Petalumans ready to cast ballots in election

An election that seemed like it would never end has reached its final days as Petaluma voters are deciding on a host of issues from who will be the next president, to selecting representatives to the city council, to whether to legalize recreational marijuana and outlaw growing genetically modified organisms.

A once sleepy race for three seats on the Petaluma City Council has heated up in the past few weeks as local politicians and activists identifying as progressive have made a concerted push to elect Bill Wolpert, a planning commissioner running on a platform of walkable development and environmentalism.

A last minute entry into the race that includes three incumbents - Mike Healy, Kathy Miller and Gabe Kearney - who are running as a slate, Wolpert has received support from other self-styled progressives as Mayor David Glass and Councilwoman Teresa Barrett. Glass has publicly advocated for voters to cast only one vote, for Wolpert, a strategy that analysts say could pay off if the other candidates end up splitting the vote.

“The vote for one strategy will set up some interesting arithmetic,” said Brian Sobel, a Petaluma political consultant. “It could make a difference.”

Besides the presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, which observers say could draw record turnout, Petaluma voters are also electing a U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, State Senator and State Assembly member. For Petalumans, the only competitive federal or state race is between Democrats Bill Dodd and Mariko Yamada for State Senate, Sobel said.

Dodd, an Assemblyman from Napa, is more moderate compared with the progressive leaning Yamada, a former Assemblywoman from Davis.

“Dodd has raised a lot of money,” Sobel said. “I think it will be Dodd. That’s my take. He has a tremendous amount of energy.”

Locally, voters are also choosing representatives to Petaluma’s largest school board. Three candidates are running for two open seats. Ellen Webster, a teacher at Tomales High School and Frank Lynch, a former Petaluma High School principal and school superintendent are facing incumbent board member Mary Johnson, a retired corporate executive.

Voters on Petaluma’s east side are also selecting two representatives to the Old Adobe School District board. With no incumbents in the race, the candidates are Jon Lenz, an assistant superintendent for Marin County; Heather Burton, a system analyst for the County of Marin’s finance department; and Marilyn Cohoe, a retired telecommunications worker.

A host of state and local initiatives makes this year’s ballot one of the largest in history. Voters have 17 state propositions to sort through, deciding on heady issues ranging from repealing the death penalty and legalizing cannabis to banning plastic shopping bags and requiring porn stars to wear condoms.

In addition, Petaluma voters will have up to five countywide measures on the ballot. Measure J, on ballots of residents outside city limits, is a half-cent sales tax that would go toward improving Sonoma County Regional Parks.

If approved, Measure K would continue and enhance the zoning laws creating rural space between Sonoma County cities. Measure L asks voters to increase the county’s hotel tax from 9 to 12 percent, which supervisors say will be spent to offset the impacts of tourism.

Measure M would ban the practice of growing genetically modified organisms in Sonoma County, while Measure Y is a one-eighth-cent sales tax increase to support the Sonoma County Library system.

Some Petaluma-area voters will also weigh in on school funding measures. The Wilmar School District’s Measure I asks for a $75 parcel tax for Wilson School, and Measure X is a $4 million bond measure for the Waugh School District.

Polling places will be open on election day, Nov. 8, until 8 p.m. Vote-by-mail voters can return ballots to any polling place until the close of voting. Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Registrar of Voters Office or by any polling place in Sonoma County no later than 8 p.m. on election day. Ballots that arrive through the mail after 8 p.m. on Nov. 8 must be postmarked before or on election day and be received within three days.

To find your polling place, visit vote.sonoma-county.org.

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)