Santa Rosa Councilman John Sawyer has found out there?s a new City Council majority in town.
On Tuesday, just weeks after Sawyer was unanimously appointed vice chairman of the Sonoma County Transportation Authority by its membership, his own council ousted him from his new post.
The 4-3 vote to replace Sawyer with Councilman Gary Wysocky, part of the more environmentally-leaning majority that includes Mayor Susan Gorin, Marsha Vas Dupre and Veronica Jacobi, had Sawyer steaming mad Wednesday.
?It wasn?t Gary?s fault. He sought the position,? Sawyer said.
Instead, Sawyer found fault with the council members who chose to support Wysocky as the council?s appointee while relegating Sawyer to an alternate?s role.
SCTA executive director Suzanne Smith said the authority board of directors includes one representative from each of the county?s nine cities and three county supervisors. Each city also names an alternate who attends the SCTA?s monthly meetings if the regular appointee is unable to attend.
Smith said the authority functions ?as primarily an allocator of all transportation funding, whether that means managing the local Measure M sales tax or targeting what local projects get funded with state funds.? That can amount to apportioning tens of millions of dollars a year among competing projects.
Wysocky, who edged out Sawyer to gain the most votes in last November?s election, said gaining the SCTA position was one of his top campaign goals. The bicycling and alternative transportation advocate told fellow council members before the vote, ?I ran hard on that. It?s where my interests lie.?
Sawyer said voting him to fill the alternate?s role will cost the city the experience he?s gained during four years as a member of the SCTA, 3? years as an alternate.
?The best interests of Santa Rosa are being dismissed to satisfy the desire of a single council member. It?s a very unfortunate political position,? Sawyer said.
Gorin said the vote was political ?to some extent? but said Wysocky is a quick study.
?It wasn?t because we lost faith in John but this appointment signifies our council is placing increasing reliance on our representative to set a new tone and direction in transportation discussions,? she said.
?Transportation is about getting people from point A to point B but not necessarily by car,? Wysocky said.
?I bring a different perspective than most council people,? Wysocky said, adding he expects to be a strong advocate for alternative forms of transportation including travel by bike, train and foot.
?A prime example would be to build that bike and pedestrian over-crossing between Coddingtown and Santa Rosa Junior College. It would give residents on both sides an alternative way to get across town,? he said.
Councilwoman Jane Bender, who along with Councilman Ernesto Olivares supported Sawyer, suggested Wysocky be named the alternate to give him time to ?get involved and educated? about the SCTA?s internal workings.
Despite his backup role, Sawyer said plans to stay involved with the SCTA. ?If Gary needs my help in any way, I told him I?d help him,? Sawyer said.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: