Sarah Gurney's answers to WaccoBB Sebastopol City Council Questionnaire

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WaccoBB Questionnaire
by Sarah Glade Gurney
Mayor of Sebastopol 2010
Candidate for City Council 2010
www.electsarahgurney.com

Please tell us a little about your background and why you want to run for the Sebastopol City Council.

I want to continue to serve Sebastopol. My six years’ experience on the Council offers the City stability, continuity, and leadership. Two of my colleagues are retiring, taking away 20 years’ experience. Without me, the new five-member Council would have to make do with only four years combined experience.

I am a licensed attorney with a mediation and collaborative practice in family law [details available at www.gurneyattorney.com].

When and why did you move to Sonoma County?

My husband, Dan, and I moved to Sebastopol 32 years ago after searching for a place to raise a family.

In 1978, we could see that we would not be able to afford a home or family if we stayed in Palo Alto. I was a walking letter carrier for the US Postal Service and Dan was a newly credentialed teacher, at a time when Palo Alto was closing schools due to declining enrollment and uncertain budgets.

We did research at the State Capitol and learned that Sonoma County had young families. As hikers, cyclists, and kayakers, we already knew and loved this area, so we took a close look and fell in love with Sebastopol. I secured a job as a letter carrier, we moved, then Dan found work with the County Office of Education. We had good fortune. I became the Postmaster at Duncans Mills, then went to law school, and Dan was hired at Dunham School, where he continues to teach Kindergarten. We raised our two children here, Elizabeth [AHS Class of 2002] and Ted [AHS Class of 2005], and continue to live in our first and only home.

How have you have been involved in the Sebastopol community?

Below is my Community Service resume, also available on line at www.electsarahgurney.com with photographs of me at work as the Mayor and a Councilmember.

City of Sebastopol
Sebastopol City Council Member 2004 to present
Mayor 2010
Water Sub-Committee
Sebastopol Walks Committee Co-Founder
Safe Routes to School
Dine Out Sebastopol Committee Founder
Center the City Sub-Committee
Slow Down Sebastopol Ad Hoc Committee

Sonoma County
Sonoma County Mayors and Councilmembers
Association 2010 Chair
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
Representative & Alternate to the
Executive Committee
Regional Climate Protection Authority
Representative
Health Action Representative
County/City Waste Advisory Group
Representative

State of California
California Coastal Commission
Alternate, North Central Coast, 2009 to present
representing Sonoma, Marin &
San Francisco Counties
Coastwalk California Board Member
Board Member, 1998 to present
Finance Committee

Affiliations
Collaborative Council of the Redwood Empire
Rotary of Sebastopol

Previous City Council Service
Mayor 2006 and 2009
Vice Mayor 2005
Citizen Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee
Founder
Sebastopol World Friends Liaison
Senior Center Liaison
Palm Drive Hospital Liaison
Budget Sub-Committee
Western Gateway Ad Hoc Committee
Business Outreach Committee Alternate
Ambassador to Sister City Yamauchi, Japan

Previous City Commissions & Service
Planning Commission
Including service as Chair & Vice-Chair
1987 – 1991
Parks and Recreation Commission
1980 – 1984
Sebastopol Area Chamber of Commerce
Board Member, 2002 – 2004

Previous County Service
Sonoma County Mayors & Councilmembers
Association2009 Vice Chair
Commission on the Status of Women
Fifth District Representative, 1980 – 1984
including service as Chair & Vice-Chair
Legal Aid of Sonoma County
Board Member, including service as Vice-Chair
Kids’ Turn Advisory Board

What experience and values do you bring to the table?

My Community Service resume, above, highlights my experience.
My values, in alphabetical order and not exhaustive, are:

Accessibility
Accountability
Authenticity
Beauty
Community
Compassion
Courtesy
Creativity
Curiosity
Diversity
Economic Vitality
Environmental Health
Equanimity
Flexibility
Generosity
Gratitude
Heritage
Open-mindedness
Procedure
Respect
Responsibility
Responsiveness
Simplicity
Social Equity
Sustainability
Tolerance
Transparency

What important decisions of the Sebastopol City Council from the last 4 years, including the Northeast Plan, do you particularly agree or disagree with?

I am the only candidate who can answer this question from the perspective of participating in the decisions.

I disagree, now and at the time, with then City Manager Dave Brennan’s recommendation to the Council to link the decision about a Specific Plan for the Northeast Area with its environmental review. I believe that it would have been wiser and more economical to fully discuss and commit to a plan, then pay for its environmental review. As happened, we all waited a long time for the plan to be drafted, then another very long time for the EIR to be drafted. We got a Plan we disagreed with and environmental impacts that were not acceptable. The long gap in timing frustrated and distanced the public from the Council.

Would you vote to spend $20,000 for a study of the feasibility of eliminating one or more city parking lots?

This question is based upon misinformation and/or misunderstanding.

The CDA has already directed Staff to do a study of the usage of the city-owned parking lots at no expense, nor any use of any portion of $20,000. Staff will be reporting on the under-usage or under-service of the each of the four City-owned lots that are currently limited to single-story daytime car-storage.

The dedication of $20,000 in funds, regarding the real property that the City owns outright within the Community Development Agency, is to consider the highest and best use of this real estate. These uses include parking, as well as numerous others, as reported from the “Center the City” Town Hall meetings.

We learned from the NEAP experience to do in-fill development in areas within the urban core and above the flood plain. The major in-fill sites available are owned by the City. Thus, the City could develop these lots for a community purpose, rather than wait for years for a private owner and private developer to propose whatever they want to do under the zoning.

The City’s parking lots, excepting the busy one at the Library/Senior Center, have been nick-named “the dead zones” because no activity is taking place there other than car storage. I believe that citizens and visitors would enjoy a lively, vital downtown, with businesses, restaurants, offices, housing, services, walkways, parks, entertainment, and so on, rather than the gaps that we have now along our business sidewalks. I also believe that we have to accommodate our parking needs, in conjunction with more liveliness.

Would you support a free wi-fi system for Downtown Sebastopol at no cost to the city?

In light of the fact that the withdrawal of the previous offer resulted in a multitude of signals, I am willing to carefully consider any proposal that may come forward.

How would you support our local economy?

I support our new position, the Economic Development Coordinator, as well as our Business Outreach Committee, our Business Incubator, and our local entrepreneurs group. I will continue to partner with the Chamber of Commerce and others to create and maintain innovative programs, such as Sebastopol Walks and Dine Out Sebastopol, that I started at no expense to the City. I want to see our urban core populated with new businesses, services, amenities, activities and residents. The real estate that the City owns outright presents to opportunity sites for some of this development.

What do you see as the most pressing current problems in Sebastopol, and what would you do about them?

Climate change being our most pressing problem, I will make every decision to decrease our climate footprint. For example, we face traffic-related issues on a daily basis. I have and will continue to work for pedestrian and bicyclist safety. I also intend to create a more enjoyable ambiance, in our urban core and the South Gravenstein areas. Our incoming Feasibility Study will present such opportunities for safety and redesign. We need to work as a community to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions due to our transportation patterns and lifestyle.

I will work to increase our social connectivity. Our “small town character” is one the three main reasons people want to live here, along with safety and good schools.

What is your vision of Sebastopol in 2030? And what's the most pressing long term issue?

In 2030, I will be 77 years old. I hope we have a well-established assisted living facility in our downtown, with graduated levels of care. With our current aged and baby boomer populations, we need such a facility right now, so that our elders are no longer displaced from their long-time homes and from the community that has supported their lives.

Our most pressing issue is climate recovery, which encompasses water.

What does "sustainability" mean to you?

Sustainability means living on our earth in such a way as to leave it better for those to follow us in seven generations. This definition encompasses social and economic issues, as well as environmental ones.

What will you do to preserve, protect and enhance the environment?

I will consider our land, air and water resources in every decision and work to accomplish our climate protection goals. One specific effort, for which I hope to gain support, is the restoration of Calder Creek and replanting of its riparian corridor paralleling our bike trail from Petaluma Avenue through the Railroad Forest to the main Laguna channel. I would also like to see the acquisition of its undeveloped headwaters properties for a park in the south part of town.

Do you feel you have any inadequacies as a potential Council member? How would you address them?

I am slower than some people at responding to email, because I receive more daily email than I can answer easily. I also prefer interactive conversation. To address this, I have made myself available for office hours, at City Hall, on the local bus Route 24, and at our Farm Market, so that people can speak to me in person and directly about their issues. I am the first Mayor, in recorded history at City Hall, to have office hours.

Who has endorsed you?

My list of endorsements is updated several times each week and posted at www.electsarahgurney.com. Below is the listing as of October 18, 2010.

Electeds:

Lynn Woolsey, Congressperson

Noreen Evans, Assembly Member
Efren Carrillo, Supervisor Fifth District
Shirlee Zane, Supervisor Third District

Steve Barbose, Mayor of Sonoma
Susan Gorin, Mayor of Santa Rosa
Carol Russell, Mayor of Cloverdale
Sam Salmon, Mayor of Windsor
Pam Stafford, Mayor of Rohnert Park
Pam Torliatt, Mayor of Petaluma
Jim Woods, Mayor of Healdsburg

Dave Glass, Vice Mayor of Petaluma
Guy Wilson, Vice Mayor of Sebastopol
Gary Wysocky, Vice Mayor of Santa Rosa

Teresa Barrett, Petaluma City Council
Ken Brown, Sonoma City Council
Deb Fudge, Windsor Town Council
Laurie Gallian, Sonoma City Council
Pat Gilardi, Cotati City Council
Susan Harvey, Cotati City Council
Linda Kelley, Sebastopol City Council
Mark Landman, Cotati City Council
Joe Palla, Cloverdale City Council
Tiffany Renee, Petaluma City Council
Eric Ziedrich, Healdsburg City Council

Citizens:

Phil Aaron
Cindy Albers
Dorothy S. Anderson
Garland R. Anderson
Janet Anderson
Warren Arnold

David Bacigalupi
Ron Bartholomew
Alexis Bauer
Brian Bauer
Ellen Bauer
Natasha Beauchamp
Robert O. Beauchamp
Dave Bell
Kathy Bell
Marty Bennett
Helen C. Berg
Robert Berg
Gayle Bergmann
Peter Bergmann
Robert Bialkin
Debra Birkinshaw
Tate Birnie
Dorothy Blake
W. Shepherd Bliss
Tom Boag
Craig Boblitt
Robert Brent
Britt Brittan
Meg Brittan
Gale Brownell
Phil Brownell
Tony Buffa
Steve Bursch
Genny Byrne
Dennis Byrne

Billy Carmen
Ernie Carpenter, Supervisor Fifth District, Retired
Kate Cesaretti
Bob Clement
Phyllis Clement
Bill Cole MD
Wendy Cole
Allan Cone
Jim Corbett
Kim Cottingham
Jeff Churma
Val Churma

Bud Daveiro
Emily Davis
Mel Davis
Carol De Bello
Barbara Deedler
Lynn Deedler
Jim Dempsey
Nancy Dempsey
Donna Diehl
Patricia Dines
Laraine Downer
Holly Downing
Kevin Dwan
Rebecca Dwan

Sandy Eastoak
Molly Eckler
Doug Emery
Rebecca Evert

Jim Fain
Gregory Fearon
Evert Fernandez
Yvonne Fernandez
Fred Fletcher
Don Frank
Cynthia Franco

Beth Gallock
Bob Gillen
Heidi Gillen
Una J. M. Glass
Laura Golman
Raven Green
Tej Greenhill
Dan Gurney
Elizabeth Gurney
James T. Gurney

Don Hamilton
Lynn Hamilton, Former Mayor of Sebastopol
Linda Hanes
Barbara Harris
Buffie Harris
Beth Hartmann
Trathen Heckman
Peaches Henning
Tricia Hoffman
Patty Holden
Geni Houston
Amy Howard
Dave Hubert
Nancy Hubert

Robert Jacob
Greg Jacobs
Ken Jacobs
Greg Jacobs
Bobbi Johanson
Linda Johnson
Don C. Johnston
Louise Johnston

Sharon Kaiser
Arlene Kallen
Brad Kallen
Sharon Keating
Katherine Kendall
Kit Kehr
Connie Kellogg
Constance King

Nick Kishmirian
John Kramer
Jude Kreissman
Michael Kyes

Sharon Ledbetter
Jacque Lefler
David Little
Craig Litwin, Former Mayor of Sebastopol
Nancy LoDolce
Mike Long
Sandra Luce
Margaret Lynch
Tim Lynch

Kathy Madgett
Wayne Madgett
Marilyn Madrone
Magick
Connie Mahoney
Laura Malcolm
Chris Mauer
Sandi Mauer
Sandy Mays
Evelyn McClure
Phyliss H. Meshulam
Frances Minervini-Zick
Glenn Minervini-Zick
Carol Mitchel

Joel Neuberg
Pam Neuberg
Jane Nielson
Brenda Nichols
Richard Nichols
Mary Nordstrom
David Noren

Bill Oetinger
Kathy Oetinger
Susan Olson
Bill Olzman
Bob Oshetsky

John Parry
Fred W. Patterson
Kathy Patterson
Jeffry Pearce, Sr.
Paula Pearce
Deborah Perel
Geoff Perel
Carol Capria Pinnow
Glen S. Pinnow
Andrea Ponticiello
Brenda Poston-Schaeffer
Patti McCabe-Price
Craig Price

Mike Reilly, Supervisor Fifth District, Retired
Jewel Robbins
Marty Roberts
Ruth Robinson
Bill Roby
Peggy Rogers
Susan Romer
Bleys Rose
Monique Rubin
Robert Rubin

Nick Sanders
Ruth Sanford
Kumari Savidas
Matt Savinar
David Schaeffer
Peter Schurch
Paul H. Schwebel
Laura Shafer
Helen Shane
Liz Shatto
Jay Sheeks
Peter Schurch
Julie Sicaud
Patrice Sicaud
Miriam Silver
John R. Simmons
Laura Sparrow
Ron Sparrow
Bill Spence
Trish Spence
Betty Stanfield
John Starkey
Amy Stevens
Heidi Stewart
Nick Stewart, Former Mayor of Sebastopol
Linda Sundheim
Zeno Swijtink

Lynne Tabler
William R. Tabler
Clay Takaya
Rick Theis
Deanne Thompson
Ellen Thompson
Kathleen Thompson
Terriann Tomlim
Gabrielle Trubach
David Turchin

Nancy Unger
JoAnn Uribe

Denise Veirs
Rhea Voge

Christopher Wagner
David Walls
Melissa Weaver
Marty Webb
Sue Wendrow
Yvette Williams van Aggelen
Babetta Wilson
Janis Wilson
Roger Wilson
Barry Wosk
Susan Wosk
Vic Wright

Jennifer York

Emily Zeinal
Majid Zeinal

Organizations:

Coalition for a Better Sonoma County
Sierra Club – Sonoma County
Sonoma County Conservation Action – SCCA
Young Democrats of Sonoma County
Sonoma County Democratic Party
Progressive Democrats of Sonoma County

Do you think it is appropriate for the city to take official stands on national issues, and if so, what stands would you like to see taken?

Yes, there are many issues of county, state, and national significance upon which I would recommend the Council take a stand, notably on those that affect our environment [my position indicated in parenthesis], for example: the Dutra Asphalt Plant in Petaluma [against]; the Petaluma Rock Quarry [against; seek to uphold Ag and Open Space easements]; the closure of the State Beaches in Sonoma County [against]; Smart Meters [moratorium, with voluntary opt-in provision for willing participants]; off-shore drilling [opposed]; marine sanctuary [support]; and climate recovery [support]. \

Do you support CA Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana? And if it passes, what taxes or regulations would you want to see applied?

Yes. If this measure passes, I would ask our Council Sub-Committee to make a recommendation about taxes or regulations and I would consider their positions. If this becomes a new, “conventional” means of taxation by virtue of its passage, I would consider it; however, the Council must first review up-to-date revenue figures, to verify need, before discussing any possibility of additional taxes.