, I think it's always good to learn from groups that are different from our usual fellows. While you are aware of fees paid by the building industry, what you might glean from feelings, experiences, and stories expressed over lunch could have inestimable value. I'm sure this event would be astonishing to me and most people I know. Openness to education is not favoritism.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

...I received an invitation to attend a luncheon hosted by the Construction Coalition made up of the North Coast Builders Exchange and the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area.
...
In keeping with my determination not to accept any endorsements or find favoritism with any organization, and because I am already aware of the fees paid to the city by the building industry, I respectfully declined their invitation.

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I'm confused. Are you saying that these organizations endorsed you without having interviews, or did you mean to say that you turned down the interview? I only ask because most groups want to know something about a candidate before endorsing.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

...Since my candidacy for Sebastopol City Council was announced, I have received many requests from different organizations wanting to endorse me after I agree to a set of principles, fill out a questionnaire, and then meet with them for an interview.

... I decided not to wear anyone's boots but my own. If it costs me the election, so be it.

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Posted in reply to the post by Richard Nichols:

Are you saying that these organizations endorsed you without having interviews, or did you mean to say that you turned down the interview?

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These organizations solicited me for their endorsement only after I filled out their questionnaires, and in one case agreed to their set of principles, and then scheduled an interview to meet with them. Then after interviewing what I presume to be all of the candidates for any office county wide, the organizations would decide who to endorse.

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Posted in reply to the post by sandoak:

While you are aware of fees paid by the building industry, what you might glean from feelings, experiences, and stories expressed over lunch could have inestimable value. I'm sure this event would be astonishing to me and most people I know. Openness to education is not favoritism.

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After considering Jay's suggestion to accept the luncheon offer earlier and what seems agreeable with your post, I sent an email to the organizers of the event suggesting that if I am elected, I will happily attend a future luncheon or meeting with them. This way my action can be made part of the public record during the "City Council Reports" at the next regular Sebastopol City Council Meeting following the said luncheon or meeting.

It sounded like you turned down endorsements, but I gather you mean that these groups still have nor endorsed anybody or are in the process. For the sake a clarity, and transparency, best if you correct the record to say that these orgs did not offer to endorse you, but to interview, and then decide.

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Posted in reply to the post by Michael Anthony:

These organizations solicited me for their endorsement only after I filled out their questionnaires, ...

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Posted in reply to the post by Richard Nichols:

For the sake a clarity, and transparency, best if you correct the record to say that these orgs did not offer to endorse you, but to interview, and then decide.

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Thank you Richard, I now see your point and for clarity and transparency, I will partially quote four of the emails that I received minus the names of the organizations.

1) "Once again this election year, we are... putting together group interviews for the candidates. The intent is to give the candidates an opportunity to interview with all the groups once, thus saving everyone a lot of time during the busy election season. Following the interviews, each organization will be making separate decisions on endorsements and financial support for the candidates."

2) "To be considered for endorsement... please fill out the attached questionnaire and have it back to me by Friday, August 26th."

3) "If you do agree with the Statement of Principles, the second part of the process is that we will send you a short questionnaire... and ask for your written response by email. We will then consider whether interviews are necessary."

4) "If you’d like to be considered for endorsement by either group, please let us know, and return the attached questionnaire by August 22. We will be scheduling interviews for the end of next week. While our two organizations share a questionnaire and interview candidates together, we make separate endorsement decisions."

And for the record, I have corrected [in italics] the second sentence of my first post on this thread which now reads:

"Since my candidacy for Sebastopol City Council was announced, I have received many emails from different organizations soliciting me to be considered for their endorsements only after I agree to a set of principles, fill out a questionnaire, and then meet with them for an interview."

Thanks, it is important to be clear, especially on wacco, where things can go haywire quickly. Thanks for the response and correction.

https://i.imgur.com/yv1Iu.png
Election Endorsements - Sonoma West Times and News opinion

Do you remember the first time you voted in a presidential or other election? Was it for Nixon or Kennedy, Bush or Clinton? Are you old enough to have “liked Ike?” Or, did you become a “none of the above” voter and maybe voted for Eugene McCarthy, Ross Perot or Ralph Nader? Did you “recall” California Governor Gray Davis and vote for the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Who was the last person you supported for county supervisor, city council or the local school board?

How did you learn how to vote back when you were age 21 or 18? Who influenced you and how did you arrive at how you go about voting now? Are you a smart voter who does independent homework, or are you among the crowd of voters that hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils?

Voting, campaigns and elections just don’t seem as black and white as they used to be. Maybe that’s because our memories are all monochrome, too.

But how voters make their decisions, who they listen to, what they read, what sources they trust and what questions they want answered affects how our democracy marches forward. It may not be so simple anymore, with our election choices now colored in countless shades of gray areas, green money, red meat, white lies and black-hearted attacks. But American democracy is still the very best there is, by far.

There are a few constants voters can rely on for reliable information, fact-checking and well-informed opinions and endorsements.

Registered Democrats or Republicans will often follow the choices of their party leadership. Other voters will watch for official position statements from their favored liberal, conservative, tea party, environmentalist, labor union, libertarian or progressive political action groups.

Newspapers, big and small and including this one, publish endorsements and election editorials. Why are newspaper endorsements so powerful and sought after — even after all these years and in times of so much other media influences and internet noise?

It’s the job of journalists, newspapers and other news organizations to watchdog our government and who is elected to lead it. Only journalists spend countless hours tracking candidates, checking facts, researching history and connecting the dots between campaign dollars and candidates’ promises. Never perfectly objective, the best journalists still work hard at fairness, trust and full accountability. Everybody else has an agenda to push, an opponent to slam or a candidate to sell.

This newspaper does not make the same big endorsements as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. But, then again, those newspapers don’t know a thing about our local schools, county leadership or sales tax questions.

We do not endorse individual candidates but we do try to inform all voters about all the job qualifications and the important issues facing any newly elected official. We put a rigid focus on local tax issues, consistently demanding local governments fully justify any levy increases or spending plans.

Voters can look in this space over the next few weeks for more election information, fact-checking and our opinions. With 17 statewide propositions on the ballot, multiple local sales tax questions and numerous local races, we will work to offer as much “black and white” analysis as space allows.

We commend all the men and women who have stepped forward to seek public office and have their names appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. But all candidates are not equal and some are much more qualified than others. Voters should approach local elections like a job interview. After all, aren’t the voters supposed to be the real bosses who do the hiring?

Times were when we supported almost all local taxes for local services, schools and social programs. Not anymore. Too many local governments and public agencies lack proper auditing and haven’t accounted for current spending plans. We’ll explain more in future editorials.

Just remember any vote about affordable housing, marijuana use, growth controls, school bonds or parks and libraries is a vote about money. So we endorse a “follow the money” policy for all informed voters.

—Rollie Atkinson

Here's some good analysis article by the Sonoma West Times and News:


https://i.imgur.com/yv1Iu.png

Traditional and new tactics in Fifth District campaign
Posted: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 1:30 pm | Updated: 2:54 pm,
by Amie Windsor Sonoma West Staff Writer [email protected]

Swing states — even swing counties — are cropping up frequently in the national news as Election Day nears. Headlines scream about “battlegrounds” where Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have honed their campaigns to better educate, understand and instill hope and fear the people of those communities.

The Fifth District election between Noreen Evans and Lynda Hopkins is similar. With 703 votes separating the two nominees in the June 3 primaries, both campaigns have focused on understanding the needs and concerns of Fifth District constituents, which often vary from precinct to precinct.

Homelessness, affordable housing, environmental protection for the coast and the Russian River, updating road infrastructure and getting a handle on the county’s pensions are common topics of conversation for constituents.

While shades of gray separate the two candidates on many issues, the method in which they have conducted their campaigns heading into the general election are like night and day, according to David McCuan, political science professor at Sonoma State University.

“Noreen is running a classic base-plus one approach,” McCuan said. “While Lynda, as a newcomer, is running a shock and sizzle campaign.”

Evans, explained McCuan, needs to continue to gather support of the labor and environmental groups — the base — and gain additional support amongst those whose ideals line up with the base.

“These are the habitual voters who have shown up year after year for decades,” McCuan said.

Evans has focused on walking the precincts, hosting meet-and-greets and events targeted at environmental and labor groups since the June primary.

“I’m really excited about my upcoming events,” Evans said, citing last Sunday’s California Dreamin’ event with the ousted executive director of the California Coastal Commission, Dr. Charles Lester, in Bodega Bay and an upcoming discussion panel on the Russian River’s health slated for Wednesday, Sept. 28.

“It’s important to have these conversations,” Evans said.
Evans has also focused a lot of her campaign on pinpointing Hopkins’ financers, which include real estate, development and construction organizations, and farm and winery interests.

“It’s a common campaign tactic,” Evans said. “When you talk about the facts, the truth comes out,” she added.
McCuan said that Hopkins’ approach to a reconstructed government and campaign has cut into the traditional base of voters.

“A lot of people are tired of the old ‘us versus them’ mentality,” McCuan said.

An example of Hopkins reaching out into the base is her aim is to give a political voice to the unincorporated parts of the county.

“There are parts of Sonoma County that have been otherwise neglected,” Hopkins said.

As part of her grassroots government campaign, Hopkins has pitched a community improvement district to these “neglected” areas.

“The idea is to create a local elected body in unincorporated Sonoma County, such as the coastline and Russian River,” Hopkins said.

The districts would receive transient occupancy tax (TOT) funds to invest how the community wishes, such as recreation programs or issues related to homelessness, Hopkins said.

“It empowers the community to be able to take initiative,” Hopkins said.

With this idea, Hopkins has been able to gather some of the traditional voting base into her camp, while also targeting the younger and more progressive demographic of voters, such as the “hipsters, Millennials and gentleman farmers,” McCuan said.

Also helping her gain the younger population is her “shock and sizzle” tactics, which often include profanity — both during opening statements and in her promotional materials, including a recently released video of Hopkins kneeling in a field of cow pies.

While the pockets of tight votes from the primaries will likely remain the same, more people will turn out for the general election, McCuan said.

“You get a more diverse electorate, a more focused ballot,” he said. This November’s ballot contains many more measures than June’s, including hot countywide issues like the GMO ban, a TOT increase and tax measures to raise funds for the libraries and regional parks.

Those voting on such measures will identify stronger with one of the candidates, based on each candidate’s position on the measure. The measures, McCuan said, can really influence the way the Fifth District Supervisor vote turns out.

“That could change how people vote,” he said.