‘Tried to leave it all on the field:’ Petaluma mayor retires

David Glass, who shaped Petaluma for two decades, ends his political career.|

On a trip to Washington, D.C. to lobby for federal funding for Petaluma’s flood control project, David Glass spent intimate moments getting to know Clark Thompson, the man he ousted for the city’s mayoral seat by 78 votes in 2002.

Though he disagreed with Thompson’s politics, Glass said he enjoyed spending time with his political rival, working together for the good of the city. As the two men departed in an elevator at the end of the trip, Thompson, then a city councilman, said through the closing doors: “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Mayor,” Glass recalled.

“That trip, it meant something to me. The two of us got a chance to spend time together lobbying for the same thing,” Glass said. “Campaigns, they are not fun. After the election, it’s over. It’s time to govern. It’s about a belief in something you want to advocate for. You do it for nothing because it means everything.”

After two decades shaping the city, Glass, 71, will retire from Petaluma politics on Jan. 7, when he cedes the mayor’s gavel to Teresa Barrett. In a wide ranging exit interview, Glass said he will most miss the people he worked with and the ceremonial duties of the office, but not the knock-down, drag-out political fights that the polarizing figure was perhaps best know for.

Although Glass proudly carried the torch for the so-called progressives, one that he will pass on to political ally Barrett, he expressed doubt about the label.

“I don’t think I was as progressive as I got labeled,” he said. “My philosophy was to extract as much as I could for the community from every development.”

His hardline stance on development earned praise from the environmentalist community, but his views on other issues, like a desire to ban marijuana dispensaries, were more moderate.

A radio broadcaster, Glass gained renown as the voice of the San Francisco Giants in the 1980s. In 1990, he switched careers and sold municipal bonds until he retired in 2012. In between, he fought off bladder cancer, and had a daughter with his wife, Bonnie.

His experience as a bond trader piqued Glass’s interest in municipal finance, and he jumped into local politics in 1998, running an unsuccessful campaign for mayor. He was appointed to the planning commission in 1999, and ran again for mayor in 2002, this time beating the incumbent Thompson.

After one term as mayor, Glass took a two-year break to give broadcasting one more go with a show on KSRO. He got back into politics in 2008, winning a seat on the city council. Then, in 2010, he retook the mayor’s seat and has held it ever since.

Glass led the city through tough financial years, which saw the city’s reserves dip to nearly nothing and required trimming of dozens of staff positions. While known to be a thorn in the side of developers, he also approved developments that added jobs and tax revenue for the city.

On his watch, the city revitalized downtown Petaluma, approving the Central Specific Plan and building the Theater District mixed-use project. The sweat equity of lobbying in D.C. for flood control measures paid off when the Army Corps of Engineers built the $40 million Payran project, one of Glass’s proudest achievements.

“What that project meant, as we hit the rainy season, it would have certainly flooded people out of that neighborhood,” he said. “It has already returned the investment.”

During his time on the dais, Petaluma attracted two shopping centers along the Highway 101 corridor. Glass recalled meeting with the CEO of Regency Centers, which built the East Washington Place development anchored by Target. He said the company initially proposed attracting a Walmart.

“I said ‘No way, this town will go ballistic,’” Glass recalled. “‘They said ‘What about Target?’ I said ‘That’s different.’”

The shopping center added much needed retail options in Petaluma and boosted the city’s sales tax revenues, but it was opposed by environmental groups that normally supported Glass.

“I wound up getting creamed by the environmental community,” he said. “But I’m proud of it.”

One of Glass’s biggest regrets is failing to close a deal to bring a minor league baseball team to the Petaluma Fairgrounds. Glass was in discussions with minor league owner Merritt Paulson, son of former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, about building a $20 million ballpark on the fairgrounds property, but the fair board voted it down.

“That was my number one regret since the day it happened,” Glass said. “It was a missed opportunity.”

Some city officials blame Glass for a failed 2014 sales tax measure that would have added $10 million per year to the city’s budget and staved off the current financial crisis. Measure Q would have raised the sales tax in the city by one percent without an end date.

Glass, who won reelection that year, campaigned against Measure Q, saying it promised voters more than it would have delivered and calling it a “forever tax.” As he leaves office after declining to run again this year, Glass said Petaluma still has financial challenges and will likely need some kind of revenue boost.

“The challenge is real, but it needs to be presented in a way that is honest with the community,” he said.

From his days as a radio personality, Glass thrived in the spotlight. His favorite duties as mayor were the ceremonial ribbon cuttings, proclamations, parades and speeches. In 2012, he presided over festivities celebrating the Petaluma Nationals all star team that took third in the Little League World Series and captivated the whole region that summer.

“Getting in the trenches and advocating for a project is not fun. It’s important, but not fun,” he said. “The most fun is getting to celebrate something in the community that is positive.”

Glass said he will miss working with the talented people that keep the city running. He said he will not miss the restless nights after a Monday council meeting, when the important issues of the day are swirling around in his head making sleep impossible.

Glass plans on spending more time with his daughter, who lives in San Francisco, and he already has several ocean cruises lined up with his wife. He will likely spend more time on the golf course and at his vacation home in Rio Vista. But he doesn’t plan to stay too involved in local politics.

“I think the city is in good hands. I don’t intend to be an advocate. I will give a respectful space for other people to advocate,” but he added, “If asked, I would do it.”

Glass knows that there are more political fights to be had in the Petaluma City Council chambers, they just won’t be his fights.

“I tried to leave it all on the field,” he said. “I slugged it out as hard as I could.”

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

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.