PD Editorial: Gurney, Glass and Slayter in Sebastopol

During the Sebastopol City Council election two years ago, the central issue in town was the development of the CVS pharmacy. This year, it’s the closure of Palm Drive Hospital. But is it an issue for the City Council?

Jonathan Greenberg, the only non-incumbent in this fall’s four-person race for the City Council, thinks it should be. It’s one of the reasons this has turned into an “us vs. him” campaign - a race of three incumbents, all supporting one another, against the one challenger, a frequent critic of the council’s actions and inactions.

Greenberg, a journalist and owner of a public interest communications firm, contends the city should be offering cutbacks on water and wastewater charges as a way to help the hospital reopen its emergency room. It’s part of his five-point plan to help the hospital. Greenberg also believes the council should be doing more to ensure transparency in city business and accountability on spending. He notes, for example, how the council recently bumped the salary of a couple of city employees, including the fire chief, whose pay could jump as much as 20 percent, without clearly showing what the long-term costs to the city would be.

The incumbents - Sarah Glade Gurney, Patrick Slayter and Una Glass - reply that the council passed a resolution offering to help the Palm Drive Hospital District board but have yet to hear from the district. Meanwhile, they say the change in pay was a relatively routine salary adjustment that brought the fire chief’s pay up to scale with chiefs in similar-sized communities.

They contend the city is moving in a positive direction, the council works well together and that many of Greenberg’s criticisms are overstated or misdirected.

It’s too bad it has come to this. In truth, what Sebastopol voters face in this election is a difficult choice among four intelligent, professional individuals who have a demonstrated desire to help the community.

Gurney, who has served on the council for 10 years, and Slayter, who’s seeking his second term, both deserve re-election. The critical-thinking skills of Gurney, a lawyer and mediator, and the land-use expertise of Slayter, an architect, have proven to be invaluable on the five-member council.

Una Glass was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the death of her husband Michael Kyes in May. But Glass is no newcomer. As executive director of Coastwalk California and one-time aide to former county Supervisor Mike Reilly, she is comfortable in the political arena and has helped fill the role her husband played as a numbers hawk on city finances. She advocates for long-term financial planning for the city and deserves a full term to make that happen.

Meanwhile, Greenberg has shown great promise as a community leader. For example, he was the primary agitant behind getting Measure M, a one-eighth-cent sales tax measure, on the Nov. 4 ballot supporting Sonoma County libraries.

Greenberg’s biggest problem is not political factions, it’s furniture. There simply aren’t enough open seats on the City Council.

But, given his focus on libraries and Palm Drive, we wonder whether he’s seeking the right position. Greenberg might have been better off running for the Palm Drive District board or seeking a seat on the county’s Library Commission. Either way, the region would be well-served to have him remain politically involved, asking hard questions.

For Sebastopol City Council, The Press Democrat recommends Sarah Glade Gurney, Patrick Slayter and Una Glass.