Sonoma County supervisors postpone Golden Gate Bridge appointment

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed a politically charged appointment to a key Bay Area transportation board, withholding until mid-December any decision on a seat at the center of a tug-of-war between labor groups and business interests that had lined up behind two leading candidates.

The political scrum escalated in the aftermath of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District Board’s decision to lay off nearly 150 workers as the fee- and toll-funded district grapples with unprecedented revenue losses amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More than a dozen labor groups sought to flip the board seat to longtime union representative Chris Snyder. The incumbent, 12-year board veteran Brian Sobel, a Petaluma-based political consultant, is seeking reappointment and has the support of business leaders.

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins’s decision to abstain from voting left the board deadlocked in a 2-2 split, resulting in what Hopkins called a “third path” — to spend the next few weeks seeking more candidates. Up to this point, she said, the appointment process was fundamentally flawed.

“This has felt like a giant, Sonoma County political war,” Hopkins said, adding that she had never received so many texts and emails from “extraordinarily prominent members of our community.”

She noted that appointments, including this one, were inherently biased toward people with connections. Sobel, a former Petaluma councilman and Snyder, a veteran representative of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 3, both fit that bill. Hopkins said more time was needed to allow additional candidates to come forward, an opening that she said would expand participation “in local democracy.”

The board is set is set to return to the appointment Dec. 15. Both Sobel and Snyder vowed to remain in the running. The seat is one of three filled by Sonoma County on the 18-member board, which is composed of representatives from six Bay Area counties.

The Golden Gate Bridge district is facing among the most perilous funding crises in its history. Changes in commuter traffic and transit ridership amid the pandemic have cut sharply into revenue streams from the district’s buses, ferries and bridge tolls, opening up a $48 million deficit.

In the face of mounting losses, the district has for months relied on federal coronavirus relief funding to pay employees, including many who aren’t working or are only assigned to partial shifts.

With its stimulus funds set to run out by the end of November, the district’s board last week voted to lay off nearly 150 workers starting in January, a move union representatives staunchly opposed.

Labor leaders on Tuesday lined up to support Snyder’s appointment. He said he respected the board’s decision to delay a vote and Hopkins’s bid to expand the field.

“I think labor is another voice that’s not heard enough,” he said.

Sobel, whose public support was more muted, did enjoy strong praise from Supervisor David Rabbitt, who has served with Sobel on the bridge district since Rabbitt was elected in 2010.

“It’s not a knock against Chris. I wish he hadn’t put his name in here,” Rabbitt said. “I think at some point, Chris could make a great director. But at this point in time, we have a great director. Why would you change it?”

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com.