Meet the 9 applicants for Cotati's vacant council seat

Name: George Barich

Years lived in Cotati: 19

Occupation: Electrician

Top goals: 1. Put the city on sound financial footing 2. Make City Hall more transparent 3. Seek to reflect the political diversity of Cotati

City experience: 11 months on the City Council

Quote: "Cotati is a very diverse community, and the council doesn't reflect that."

Name: Isaac Freed

Years lived in Cotati: 6

Occupation: Solar energy contractor

Top goals: 1. Participate in the community of Cotati 2. Focus on creating a sustainable tax base 3. Discuss and establish a collective vision of what Cotati wants to be

City experience: None

Quote: "What does Cotati want to be? There's a quote that says &‘You have to be careful if you don't know where you're going because you might not get there.' It's time to create and implement a vision of the future for all stakeholders."

Name: Linell Hardy

Years lived in Cotati: 35

Occupation: Genealogist

City experience: Former city planning commissioner

Top goals: 1. See the city become more sustainable 2. Stabilize the city's finances 3. See a small hotel come to Cotati to bring in extra revenue

Quote: "I've always had an interest in city politics, so I thought I'd give it a shot."

Name: Ed Hirsch

Years lived in Cotati: 11

Occupation: IT specialist

City experience: none

Top goals: 1. Ensure the plan for the second downtown exit is executed 2. Improve the quality of local schools 3. Make sure the new downtown plan is adequate

Quote: "I know we've lost some kids to other school districts, and I'd like to improve attendance at our local schools."

Name: Sky Matula

Years lived in Cotati: 7

Occupation: Small business owner and general contractor

City experience: none

Top goals: 1. Would listen to residents and find out their interests 2. Would become involved in the SMART rail station project in Cotati 3. Would become involved in the downtown development plan

Quote: "I'd love to see Old Redwood Highway developed in a different manner. It's currently in a sad state."

Name: John Moore

Occupation: Insurance underwriter

Editor's note: Moore could not be reached for more information

Ashley Veach

Years lived in Cotati: 7

Occupation: Operations manager for clean energy startup

Top goals: 1. Integrating small businesses 2. Seeing local businesses thrive 3. Integrating the environment and energy efficiency

City experience: Serves on the city's Community and Environment Commission

Quote: "There are so many shopping centers that lie vacant, and I would love to see them be filled."

Name: Eris Weaver

Years lived in Cotati: 10

Occupation: Conflict resolution / facilitator

Top goals: 1. Finding ways to have civil dialogue 2. Making the best use of resources 3. Finding solutions to fill commercial vacancies

City experience: None

Quote: "I work in conflict resolution, and part of my motivation is to help people hear each other out. I thought I could put that in service to the city."

Name: Alan Wintermeyer

Years lived in Cotati: 30

Occupation: Nurse practitioner

Top goals: 1. Do the greatest good for the greatest number of people in Cotati 2. Get a balanced budget 3. Make the best use of resources

City experience: none

Quote: "I've worked at the JC for 32 years, and for the last six or seven we've had rather austere times. It's the same for local municipalities, we have to make the best use of resources."

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