PD Editorial: Linares, Giudice and Mackenzie in Rohnert Park

Rohnert Park is set to fill three of its five City Council seats on Nov. 3 as it joins a growing list of California cities holding district elections.

After a bruising exercise in drawing maps that left three-term incumbent Gina Belforte without an opportunity to seek reelection, it’s the voters’ turn to set the direction for the council.

Those who want to stay the course can point to housing construction and fiscal management. With California struggling to meet the demand for housing, Rohnert Park continues to add houses and apartments, including affordable units for working-class families. Having rebuilt the city’s reserves, the council has so far avoided deep budget cuts and requests for new taxes during the coronavirus pandemic.

But that isn’t a complete picture.

Rohnert Park’s Public Safety Department is facing a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court, and the city settled with eight drivers who accused Rohnert Park officers of making traffic stops as far away as Mendocino County, seizing cash and drugs and keeping some of the contraband for themselves.

This summer, as Black Lives Matter demonstrations unfolded across the country, council members expressed surprise when constituents said minorities face discrimination and prejudice in their hometown. The city convened “listening sessions,” with any policy changes likely to wait for the next council, which will take office in December.

Here’s our assessment of the three council contests on the November ballot.

District 1: Two newcomers, Willy Linares and Dave Solvadini, are running in the district that best exemplifies the city’s new election system, adopted to avoid a lawsuit over the lack of Latino representation on the council. Rohnert Park’s oldest and most diverse neighborhoods are at the heart of this district, which hasn’t had a representative on the dais at City Hall for many years.

Linares and Soldavini identify some of the same priorities: road repairs, revitalizing the aging shopping center on Southwest Boulevard, the shabby sound wall alongside Southwest Boulevard and parks in the city’s A and B sections.

Soldavini has lived in Rohnert Park most of his life, raised his family there and volunteered in youth sports programs. Linares is a relative newcomer, but he has devoted himself to learning the needs of his adopted hometown.

Either man would be a fine addition to the council. We were especially impressed by Linares’ youth, enthusiasm and potential, as a marketing professional, to get constituents engaged with their local government. Linares also would bring diversity to the council, meeting an objective of the switch to district elections.

District 3: Councilman Joe Callinan and Planning Commissioner Gerard Giudice are squaring off in a district that includes the site of a long-envisioned downtown.

Callinan is a three-term councilman and the son of the city’s founding mayor. Giudice has been a planning commissioner for 12 years. Both men are experienced, connected and dedicated to the community.

Callinan wants to see the downtown project through and says the city should stick with experience during the coronavirus recession, but Giudice stood out in our interviews. With his long service to the city, Giudice won’t have a steep learning curve on the council. His depth of knowledge, network of contacts and understanding of the local business landscape are unusual for a challenger, and his enthusiasm for Rohnert Park is infectious. He’s ready to move up to the council.

District 4: Jake Mackenzie is running to represent northeastern Rohnert Park in what would be his seventh term. Some expected him to step down, but Mackenzie, an architect of the general plan that set the stage for Rohnert Park’s recent housing boom, is focused on his post, including representing Sonoma County on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. He is an authority on development, transportation and climate issues facing the city and the North Bay.

His opponent, Jackie Elward, is an émigré from the Democratic Republic of Congo making her second bid for council. She organized a Black Lives Matter demonstration that exposed local complaints about police treatment of minorities in Rohnert Park, and says the council needs new blood, more diversity and a focus on local rather than regional issues.

She has a bright future, but can’t yet match Mackenzie’s command of the full spectrum of local issues. The council should recognize her talents, as it did with Giuidice, and find her a seat on the planning commission so she is ready to succeed Mackenzie in four years.

For the Rohnert Park City Council, The Press Democrat recommends Willy Linares, Gerard Giudice and Jake Mackenzie for City Council.

You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com.