Three more candidates enter Petaluma City Council race

At least one open seat on the Petaluma City Council in November has caused an early wave of candidates announcing election campaigns more than five months before election day.

Petaluma mortgage advisor Michael Regan, who chairs the city’s Transit Advisory Committee, threw his hat into the ring last week, along with Dennis Pocekay, a retired occupational medicine specialist. D’Lynda Fischer, a former planning commissioner and nonprofit consultant announced her candidacy on Tuesday.

They join incumbent City Councilman Dave King and Rob Conklin, a fleet manager for the city of San Francisco, who have already announced campaigns for three available seats on the council. Incumbent Councilwoman Teresa Barrett is not seeking reelection this year to run for the open mayor’s seat being vacated by Mayor David Glass, who is not seeking reelection. Barrett is running against former Councilman Mike Harris.

Regan, 38, has volunteered in multiple community organizations. Besides the transit board, he is president of the Petaluma Educational Foundation, and was a member of the Petaluma Host Lions Club. In the mortgage business since 2006, he started The Regan Team Home Loan Group with his wife in 2010.

Regan said his experience working in Petaluma’s housing market gives him the experience to help solve the city’s housing crunch. He also said fixing the city’s potholed streets would be a priority.

“I want to offer a new vision for Petaluma,” he said. “I’ve been so involved in the community for so long. The housing issue is right up my alley.”

A former broadcaster with an NBC affiliate, the registered Democrat said he considers himself a political centrist. He lives with his wife and two young children.

Pocekay, 68, has lived in Petaluma 27 years. Since retiring eight years ago after a long career with Kaiser Permanente, he has been active in progressive causes in Petaluma, and currently volunteers 25 hours per week with the North Bay Rapid Response Network and North Bay Organizing Project. He also teaches public health sciences at UC Davis.

He is co-coordinator of the Petaluma chapter of the Rapid Response Network, which helps immigrants facing deportation and documents Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. With the North Bay Organizing Project, he works on social justice issues including establishing just cause eviction for tenants.

Pocekay, who volunteered for the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders and considers his political stance to be progressive, said he wants to work on creating more affordable housing in Petaluma.

“My intention is to work for the unrepresented people of Petaluma, the people working two jobs just to keep a roof over their kids’ heads,” he said. “People who used to be considered in the middle class no longer are because of the cost of housing.”

Other key issues his campaign hopes to address include reducing traffic and protecting the environment. Pocekay and his wife have two adopted children who are now adults.

Fischer, 58, is originally from Alaska and moved to Petaluma four years ago, “charmed by the immediate access to farm fresh food, the active bicycle culture, the historic downtown on the river, and the easy exchanges she experienced meeting people on the street when walking her dog,” her campaign said in a statement.

A former operations manager with Daily Acts, her background is in urban planning. She said her key issues include “more affordable housing for all Petaluma residents, solutions to relieve our escalating traffic congestion, and allocating the resources necessary for city staff to provide adequate services to our community.”

Kevin McDonnell, who chairs the Recreation, Music and Parks Commission, filed campaign papers this week, but said he is not yet ready to announce his candidacy.

The other incumbent council member, Chris Albertson, said last week he has not yet made a decision whether to seek reelection.

“My wife and I are discussing our life plan,” he said.

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