Sebastopol City Council Election

[Helen Shane]

Election Update October 22, 2012

By now, most of you have seen the slick 4-color flyer circulated by Kathy Austin and the one paid for by Sustainable Sebastopol praising both Ms Austin and Ms Shaffer.

They’ve tried to bury in the past the matter of the two-year battle for domination of our downtown core by CVS/Chase and of course, their under and over the radar support of CVS/Chase. The votes by Ms Shaffer and Ms Austin’s Sonoma West opinion piece and her public testimony urging approval of the project are all part of the record. Kathy Austin also voted against approval of our Urban Growth Boundary back in the 90’s.Subsequently, the UGB was approved by a vote of 69% of Sebastopol citizens.

Everyone knows the CVS/Chase move can still happen, but only with a City Council majority who will support them.

Now comes this alert

Kathleen Shaffer’s husband/campaign treasurer Bob Green told people at the Firefighters’ Pancake Breakfast that candidates Jacob and Eder “may be ahead now, but wait until next week”.

One must wonder if mud is to be slung at which candidate, and by whom. Will it be the Kathleen and Bob campaign itself or will it be some Independent Expenditure committee known to Mr. Green?

The campaign financial disclosures of both Ms Austin and Ms Shaffer reveal that the L.A. based California Real Estate Pac has so far contributed $1500 to each of them as of 9/30. Who knows how much more will be dumped into our local election before Election Day by these pro-development factions?

The election should be contested on the basis of who can be trusted to guide the future path of Sebastopol, who shares the values of our unique town. Candidates “under the radar” Shaffer and Austin seem to want growth no matter how incompatible with our unique small town. They are apparently willing to “recharacterize events” to reach their goals and are supported by the same tunnel-vision group who claim that Sebastopol is anti-business. They ignore the inconvenient truth that the Barlow development in progress is the second largest private project in Sonoma County. And more than a dozen independent businesses are already committed to open there

Barlow’s new Kosta-Brown winery will itself generate more that a half million dollars in new sales taxes, with little traffic impact. The business is mostly mail order.

Eder and Jacob support The Barlow that will provide jobs and generate sales tax for our City. That means more new businesses and revenues with much less traffic than the 2000 daily trips of CVS/Chase!

These thoughtful City Council candidates, John Eder and Robert Jacob, are independent business people, working for and committed to a balanced pro-local business and pro-environment small town. They are endorsed by Sonoma County Conservation Action, the Sierra Club, the Progressive Democrats, and hundreds more!

Don't vote for the Shaffer/Austin duo and their recipe for gridlock at one of our premier downtown corners.

Keep in mind as we are voting on the future of Sebastopol.

Vote for the truth.

John Eder and

Robert Jacob



johneder2012.weebly.com Jacob4council.com



for Sebastopol City Council

[Helen Shane]

Sebastopol voters may be treated to some nasty mud-slinging coming from the realtors and developers Political Action Committee “Sustainable” Sebastopol. Their goal would be to trash the small town, anti CVS/Chase candidates, Robert Jacob and John Eder.

We are encouraged that the pro-CVS/Chase side thinks that Jacob and Eder are winning. But we are saddened that Shaffer’s husband seems to be threatening that nasty mud will be thrown at Jacob and Eder.

This election that should be about the issues; CVS, traffic, respect for the general plan (including its revision), and our vision of a unique and friendly small town. Who do we trust to do right when the next big decision comes along? This election should not be about big real estate-developer money throwing mud.
Candidates Shaffer and Austin seem to want growth no matter how incompatible with a small town. Both are endorsed by the Sonoma County Alliance, realtors, and developers. Both have received $1500 donations from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee of L.A. What does that tell us about their views?

Candidate Austin:we have her record on the City Council. There she joined two other pro-development council members to vote down Sebastopol’s urban growth boundary, which preserves open space and prevents sprawl. Thankfully a vote of the people overturned her vote and finally established our urban growth boundary.

Austin’s initial reaction to Santa Rosa’s plan to build a golf course in the Laguna was, “ They own Kelly Farm …they have the right to do it”. (This is her same position on CVS.) At a public meeting on the golf course, she introduced an article for “environmentally friendly” golf courses. When advocates for the Laguna tried to speak, she told them to sit down …”We know what you think,” and then wrote about the bad manners of the environmentalists! Austin finally reluctantly “opposed” the golf course in the Laguna, but not because it was wrong, but because building it would …”get into a protracted legal situation.”

When Austin was on the Council, she repeatedly vetoed pro- environmental architects for spots on the voluntary City boards, the Planning Commission and the Design Review Board. One pro-environmental architect who had been invited to apply for the position was passed over in favor of an architect who shared office space with Mayor Austin. Austin’s treatment of him was so outrageous that Sonoma West ran a cartoon of Austin holding a fishing pole dangling the appointment just out of reach of the poor architect. Austin treated him like a dog being teased with a bone!

Candidate Shaffer’s running with candidate Austin suggests that Shaffer and Austin share similar anti-environmental and pro-development views on the future of Sebastopol and who should serve on our boards.

The realtors and developers supporting Austin and Shaffer are the same folks who claim that Sebastopol is anti-business, ignoring the inconvenient truth that the Barlow development is the second largest private project in Sonoma County.

The second largest private project in Sonoma County! And more than a dozen businesses are already committed to open there. The new Kosta-Brown winery at Barlow will itself generate more that a half million dollars in new sales taxes, with little traffic impact since their business is mostly mail order.

The thoughtful City Council candidates, John Eder and Robert Jacob, are both small business people, and committed to a balanced pro-local business and pro-environment small town. They are endorsed by Sonoma County Conservation Action, the Sierra Club, the Progressive Democrats, and hundreds more!

Eder and Jacob support the Barlow job and sales tax-providing development, where we get many more new businesses and revenues with much less traffic than the 2000 daily trips of CVS/Chase!

These ideas, rather than the Shaffer/Austin mudslinging, are the truths that we should keep in mind as we are voting on the future of Sebastopol.

John Kramer