Mayor’s race has familiar faces

Election season is finally kicking into high gear with two debates slated and rounds of robocalls that endorse candidates or measures. By now, most Petalumans know that they’ll be choosing between two well-known - and very different ­- candidates for mayor this year.

Incumbent Mayor David Glass is a progressive-minded politician with a background in municipal finance, and his challenger, longtime council member Mike Harris, is the council’s sole registered Republican, who is often described as “business-friendly.” Harris, an executive at Crosscheck, Inc. in the north end of town, has a background in management and accounting, while Glass is a retired municipal securities principal and broadcaster.

Glass said he’s proud of his past accomplishments as mayor, including his role in establishing the Theater District downtown and the bringing about the city’s bench program to local schools. While many of his political beliefs don’t align with the majority on the council, Glass said he stands up for his values and is running for reelection to continue achieving and implementing the standard of living he’s helped set for Petaluma.

“I have a vision for the city going forward,” Glass said. “It’s a bright future.”

Harris said he’s running for mayor after being on the council for 12 years because he wants to represent the “voice of Petaluma.” Harris’ company recently moved to Petaluma from Rohnert Park, allowing him more time to meet with residents, attend community events and visit schools. Harris added that he listens to both sides of an issue and takes pride in his ability to foster relationships with individuals across the political spectrum.

“I sense that people out there want change,” Harris said. “They sense that I can be that candidate, and I’m fortunate to have that support.”

Both Glass and Harris are focusing on some similar issues this election season - traffic relief, the Rainier cross-town connector, street repairs, infrastructure improvements, economic development and sustainability.

Growth and development

In terms of Petaluma’s economic growth, Glass said he would like to see a boost Petaluma’s tourism industry. As for development, his mantra for examining proposals is “review it, improve it, approve it.”

“When you have discretion and you’re trying to create a well-balanced community, you want to ask for as much as you can get,” Glass said. “Any proposal can be improved, and every proposal should be improved.”

Glass said the criticism that he isn’t business-friendly is inaccurate, pointing out that he was a major supporter of Friedman’s Home Improvement coming to town, but voted against the rest of the Deer Creek Village shopping center proposal after the developer excluded a skilled nursing facility that was included in alternative plans for the project.

Glass said the facility would have produced a wider diversity of jobs, met an unfilled need in the community, catered to the city’s aging demographic and would have produced less traffic.

Harris said he also supported Friedman’s coming to Petaluma, and he sees opportunities in town to draw in venture capitalists and high-tech jobs by working with the city’s economic development director. Harris is also looking forward to focusing on mixed-use development in the center of town, including projects such as a community floathouse, surrounding the Petaluma River.

Fairgrounds

Both candidates would like to see the fairgrounds get more community use, and revenue. The 63-acre parcel of city-owned land is currently under lease for $1 per year until the lease expires in 2023.

As the city continues to negotiate with the Sonoma-Marin Fair board, Glass said he’d like to see a stadium that would lend itself to sporting events and concerts. Harris envisions uses such as a baseball field or a small convention center modeled after San Francisco’s Ferry Building, where local producers could highlight their wares.

Overall, both candidates are in favor of keeping the fair on the grounds, but would like to see a space that the entire community can enjoy.

Measure Q

Harris is in favor of Measure Q - the city’s 1-percent sales tax ballot initiative ­- because he said the $10 million in annual revenue would help address the laundry list of unmet needs the city has struggled with since losing its redevelopment funding.

If Measure Q passes, Harris said bonding against the that cash flow would allow for some immediate road repairs, as well as larger projects like the Rainier connector and interchange. Harris said the concern that future councils could undo those bond covenants is highly unlikely.

Glass is against Measure Q, arguing that the funds won’t address longterm street repairs and traffic relief, but would potentially exacerbate the city’s “pension crisis” by facilitating “higher pay raises at the police and fire department.”

Glass said if proponents of the measure intend to bond the money, there “better be a project ready, because you’re going to pay interest on the money from the time you borrow it.”

Pensions

For Harris, who is endorsed by both fire and police union, the issue of unfunded pension liability is “concerning,” but he said the city was smart to implement two-tiered pension reform in 2012, which pushed back the retirement age for new police and fire department hires from 50 to 55.

Harris said pension reform at the state level is needed, and eventually, he’d like to see workers on a 401k system to relieve cities from pension liabilities.

He added that “employees need to pay a greater share for the pension obligation.”

Glass said he’s frustrated by the city’s pension situation, because “in order to make changes, it takes a willing party on the other end.”

While he respects the job that the city’s police and fire departments do, Glass said the city’s limited resources need to be spread to other areas, like traffic relief and road repairs. He said the city’s pension solution should not include Measure Q’s “blank check.”

Rainier

Glass said the Rainier cross-town connector has to be done, but he doubts that Measure Q will be able to pay for it along with the rest of the city’s wish list. As the project has developed, Glass has changed his opinion on the roadway, but said he’s always “supported the connector that had a chance of being achieved,” adding that the project proposed in 1994, which included an over-crossing rather than an under-crossing, wasn’t feasible. To the critics who accuse him of flip-flopping on the topic of Rainier, Glass points out that he secured an $11.3 million JP Morgan Chase loan to help fund Rainier, leveraging redevelopment dollars just before the state took back that funding stream.

Harris said he’s always been in favor of the Rainier connector, as it’s an important “component of the regional traffic mix.” Harris said he’s glad the draft EIR has been approved and hopes that Measure Q funds can be used to “jump-start” construction.

Highway 101 widening

Both Glass and Harris intend to work on widening Highway 101 through town. Glass would push to extend the county’s quarter-cent transportation tax, but he acknowledged that the sales tax hike the county plans to seek in March might be a funding solution as well, if Petaluma is guaranteed a cut of the proceeds.

Harris said he would use his position as a member the Sonoma County Transit Authority to promote the widening of the highway, which is a crucial element of the Rainier connector.

Traffic mitigation

Beyond the Rainier connector, Harris said road repairs would ultimately speed up traffic through town. He added that the Caulfield extension would eventually be another traffic mitigation option, but without funding it’s “much farther down the road than Rainier.”

On the contrary, Glass said the Caulfield crossing should be extended as soon as possible, and is needed in conjunction with Rainier to truly relieve traffic. He added that widening the overpass at Corona Road would improve traffic flow, as well as repairing streets and improving traffic light synchronization.

Public safety

Both Glass and Harris think that the police department needs the funds to restore some positions that were eliminated during the recession, such as school resource officers and task force officers.

Harris’ funding strategy would be to utilize Measure Q money to boost staffing, replace emergency vehicles and seismically retrofit public safety facilities. Glass would push to increase the city’s transient occupancy tax by 2 percent, which he estimates would bring in about $400,000 annually to go toward staffing, vehicle maintenance and equipment upgrades.

Casino

Glass and Harris are both strongly against the possibility of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo constructing a casino south of Petaluma - a concern that’s been hovering around town due to the secrecy surrounding the tribe’s application to declare the 277-acre parcel as sovereign land.

Glass said he has maintained communication with Supervisor David Rabbitt and Sonoma County counsel to keep tabs in the situation.

Harris said, as mayor, he would continue to work on improving communications between the city and tribe leaders to find a solution that would meet both parties’ needs.

SMART

With the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit coming to Petaluma in 2016, city officials are working to bring a second train station to town, in addition to the station planned downtown. Glass said he would do whatever it takes to facilitate a second station coming to town, and Harris agreed, noting that a station on the north end of town would be beneficial to workers and bolster the area’s burgeoning brewery district.

(Contact Allison Jarrell at allison.jarrell@argus courier.com)