Longtime incumbent, new faces in Windsor council race

Windsor is going to see some new faces on the Town Council this year.

And for a change, the outcome won’t be predetermined, as opposed to the past two elections, one of which was canceled due to a lack of challengers.

This time around, two long-term council members - Steve Allen and Robin Goble - decided not to run again, leaving Sam Salmon as the only incumbent willing to give it another go along with four other candidates.

Salmon, who has been in office 20 years, and is vying for a record sixth term, is currently the longest-serving council member in any of Sonoma County’s nine cities.

The Nov. 4 election comes as residential development is again picking up steam; the town’s ?20-year blueprint for growth - the general plan - is being revised; and Windsor tries to deal with a large housing project on its western periphery that it has little, if any control over.

The 147-unit project off Windsor River Road planned by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians is awaiting approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to have 124 acres owned by the tribe placed into federal trust. It would clear the way for the homes and cultural center to be built, independent of local development guidelines and approval.

The tribe, which owns the San Pablo Casino in the East Bay, has steadfastly insisted it has no plans to build another casino in Windsor. Although the tribe said it can proceed by developing its own wells and sewer system, it wants to hook up to Windsor’s utilities.

That would require approval from Windsor voters because the land is outside the town’s ultimate urban boundary. But the tribe has offered some incentives to help obtain town utilities, including the possibility of funding a municipal swimming center, a long sought, but elusive goal for the community.

“The tribe is like a separate nation and they can put in their own water and sewer system if they want to,” said Planning Commissioner and water adviser Mark Millan, one of the five town council candidates who spoke at a League of Women Voters Candidates Night last week.

“It would behoove us to consider working with them,“ Millan said, “versus have them build a new wastewater treatment system on the edge of town.”

Salmon noted that the tribe has given $1 million to the Windsor school district and significant amounts to the fire district.

“I happen to think the Indians can bring a lot to the town. What they want to do is establish their homeland. Their homeland was here many years ago,” he said.

Council candidate and defense attorney Evan Zelig said he doesn’t think the tribe has any plans for a casino. “They are going to be very welcome neighbors. I think for Windsor it presents an amazing opportunity, culturally, to have them,” he said.

Businessman and Planning Commission Chairman Dominic Foppoli said Windsor needs to work with the tribe to ensure it doesn’t build its own sewage plant and the Pomos pay their fair share not only for utilities, but police protection and roads.

Frank Di Massa, an energy consultant, was the lone candidate to suggest the tribe build its own utilities on site, saying there are new, sophisticated methods for sewer treatment and minimizing energy use.

Di Massa said he is running for Town Council to “lead the town’s effort in sustainability.”

With what he acknowledges is a touch of bravado, Di Massa said he would make Windsor a leader in per capita solar electric production, electric vehicle ownership and associated recharge stations, as well make the water, sewer and electricity utility systems more “robust, reliable and secure.”

“ Local businesses will expand and solid jobs will be created in this sector as a result,” he asserted.

Millan said his priority is for Windsor to become more business-friendly by working with town staff and the business community.

“We need to look at what are the impediments to newer business coming into our community,” he said.

The candidates expressed concern about vacant storefronts in the Lakewood Shopping Center, and offered varied opinions on other topics such as the possibility of getting a boutique hotel built next to the Town Green.

Foppoli said a hotel needs to be built, probably as a public-private partnership.

Salmon said the hotel would probably need funding from the town, but it could be paid back.

Di Massa said a hotel would need a $3.8 million subsidy and might conflict with Windsor’s small- town atmosphere, but he wouldn’t necessarily vote against it.

Millan said Windsor overall has come a long way with the creation of the Town Green, current construction for an Oliver’s Market and the “finest schools in the county.”

But he said it’s time to “step it up a bit.”

“I think it’s time to reboot; hit the refresh button but keep the things that have been working well and consider how we can meet the new challenges,” Millan said.

Zelig said as the newest resident running for council he knows it prompts questions about “how the new guy can lead and help direct our town.”

“Leadership is not about how long somebody has lived here. It’s not about how long somebody has managed or led in the past. It’s about seeing where the town is headed in our future and getting us there in the best possible way,” he said.

Zelig said he got the endorsements of incumbents Goble and Allen because they recognized the town needed new energy, vision and new blood. Millan also was endorsed by Allen and Goble.

Salmon acknowledges the 20 years he’s been on the Town Council is “a long time.”

He was involved in some of the early incorporation efforts around the time Windsor became Sonoma County’s newest city in 1992.

“It’s been a wonderful experience for me, and that’s really why I’m running,” he said. “The town has provided me with a lot of opportunity.”

Salmon said his passions are smart growth, conservation and sustainability.

He said Windsor is an amazing town with amazing employees and citizens.

Not to be outdone by the superlatives, Foppoli called Windsor “the greatest town in America.” He said it would have made more sense to open the brewery and wine lounge he owns in Healdsburg, where there is more foot traffic, but he made a conscious decision to locate them in Windsor, in Town Green Village.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.