Guardino resigns as Cotati mayor

<p>Cotati, which already has scheduled a recall election to decide the fate of one councilman, now must find a replacement for a second after the resignation of Mayor John Guardino.</p><p>Guardino sent his resignation letter to the council on Friday. He confirmed his departure in an e-mail Saturday and did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p>Vice Mayor Robert Coleman-Senghor said Guardino's resignation wasn't connected to the ongoing recall election of Councilman George Barich.</p><p>Instead, he said, officials had known for about a year that Guardino might resign in order to go into agriculture.</p><p>The city's Web site says that Guardino is “an agricultural scientist for a local resource conservation district.” Coleman-Senghor said it was his understanding that Guardino has been selected for a grant project and it requires that he live on the farm property.</p><p>“He's following the long-standing ambitions that he has had,” the vice mayor said.</p><p>Cotati voters on Nov. 17 will decide whether to recall Barich.</p><p>In his two-paragraph resignation letter to the four other council members, Guardino wrote:</p><p>“New personal commitments and responsibilities will require that I reside outside of the City limits. As such, I am resigning from the Council effective immediately.”</p><p>Coleman-Senghor said the council will decide whether to appoint Guardino's replacement or hold a special election so voters can make that choice. He said he favored appointing someone to serve the remaining 13 months of Guardino's term.</p><p>“We have a mechanism that can save the city money,” he said.</p>