Progressive Sebastopol Voter's Guide

[Peacetown Jonathan]

This is Progressive Sebastopol's fourth Voter Guide since our founding during the 2010 election.

We are a small group of Sebastopol/West Sonoma county community members who are interested in helping to create a sustainable and forward-moving future for the City of Sebastopol, County of Sonoma, and the State of California. Progressive Sebastopol gathers together as a group representing a diversity of ages and political views. We then distribute the guide in our community. Our current roster includes: Jonathan Greenberg, Kai Harris, Peggy Karp, Kai Lewis, Jim McGreen, David Mendez, Stuart Mitchell, and Harvey Sherman.


Progressive Sebastopol Voter Guide, November 2014

(click on attachment to easily print)


SEBASTOPOL

Sebastopol City Council Jonathan Greenberg, Una Glass, & Sarah Gurney
Jonathan Greenberg, a founder of Progressive Sebastopol, is an effective public interest advocate who led the campaign to restore library hours. Now helping effort to reopen hospital emergency room, he is committed to greater transparency, reducing traffic and overdue budgeting for bike lanes and electric vehicles for city fleet.
Sarah Gurney record shows she has remained true to the progressive values of our community.
Una Glass is a lifelong progressive environmentalist and experienced organizational administrator.


SONOMA COUNTY

Palm Drive Health Care District Richard Powers & Dennis Colthurst
Reopening Palm Drive Hospital's life-saving emergency room will require a District Board majority that is willing to allow the Foundation plan to proceed. This means Powers and Colthurst, instead of their opponent Jim Horn.

Measure H YES
This measure will allow our County’s jewel of higher education to remain world class, hopefully freeing funds to reduce class size and hire more full-time employees.

*Measure M YES
This tiny sales tax will reopen the library Mondays and evenings and resolve the library funding crisis.

Measure R NO
Like the Press Democrat, we would have supported extending the existing UUT tax, but four new taxes (3.75% on landline, cell phone, cable, and garbage) without a transparent demonstration of need is unacceptable.

Schools Sonoma County Junior College District Jordan Burns
Union High School District David Stecher, Kellie Noe, & Lori Bruhner


STATEWIDE:

Governor Jerry Brown
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newson
Secretary of State Alex Padilla
Controller Betty T. Yee
Treasurer John Chiang
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
State Board of Equalization Fiona Ma
United States Representative Jared Huffman
Senate, 2^nd District Mike McGuire
Member of State Assembly Marc Levine
ALSO Santa Rosa City Council Curtis Byrd
Fourth District Supervisor Deb Fudge

Proposition 1 – State Water Bond NO
Measuring and pricing water-guzzling farms is
needed, not more dams.

Proposition 2 – State Budget Reserves YES
Allows flexibility in event of a downturn.

Proposition 45 – Health Insurance Regulation YES
We agree with Cal Nurses Association over insurance
industry on this tough question

Proposition 46 –Medical Malpractice awards NO
More drug testing and lawsuits? No way!

Proposition 47 – Criminal Sentences YES
CA must reduce our incarceration rate.

Proposition 48 – Gaming/Casinos NO
Location venue shopping sets a bad precedent.


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Progressive Sebastopol’s Top Local Issues For 2014

To Open Our Hospital: Elect Powers and Colthurst

Progressive Sebastopol supports longtime community doctor Richard Powers and retired police officer Dennis Colthurst for the important Palm Drive District Board election this November.

Powers and Colthurst are running to create a Board majority that is committed to reopening Palm Drive with a financially sustainable model that includes its life-saving emergency room. The hospital parcel tax continues with or without an emergency room. The “Doc and Cop” are running against incumbent Jim Horn. Horn, who deceptively overstates the cost of reopening, has emerged as the leading opponent of re-opening an emergency room. Horn speaks of supporting an “urgent care” alternative to an ER, but urgent care cannot, by law, accept ambulances or provide critically needed ER services that have saved lives in our community for generations.

An impressive team of business and medical experts in West Sonoma County has been working for months to create a bold new financially sustainable hospital with an emergency room, as well as an expanded governance model. Palm Drive Hospital was rated by Consumer Reports as the safest hospital in the entire state of California. Our community deserves a District Board and a City Council that is fully committed to reopening it.


Vote YES on Measure M To Save Our Libraries!

Sebastopol’s beloved library, and the entire Sonoma County Library system, is now four years into their worst funding crisis in history. Due to an unprecedented 25% cutback in hours, libraries have been closed on Mondays and evenings for the fist time in a century, locking out thousands of children, teens, and seniors from this valuable public service. Sonoma County now spends just one third per capita what Marin and San Francisco spend on their libraries. Measure M is a 1/8 of 1% sales tax that will cost just 12 cents for every $100 of taxable purchases. It will raise $10 million per year to restore and enhance hours, programs, and collections. Progressive Sebastopol urges everyone to vote yes on Measure M!


Greenberg for a More Transparent and Responsive City Council

Jonathan is an effective public interest advocate who created and led the campaign to restore library hours in Sonoma County. He is committed to empowering local citizens through greater transparency, which included exposing the faulty CVS traffic report. He is a leader in the effort to reopen Palm Drive Hospital with an emergency room. His progressive vision includes a green Sebastopol that budgets (not just talks about) bike lanes and electric vehicles for the city’s fleet.