Two new faces to be elected to Santa Rosa City Council

In the all-consuming and historic 2020 nationwide general election, Santa Rosa voters set some milestones of their own, as Roseland residents helped elect a City Council representative for the first time while three other district-based seats were up for grabs elsewhere in the city.

Eddie Alvarez, owner of The Hook dispensary and manager of the Joyeria Maria jewelry store, was poised to claim the council seat in District 1, which includes Roseland, South Park and other southern Santa Rosa areas. By Wednesday morning, he had received nearly 45% of the vote, leading electrical engineer Jorge Inocencio, who had received about 30% of the vote. Community advocate Duane De Witt and Elizabeth Valente, who withdrew from the race months ago, each received about 13% of the vote in early returns.

Alvarez, who was endorsed by the Sonoma County Democratic Party and several union groups, had campaigned on the promise to be a voice for the long underserved Roseland area, a largely Latino community that while situated squarely in southwest Santa Rosa wasn’t annexed into the city until 2017. He maintained the key endorsement of Democrats after party officials learned of controversial language he used years ago in social media posts and handily outraised his challengers, largely on the strength of personal loans to his campaign.

Alvarez did not respond to multiple requests for comment Tuesday night after the polls closed. His closest competitor, Inocencio, was not to ready to concede.

“I’m feeling optimistic, I’m feeling hopeful, and I’m feeling proud of the work we’ve done,” Inocencio said.

Roseland-area voters had no race to decide in 2018 when the city began its shift away from at-large elections to district-based races to fill the seven member council. And while the showdown for the White House have dominated this election for most, some Roseland residents voting Tuesday, like Filomena Castellanos, 61, expressed clear hope for improvement to area’s public safety and community amenities.

“I wish they could look at this place,” Castellanos said, gesturing at the parking lots around her at a polling place on Sebastopol Road, “and see that we need a lot more stuff” — especially more spaces for youth activities, added Castellanos, who said she voted for Alvarez because “he’s a Democrat and he’s Latino.”

In addition to District 1, the other three seats up for a vote this year included District 7, where marriage and family therapist Natalie Rogers and visual special effects firm owner Eric Christensen were nearly knotted in a race that was too close to call Tuesday.

Rogers, who would be Santa Rosa’s first Black councilwoman and drew support from progressives, had received about 43% of the vote as of early Wednesday morning, while Christensen, who drew support from the business community, had received close to 40%. District 7 includes parts of west and southwest Santa Rosa. A third candidate, attorney Daniela Pavone, trailed with about 17% of the vote in early returns.

Rogers said she was “humbled” by the support she saw in the first wave of returns but knew she’d be waiting for some time while Sonoma County election officials counted ballots.

“Definitely happy thus far, although I’m still on pins and needles,” she said.

Christensen could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

In the two other races, councilmen Chris Rogers and Jack Tibbetts, were reelected to their second terms.

Rogers, who had the backing of the Democratic establishment, had about 71% of the vote in District 5, which includes much of central Santa Rosa. His lone challenger, Azmina Hanna, a former Democrat who this weekend participated in a pro-Trump caravan in Marin City, had received about 29% of the vote.

In District 3, which includes most of east Santa Rosa, Jack Tibbetts received nearly 100% of the vote, close to 9,900 votes by Wednesday morning. His write-in challenger, Keith Rhinehart, had received 13 votes.

By Tuesday, most local voters had already cast their ballots, but hundreds still came to the Roseland Community Center on Tuesday to drop off ballots or vote in person at the old furniture store that’s used as Roseland’s library.

When the election winners are sworn in next month, Santa Rosa will for the first time have a governing body with no at-large representatives. The two-year shift to district-based races was to avoid legal action over alleged disenfranchisement of minority voters.

Mayor Tom Schwedhelm, Vice Mayor Victoria Fleming and Councilman John Sawyer were elected in 2018 by voters of their districts and have two more years on their terms. Two council members, Ernesto Olivares and Dick Dowd, did not seek re-election.