Once again, Barich shapes a Cotati election

Barich said bringing up the issue was a hypocritical dirty trick that illustrates how "desperate" his opponents are.

He pointed out that when he ran for council in 2004, Landman signed his nomination papers. And he said nothing he's done is equivalent to what Landman and Gilardi have done, which he describes as bringing the city "to its knees."

Landman this week said he didn't know in 2004 that Barich had been arrested.

"This points to exactly why it's so important for people to know about their candidates. Because if my neighbors and I had known who he really was, we would never have signed his petition," said Landman, who was appointed to the council in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by former Mayor Jon Guardino.

Gilardi, 51, said voters should know about the arrest.

"I think that the integrity of the individual who's running is important and that is certainly something that differentiates me from my opponent," said Gilardi, who has served on the council since 2000.