Erin Carlstrom to depart from Santa Rosa marijuana committee

Santa Rosa Mayor John Sawyer is replacing Councilwoman Erin Carlstrom on the city’s high-profile marijuana policy subcommittee following her announcement that she is not seeking re-election.

Sawyer said he made the change in part because Carlstrom asked to be removed from the committee, citing her busy work and family schedule. Carlstrom is working at a local cannabis-focused law firm and raising two children, including a young daughter she recently adopted.

Carlstrom’s decision not to run for a second term in November also played a role in the move, Sawyer said. If he was going to replace her eventually, it seemed better to do it sooner rather than later, he said.

“Given the gravity of this issue in the city right now, I think it’s probably appropriate that the mayor has a place at the table,” Sawyer said.

During her time on the council, Carlstrom has advocated for the rights of medical marijuana users. She also has been supportive of efforts to make the city more welcoming to the industry as the state plans greater regulation of medical marijuana and voters prepare to decide in November whether to legalize it for recreational use.

Since October she has worked as an associate attorney for the Rogoway Law Group, which represents the medical cannabis industry. Her LinkedIn profile indicates she works in government relations, corporate compliance, land use and permitting.

She received legal guidance from the previous city attorney stating she would not have a conflict of interest on the subcommittee as long as she didn’t represent clients directly benefiting financially from the policies being debated by the committee, Sawyer said.

“She was going to have to be careful and mindful of not doing that,” Sawyer said.

Since then, more information has come to light about her ties to local players in the industry.

In June, Santa Rosa police raided cannabis-oil manufacturer CBD Guild and arrested its manager, Dennis Franklin Hunter, who was later released without charges. The raid revealed the guild is represented by the Rogoway Law Group’s founder, Joe Rogoway, and its spokesman is Carlstrom’s ex-husband, former political consultant Nick Caston.

Though it has remained shuttered since the raid, CBD Guild could directly benefit from the new rules being crafted by the city committee about where and how cannabis “support” industries, including oil manufacturing, can operate. As such, the committee’s work could have benefited a key client of her law firm and a source of income to her ex-husband, with whom she shares joint custody of their 2-year-old son.

Carlstrom declined repeated requests for comment.

Sawyer would not comment on whether potential conflicts of interest played a role in his decision. He noted that individual council members, while advised by city legal staff, are responsible for deciding themselves whether they have any conflicts.

Interim City Attorney Teresa Stricker declined Tuesday to say whether she had given Carlstrom any legal guidance, verbal or written, and said if she had, it would be exempt from disclosure under the state’s Public Records Act.

The subcommittee meets at 9 a.m. today in the City Council chambers to review draft rules for cannabis support industries, and to consider a program to help existing businesses gain compliance with those rules.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.