PD Editorial: Neysa Hinton and Michael Anthony Carnacchi for Sebastopol City Council

Four years ago, the focus of the Sebastopol City Council race was a controversial plan to build a CVS Pharmacy and Chase Bank branch at the vacant Pellini Chevrolet site, a project that divided the community and pushed it into uncharted territory for campaign spending. Robert Jacob and John Eder, both CVS opponents, were the top vote-getters in a race that saw one incumbent, Kathleen Shaffer, unseated. Overall, Eder spent more than $12,000, which was second to Jacob, the founder and executive director of two Peace and Medicine marijuana dispensaries, who raised more than $35,000, more than all of the other candidates combined and more than any candidate in the city's history.

This year, much has changed. Neither Jacob nor Eder is running for a second term, and the candidates this time seem to be in a competition to see who can raise and spend the least amount of money. Three candidates have filed to fill the two empty seats on the council and one other is running as a write-in candidate. Among these four, we recommend the election of two newcomers, Neysa Hinton and Michael Anthony Carnacchi, to the City Council.

Mother of an adult daughter and a son who is an Analy High School senior, Hinton, 52, is new to city politics but no stranger to Sebastopol. The former media sales representative, who once worked for The Press Democrat, is now executive director of a senior care facility in Marin County. An active member of Rotary for 21 years, Hinton has many hours of community service to her credit including helping launch the Sebastopol Farmers Market and serving as its first chairwoman. She defends the community's progressive credentials on issues such as protecting the environment and promoting green energy and would like to see the city be more creative in fostering affordable housing. Given her background in money management, she also takes pride in being a 'fiscal conservative' who would like to see the city build up its reserves.

Carnacchi, 54, the owner of Apple Cobbler downtown and an artisan bootmaker, is a director of the Sebastopol Downtown Association and a 23-year resident of the community. He has been actively involved in attending city meetings including the update of the general plan and is a proponent of continuing to look at a possible bypass route to provide Highway 116 traffic relief downtown. Although new to politics, Carnacchi has shown himself to be a diligent student of the community's planning issues.

The third official candidate is Jonathan Greenberg, 58, a journalist and owner of a public interest communications firm, who moved from New York seven years ago and quickly made an impact pushing for a ban on leaf-blowers and advocating for expanded funding and hours for country libraries. This is his second attempt at the City Council having run unsuccessfully two years ago. He is perhaps best known for his advocacy for Sonoma West Medical Center, which he believes deserves stronger support from the Sebastopol City Council. As we said two years ago, given his intense interest in keeping open the hospital, and its emergency room in particular, Greenberg would be a better candidate for the Palm Drive Health Care District given that the City Council has no direct role in ensuring the hospital's stability. Furthermore it's unclear how much public support there would be for the city offering financial assistance at this point, given the institution's uncertain future.

The fourth candidate is Craig Litwin, 40, a professional political consultant who served on the City Council from 2000 to 2008. Litwin, a native of Sebastopol, is an experienced and attractive choice. But his explanation for why he did not file on time for this election rings hollow. He says he was on the verge of buying a house outside of the city at the time, but the deal fell through, and he and his family have decided to stay. If that's the case, why doesn't he run as an official candidate in two years rather than wage what appears to be an urgent race as a write-in? We fear his motivation is more linked to preventing the election of Greenberg, whom he campaigned against two years ago. Either way, our support goes to neither of these two. The Press Democrat recommends Neysa Hinton and Michael Anthony Carnacchi for Sebastopol City Council.