Yes, there are still votes to be counted, and the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters has until Dec. 3 to certify the election, but it is highly unlikely that those votes will change the outcome of the Sebastopol City Council race.

As it now stands, it looks like incumbent Sandra Maurer has been re-elected and newcomers James Woodruff and Ian Hoff have been elected to Sebastopol’s City Council.

According to city manager Mary Gourley, “The county has 30 days to certify the election, so they have until Dec. 3 to send out the results to all the cities.”

Gourley said that if the county certifies the election before the next Sebastopol City Council meeting on Dec. 1, these three candidates could be sworn in at that meeting. “If not, the installation of the new council members would be on Dec. 15,” she said.

In the wee hours of Nov. 4, the numbers for the Sebastopol City Council election were as follows:

SEBASTOPOL CITY COUNCIL

4,990 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) — Top three win.

• Sandra Maurer . . . 20.84% (1040 votes) *

• James Woodruff . . . 19.60 % (978 votes) *

• Ian Hoff . . . 19.28% (962 votes) *

• Kyreen Jorgensen . . . 13.45% (671 votes)

• Jill McLewis. . . 11.62% (580 votes)

• Brandie L. Solovay . . . 7.35% (367 votes)

• Erin Mitchell . . . 7.86% (392 votes)

It was an extremely close race. The top two vote-getters—Sandra Maurer and James Woodruff—both consider themselves progressives, but they offer different visions of what progressivism means. Both were endorsed by Sebastopol Tomorrow, which has been shaping Sebastopol elections for 40 years, and the “Underground Progressive Ballot Guide,” a creation of two local “Bernie” Democrats, which gets emailed around before every election and passed hand-to-hand like some kind of Soviet-era samizdat. Maurer was also endorsed by the Democratic Party, while Woodruff was endorsed by the Green Party and the North Bay Labor Council.

Just an eyelash behind was Ian Hoff, who is a little more of a political puzzle. His campaign was managed by Rob Meulwrath Research, a well-connected political consulting firm that progressives love to hate. During the campaign, he was endorsed by Water and Sewer crusader Kate Haug, former Sebastopol Fire Chief Jack Piccinini, and business owner and Sebastopol’s Citizen of the Year Craig Boblitt. On the other hand, he was also endorsed by reliably progressive Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who said of Hoff: “He is authentic, intelligent, and committed. Ian will be an asset on the council as an engineer who devises solutions.”

Sebastopol gets its first DSA councilmember: James Woodruff

Woodruff, a welder by trade and a longtime activist with training in water and wastewater management, is a Democratic Socialist. He is a member of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), which makes him part of the, traditionally speaking, red edge of the deep blue wave that swept the country last night.

On his candidate website, he says. “I am a strong advocate for working-class people and the labor community…My priority concerns also include economic justice, affordability, inclusion, protection from ICE and surveillance, community resilience, pro-choice advocacy, and the climate crisis.”

We reached out to Woodruff this morning, asking for his thoughts on the election and what he’d like to tackle first as a new council member.

“I would like to thank the voters for their civic engagement,” he wrote. “I am hearing estimates that as much as 80% of registered voters came out to vote, and that is awesome. The preliminary results look good for my race, and so I would also thank the public for their support. I would want them to know that I will be listening to their concerns and respecting their budgets when making decisions that impact the city budget.”

In terms of the projects he is itching to tackle, Woodruff chose an interesting one: “I would like to work on the electrification of the city vehicle fleet and improving the bus line,” he said. “The fleet should be electrified as we replace vehicles that are aging out. I am not talking about a large new spending measure.” He also said, “I want to look into grants and partnerships with the county and surrounding cities to improve our bus service and increase both the frequency and routes so people can get to more places with less hassle. How close to budget-neutral can these changes be made is a big question and will be determinative.”

He also realizes he’s new at this game. “I have a lot of learning to do about the inner workings of the city, but that is exciting, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Woodruff also mentioned the graffiti incident that marred election day in Sebastopol—as well as several buildings. “I did read about the graffiti rampage that happened the other night, and it is unacceptable. We don’t have a suspect identified yet that I am aware of, but it seems like the rantings of a racist coward who knows their views have no place in the public dialogue and so resorts to vandalism,” he said. “I don’t have a policy idea for fixing racism and extremism, but I stand with my community in calling it out.”

What Sandra Maurer learned on the campaign trail this year

Because of the way the mayor is chosen in Sebastopol, Maurer, the current vice mayor, will become the mayor of Sebastopol when the three candidates are sworn in in December. Councilmember Neysa Hinton will become the vice mayor.

Like Woodruff, Maurer considers herself a progressive, but as a politician, she has proved to be less ideological and more of a bridge builder and peacemaker—though she’s perfectly capable of putting up a fight when needs be. Before she joined the council, she was an environmental activist and, as the director of a national anti-EMF nonprofit, she helped win the right for utility customers to opt out of smart meters.

Her EMF sentiments have played almost no role in her council tenure thus far, though with the end of the lease of the large cell tower behind city hall coming up in 2031, that might change. She has already suggested this city-owned property might be used instead as part of an expanded downtown library.

Maurer has also been on the city’s Budget Committee for the last two years, and she’s known as a bit of a budget hawk.

We talked with Maurer early this morning. She was, of course, “excited and thrilled” to have won re-election. But she was also somewhat troubled by her experience going door-to-door during the campaign this year.

When Maurer’s 11-year-old granddaughter asked her, ‘What is the first thing you’re going to do as mayor?’ Maurer’s answer was both so Sebastopol and so her: “I think I’m going to call for a moment of peace at the beginning of the meeting,” she said.

Why a moment of peace?

“There’s just been so much animosity and heat, starting at the federal level and trickling down,” Maurer said. “There’s been so much animosity in the town for like two years—pretty much when Trump was reelected, right? And I think it’s definitely contributing to the upset. I mean, I went door to door. I talked to a lot of people—and the tone! There is so much heat, so much anger … There’s so much edge … It wasn’t this way in 2022. This is different.”

“So people would be ranting, right? Really mad, and then they’d say, ‘But I love Sebastopol!’ I think that’s kind of a snapshot of what’s going on.”

“When I look at what’s going on in the other countries—France and Germany and Italy—the riots and stuff that are happening, it’s scary knowing that that anger is right here in our town as well.”

“The first place I want to start is to have peace within ourselves because that’s where it starts, right?”

“My hope is that this blue wave that we voted in last night is going to help bring down the heat,” she said.

In terms of what her political goals are for next year, Maurer named three: “I want to be a watchdog on the budget for sure, and the infrastructure repair is really important.” She’s also looking forward to the return of the Commons Ad Hoc committee in December or January. “I’m looking forward to that—to see what we can do with the library,” she said. Reflecting what a lot of constituents have told her, Maurer has expressed a desire to keep the library downtown and expand it.

Maurer said she hoped to help unify the council, which has been pretty fractious of late. She was also looking forward to bringing back the monthly “Coffee with the Mayor” meetings with the public.

Finally, she wanted to say “a big thank you to the Sebastopol voters for reelecting me, and I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve on council again. I want to thank my husband, my family, and friends, and donors, endorsers, and the yard sign hosts. And I want to congratulate James and Ian too. I understand the votes still need to be counted, but I’m looking forward to the next four years,” she said. “I’m excited.”

Ian Hoff respects the learning curve

In this election, the same group of city council critics that had supported Mayor Jill McLewis in her first campaign in 2022 threw their money behind Ian Hoff, one of the race’s three winners.

With their help, Hoff raised more than $24,000 for his campaign, though half of that came from his wife’s family. He raised more money than all the other candidates put together.

Hoff, a civil engineer and former volunteer firefighter, is new to politics. He said several of his colleagues helped him campaign, including going door-to-door in their own neighborhoods.

He is understandably thrilled by the results.

I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m immensely humbled and flattered by just the response and the support I got from people during the campaign. I met so many wonderful, hardworking, caring people, and to know they chose to support and vote for me is just so nice. It’s very touching.”

“I found that “community” was the big word for me moving forward. You know, we live in a wonderful one, and I’m just looking forward to being able to work and to continue to foster that sense of community.”

During the campaign, Hoff emphasized concerns about the budget and the city’s water and sewer infrastructure, but when asked what he planned to tackle on the council, he demurred.

“Right now I really just need to get up to speed with being a councilman … what are the little nitty-gritties, the rules, how do things work at the city level? So I’m looking forward to spending more time at City Hall and getting access to these things. The city did a kind of orientation for all the candidates a while ago, and there was a lot of information at that time where it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m going to review this in November.’”

And now it’s November.

Engineers can be a skeptical lot, but they’re also problem solvers. Hoff said that running his campaign made him realize that, “There are so many different people involved in so many different corners of our community. The challenge for any politician is to be able to represent all of them well and fairly. Sometimes if you have people that feel that they’re one way and someone else is the other, to be like, ‘You know, you’re really not that far apart. You know, we can move these policies forward, and it’s going to be for both your benefit.’ I think that was my main takeaway.”

Plus ça change…

The old French saying, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” translates idiomatically to “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The same might be said for the outcome of this election. DSA member James Woodruff will be taking over hyper-progressive Stephen Zollman’s place on the council, while Hoff—if you look at his list of donors and supporters—may be taking over Mayor Jill McLewis’s role as a critical, contrarian voice, with a slight, dare-we-say conservative edge. Sandra Maurer will remain Sandra Maurer, even as mayor.

And the Sebastopol Times will be there to cover it all.

SEE THE UPDATE: We have updated the numbers on all of the races in yesterday’s election article, based on the last report from the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters and the California Secretary of State’s Office.

Tom Bayless, co-inspector for the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters, and his team started work before dawn at the polling station at Sebastopol Center for the Arts this morning.

As he told us back in June, “My wife and I have been doing it for more than 10 years at different places, but we’ve been primarily here the last five years or so,” he said.

Bayless said, “It’s been busy all week. We’ve been open since last Saturday … Today, starting at 7 o’clock, it’s been extremely busy, and it’s going to pick up,” he predicted when we spoke around 10:30 this morning.

He was right. By the end of the day, there was a line of cars down High Street waiting to drop off ballots in the dropbox in front of SebArts and, inside the polling station, every seat was taken, filled with voters filling out their ballots.

Here are the initial, unofficial results of the election, as of Nov. 3 at 8:45 pm. A little more than half the precincts have reported in on most items. There are still last-minute mail-in ballots and absentee ballots to count. The mail-in ballots will trickle in over the next several days. The Secretary of State has until Dec. 11 to certify the elections.

We will be updating these numbers over the next several hours and days.

Unofficial local results per the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters on Nov. 4 at 12:40 pm

SEBASTOPOL CITY COUNCIL

4,990 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) — Top three win.

• Sandra Maurer . . . 20.84% (1040 votes) *

• James Woodruff . . . 19.60 % (978 votes) *

• Ian Hoff . . . 19.28% (962 votes) *

• Kyreen Jorgensen . . . 13.45% (671 votes)

• Jill McLewis. . . 11.62% (580 votes)

• Brandie L. Solovay . . . 7.35% (367 votes)

• Erin Mitchell . . . 7.86% (392 votes)

WEST COUNTY SCHOOL BOARDS & SCHOOL MEASURES

West Sonoma County Union High School District Board (WSCUHSD), Trustee Area 5 (Sebastopol-ish), Governing Board Member

1,891 votes counted. (100% of precincts reporting) — Simple majority.

• Lewis Buchner . . . 68.43% (1,294 votes) *

• Dani Sheehan-Meyer (dropped out of the race) . . . 31.57% (597 votes)

Measure G — Renew $79 parcel tax for WSCUHSD for 8 years

12,051 votes counted. (100% of precincts reporting) — 2/3 needed to pass

Yes . . . 8,952 votes (74.28%) *

No . . . 3,099 votes (25.72%)

Harmony Union School District, Governing Board Member

1,964 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) Top three win.

• Jacquelyn Wilson . . . 29.28% (575 votes) *

• Tiffany Danielle Monroe . . . 25.81% (507 votes) *

• Jasmin Tokatlian . . . 24.59% (483 votes) *

• Michael Podshadley . . . 20.32% (399 votes)

Twin Hills Union School District, Governing Board Member

2,513 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) —Top three win.

• Rebecca Houghton . . . 28.25% (710 votes) *

• Jeff Harding . . . 26.82% (674 votes) *

• Anna-Maria Guzman . . . 25.98% (653 votes) *

• John Moise . . . 18.94% (476 votes)

Monte Rio Union School District, Governing Board Member (Full Term)

518 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) — Top two win.

• Melissa Frost . . . 47.49% (246 votes) *

• Craig Baker . . . 37.45% (194 votes) *

• Mike Wilder . . . 15.06% (78 votes)

GOLD RIDGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT DIRECTORS

21,010 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) — Top four win.

• Shannon J Shaffer-Killey . . . 14.62% (3,071 votes) *

• Tara Daniels . . . 13.49 % (2,834 votes) *

• Christina Gibbs . . . 13.19% (2,771 votes) *

• Kathleen Molloy Gilbraith . . . 12.13% (2,570 votes) *

• David Warburg . . . 10.37% (2,178 votes)

• Steve E Petrucci . . . 9.86% (2071 votes)

• Doug Jones . . . 10.04% (2,109 votes)

• Domenico Carinalli Jr . . . 8.30% (1,744 votes)

• Robert Gloeckner . . . 7.91% (1,662 votes)

COUNTYWIDE MEASURES

Sonoma County Parks Measure H

95,398 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) — 2/3 needed to pass

Yes . . . 73,100 votes (76.63%) *

No . . . 22,298 votes (23.37%)

Measure AB - Sonoma County Junior College District

93,899 votes counted. (100% precincts reporting) — 55% needed to pass

Yes . . . 61,311 votes (65.29%) *

No . . . 32,588 (34.71%)

STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICES representing Sebastopol and West County

From the California Secretary of State website

U.S. House of Representatives — District 1

As of Nov. 4, 8:08 am — 100% of precincts partially reporting

• Mike McGuire (D) . . . 57% (88,089 votes) *

• James Gallagher (R) . . . 43% (66,369 votes)

U.S. House of Representatives — District 2

As of Nov. 4, 8:08 am — 90.1% of precincts partially reporting

• Jared Huffman (D) . . . 66.5% (106,795 votes) *

• Robin Littau (R) . . . 33.5% (53,693 votes)

California State Senator — District 2

As of Nov. 4, 8:08 am — 100% of precincts partially reporting

• Damon Connolly (D) . . . 74.8% (148,120 votes) *

• Tief Gibbs (R) . . . 25.2% (49,942 votes)

Member of the State Assembly — District 2

As of Nov. 4, 8:08 am — 100% of precincts partially reporting

• Chris Rogers (D) . . . 70.8% (67,439 votes) *

• Michael Greer (R) . . . 29.2% (27,838 votes)

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Sebastopol woke up this morning to find several buildings around town defaced with bizarre graffiti. Targets included the Sebastopol Veterans Building/Center for the Arts, the Sportago building on Burnett, an office building wall along High Street, The Redwood on Main Street, Ramen Gaijin on the downtown square and several walls within Ives Park.

The graffiti messaging was anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and seemed fixated on child sexual abuse.

Most disturbing, perhaps, was the graffiti covering the entire walkway leading into the polling place at SebArts. Poll volunteers discovered the graffiti on the walkway when they arrived early this morning before sunrise and contacted the police. The poll workers created a walkway carpet of plastic, duct tape and floor mats that covered the graffiti.

Police Chief Sean McDonagh said he believes the graffiti around town was done between midnight and 6 am. He noted that they had security footage of a person with a backpack walking next to the SebArts building at 2:58 am.

The graffiti vandal also evinced pro-ICE and pro-police sentiments. Red X’s were scrawled across the anti-ICE posters in the windows of the two restaurants. One graffiti in Ives Park said simply “Fund Police” with two hearts.

Not wanting to show the more graphic and disturbing graffiti images, the Sebastopol Police put the “Fund Police” image on the department’s Facebook post about the graffiti incident, noting, “While we are certainly always appreciative of additional funding that would allow us to provide even greater public safety services to our community, this is absolutely NOT the way to advocate for it.”

McDonagh said the Sebastopol Public Works Department worked diligently in the rain this morning to cover the graffiti. By early afternoon, the graffiti in Ives Park had been covered with white paint; the restaurants were able to remove the graffiti on their windows with razor blades; and Sportago had blotted out the graffiti on its building as well. Only the message on the High Street office building remained by the end of the day.

“We’re certainly treating it like it’s a hate incident—a hate crime, quite possibly,” McDonagh said, “and we’ll use the full extent of the law to deal with that if we can find who did it.”

McDonagh asked for help from the public in identifying the perpetrator. He said he was particularly interested in “security camera footage of people walking around the city in those areas any time between midnight and 6 am.” If you have security camera footage or any information about the incident, contact the Sebastopol Police Department’s non-emergency line at (707) 829-4400.

Cypress Clark has done many things in her life — she repaired rifle scopes for her father’s gun company, built an off-the-grid home by hand in Potter Valley with her husband, worked at Radio Shack, and worked as a rancher. And that’s just the beginning. Her business card lists her current profession as seamstress, offering sewing alterations and repairs.

But for many people who’ve known her over the last seven years, she's been more like a random fairy godmother, offering free things—from clothing to appliances to everything in between—to anyone who needs them.

For more than six years, she ran a little free stand from a tent in front of a property on Kinley Road in Healdsburg. She started it in 2019 to help people who’d lost all their possessions in the fires. At first, her free stand ran 365 days a year. “I’d go out, and I’d refill it, and people would come and drop off donations … the next morning I look and tidy it up and redo it … It was like a garage sale,” Clark said, although everything was free.

Eventually, she cut back on the hours. “It was getting too overwhelming,” she said.

Around Easter of this year, the people who owned the property in Healdsburg asked her to take her little free stand elsewhere. At first she was devastated. “I’m like, I can’t lose this. This is one of my greatest joys,” she said. “Losing this would have broken my heart.”

Clark, who lives on the western edge of Santa Rosa, often gets her morning coffee at Roasters in Forestville. Looking around, she decided, “I’m just going to set up here. It’s a low-income community. It’s got a nice, comfortable atmosphere. I can eat and drink while I’m sitting here. And so I did.”

For the last several months, she’s been setting up her stand in the parking lot of Oaks Park in downtown Forestville. Every weekend, she goes through her shipping container of items donated by friends and clients. Then she packs up her white van and sets up her stand on Sunday in the parking lot on Highway 116. She has a table crowded with donated items, a clothing rack, and a hand-lettered sign that reads “Free.”

“I try to do it every Sunday, unless there’s an emergency or a family event or it’s raining,” she said. “But nine times out of 10, I’m going to be there on Sundays. I sit there from ten in the morning till three in the afternoon.”

Although she was pleased to have found a new spot, she said that initially, “It was sad because people didn’t know I was there. Only a few people would show up.”

But slowly and surely, she’s being discovered.

You never know what you’ll find at her little free stand.

That’s part of its charm, according to longtime Forestville resident Michelle Lester, who called Clark “one of the sweetest, kindest people that I’ve met.”

“This is my Sunday treasure hunt,” Lester said. “Her being here on Sundays has brought such a beautiful little sparkle to Forestville. She has such a beautiful presence and is so welcoming. So many people get to come find little treasures from her free stand.”

This weekend, Lester was thrilled to get a Roomba, something she’d always wanted.

Clark’s offerings are different every week.

“You never know what you’re going to get,” Clark said. “It could be breast pumps. It could be chainsaws. This week it was a Roomba and a guitar, and now you’re getting Christmas ornaments. I’ve had $1,400 Chanel clothes and purses. One lady, I was able to give her a whole bag full of baby clothes. It’s just really wonderful, and it’s fun.”

The biggest thing she has ever given away is a Kawasaki motorcycle, left by a friend who left the country and all his worldly possessions behind for her to distribute.

Although she originally started this endeavor to help fire victims, it soon became clear to her that she was also filling an economic need. “We’re in an economy right now where everything is so difficult for everybody,” she said. “This is a way of paying it forward.”

Clark isn’t well-off, but she’s happy with her life and considers herself fortunate. “I was raised as a tomboy. I’ve been a hippie. I’ve lived off the streets, and I’ve hung out with millionaires, so, you know, I’ve been very fortunate.”

A few weeks ago, she said, “A woman pulled up and recognized me, and she goes. ‘I remember you!’ And then she started crying. She said, ‘When I came here, I had nothing, and you came to my house at Christmas and filled my house with all the Christmas stuff and made it a home.’”

“It doesn’t get any frickin’ better than that,” Clark said. “I’m not doing this for accolades, but I’ll tell you, I love watching people smile. I love seeing somebody go, ‘This made my day’ Or ‘I needed this!’ Or ‘I’ve always wanted this!’ I mean, come on, it’s like I get to be Santa Claus 24/7.”

Four Things You Can Do to Prevent Falls
Monday, Nov. 2, 3 pm to 4:30 pm, at Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St., Sebastopol. $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

Dr. Rhonda Berney, who is board-certified in family medicine and has more than 40 years of experience caring for patients of all ages, gives a practical talk on reducing the risk of falls. She covers how medications and sleep affect that risk, how the hips, knees and ankles work together, why regular vision and foot checks matter, and simple changes that make a home safer. The talk is part of the center’s 2026 Fall Prevention series. Pre-registration is required. Register here or call 707-829-2440.

Life Drawing Meet-Up
Monday, Nov. 2, 6 pm to 9 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. $20.

Draw from a live model at this weekly artist meet-up, which has no instructor. Participants bring their own supplies. Signing up in advance guarantees entry, and drop-ins are admitted as space allows. Ages 16+. Register here.

Country Line Dance
Monday, Nov. 2, 6 pm at HopMonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $12.95.

Head over to the Abbey at HopMonk Sebastopol for their Monday-night line dancing. Classes start at 6 pm. Tickets.

Floral Design Workshop
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1 pm to 4 pm, at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. $98.

In this floral design workshop, create a different arrangement using seasonal blooms and colors. Enjoy step-by-step guidance, learn floral design techniques, and connect with new friends. Leave with a beautiful arrangement you made yourself. No experience needed. Register

Beginning Knitting: Fundamentals
Tuesday, Nov. 3 and Nov. 10, from 4 pm to 6 pm, at Gather Sebastopol, 122 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $90 for both sessions.

This is the first installment in a two-session class covering the basics of knitting. You’ll leave class with the confidence to knit your first handmade piece and a new creative ritual to return to again and again. Reserve your space.

The rNov. 3 city council meeting has been cancelled due to the election.

Potluck Produce and Seed Swap
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 5:30 pm to 8 pm, Hessel Grange, 5400 Blank Road, Sebastopol. Free.

Join the Hessel Grange in slowing down, sharing a good meal and getting to know your community. Bring a dish to share; optional seeds or homegrown produce to swap. Every first Tuesday.

Sister Hazel
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 8 pm, at HopMonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $65.28.

Florida’s Sister Hazel brings its Southern rock to HopMonk. The five-piece band’s 1997 single, “All for You,” topped the adult alternative charts. The group has since built a career across rock, alternative and country, with several albums on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. San Francisco indie rocker Megan Slankard opens. Tickets.

Holiday Handbuilding
Thursdays, Nov. 5, 12,19, from 6 pm to 9 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. $135.

This is the first installment in a series of clay handbuilding classes where participants will make holiday-themed pieces. Projects include ornaments, mugs, seasonal decor and handmade gifts. Classes will be led by artist Michael Citrino. Register here.

Film — Miss Representation: Rise Up
Thursday, Nov. 5, 6:30 pm, Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. $16.

Over a decade after Miss Representation exposed the media’s contribution to the underrepresentation of women in leadership, “Miss Representation: Rise Up” dives deep into the cultural backlash against women’s agency and power. With the proliferation of AI and deepfakes, this new era of tech-facilitated violence is exacerbating sexism and misogyny towards women and girls, in an attempt to control and silence them. Conversation to follow the film with special guests. Get tickets.

Community in Bloom: Native Plant Trivia Night
Thursday, Nov. 5, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa. Free.

The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, the California Native Plant Society’s Milo Baker Chapter and Sonoma County Ag + Open Space are hosting an evening of trivia about native plants. Participants can come solo or form a team. Sonoma County’s quarter-cent Ag + Open Space sales tax funds this event. Register here.

Radium Girls at Analy
Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 5-7, 7 pm, and Nov. 8 at 2 pm, at the Analy Theater, Analy High School, 6950 Analy Avenue, Sebastopol. $10 students, $20 general

Come to Analy High School’s performance of this gripping drama based on the true story of female factory workers poisoned by radium-based paint in the 1920s. Get tickets.

Jizo Peace Project: Clay Gathering for Remembrance and Peace
Friday, Nov. 6, 1:30 pm to 4 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. $10 suggested donation.

In Buddhist tradition and other cultures, Jizo figures symbolize compassion, protection and peace, and they honor children, the dead and people in distress. The project remembers people lost to war, with a current focus on children killed in Gaza and Israel. The finished figures will go into public exhibits and peace sites, and each gathering ends with a short ritual honoring the children’s lives. The donation confirms attendance because space is limited. Register here.

‘Finely Crafted’ docent tour and discussion
Friday, Nov. 6, 4 pm to 5 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. Free, sliding scale.

Join a walk-through and group discussion of the exhibition SebTimes called ‘sly, funny and surprising’ with guides Steve Forrest, wood artist and writer, and exhibition co-coordinator Jamie Studley. “Finely Crafted” features work in ceramics, glass, wood and metal. Artists and fellow craft fans join the conversation, and refreshments are served. Members and the public are invited. RSVP is recommended. RSVP.

First Friday at Chimera Arts Maker Space
Friday, Nov. 6, 5 pm to 8 pm, at Chimera, 6791 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. Free.

Featuring “The Tim and Sam Show.” With 75 years of combined musical grit and over a decade of locking into the same tight groove, Sam Cole (Marshall House Project & Free Peoples) and Tim Sawyer (Free Peoples) deliver a live experience you won’t catch anywhere else. Seamlessly fusing raw blues, high-lonesome bluegrass, deep funk, heavy soul, and classic rock, they craft a sound that completely defies standard genres. With special guest Laila Hamby. Free to attend. Drinks and Food by donation.

An Evening of Poetry: Tim Hunt in Conversation with Pat Nolan
Friday, Nov. 6, 6 pm to 7:30 pm, at North Bay Letterpress Arts, 925D Gravenstein Hwy. S., Sebastopol. Free or $25 suggested donation.

Tim Hunt and Pat Nolan are both American poets, authors, and literary figures associated with independent publishing, mid-century literary scholarship, and the West Coast poetry scene. They share a distinct connection through their work on American literature—particularly the Beat Generation—and have actively supported each other’s literary endeavors. Light refreshments, including Pax Wines, and fantastic poetry served in equal measure. Beautiful letterpress broadsides of poets’ work available with a donation to NBLA. Reserve your spot.

Dionysian Revel
Friday, Nov. 6, 7 pm to 9:30 pm, at Subud Hall, 234 Hutchins Ave., Sebastopol. $10 at the door.

The evening celebrates the release of Milk & Honey owner and author Phoenix La Fae’s new book, Dionysus. Guests are invited to come and make merry with the wild girl-faced god. Sing, drink, dance, and allow your inner maenad to enjoy in ecstasy. This is a 21+ event, wine will be served.

Porcini Foraging: From Forest to Kitchen
Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 am to 1 pm, at a 10-acre property near Sebastopol. $155.

Head into the woods just outside Sebastopol for a hands-on morning of porcini foraging. In this small-group workshop, property owners and local foragers Gary and Whitney will guide you across their private 10-acre property as you learn how to identify, harvest, and work with one of our region’s most prized wild mushrooms. This workshop goes beyond finding mushrooms. You’ll learn what to look for as you forage, how to distinguish porcini from other mushrooms, and important principles of mushroom safety. Reserve your spot.

Sourdough from Scratch
Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 am to 1 pm, at Gold Ridge Organic Farms, 3387 Canfield Road, Sebastopol. $125.

Monica Flaherty of the Sebastopol Sourdough Company will lead a three-hour, hands-on bread-making class in the farm’s Apple Cottage. More info.

Wreath Making with Dried Flowers
Saturday, Nov. 7, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, at Gather Sebastopol, 122 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $135.

Learn to create a beautiful dried flower wreath with local farmer-florist Victoria Levy. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll work with a selection of locally grown dried flowers while exploring the techniques for arranging, securing, and combining delicate botanical materials into a cohesive design. Register.

Falling Leaves Festival
Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 am to 3 pm, at SunRidge Charter School, 6285 Hayden Ave., Sebastopol. Free.

Join SunRidge Charter School for this celebration of the season with live music, delicious wholesome food by Tacos de Pepe, treats, crafts to make, games to play, and a marketplace of handmade items to help you get started in your holiday shopping.

Art opening: STIMULANT: Art as Remedy for a Diseased Culture
Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:30 pm, at Laguna Lab, 117 Morris St., Sebastopol. Free.

Come to the opening of this new exhibition. STIMULANT is a two-week exhibition of large-scale paintings and digital works by Apocalypse Studio, Sebastopol’s multidisciplinary father-and-daughter artist duo. Why is civilization declining? And what can be done about it? STIMULANT’s response is that only culture can rebalance our dysfunctional systems of money and power. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week and next, from 12 pm to 4 pm, see the exhibition and meet the artists. Learn more.

Gravenstein Lions Club and CHA Vision Clinic
Sunday, Nov. 8, 12 pm to 4 pm, at Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. Free.

Lions In Sight and CHA are sponsoring this free vision clinic. The clinic offers free vision screening and free eyeglasses for children while supplies last.

Lucy Foley and Amy Meyerson
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2 pm, at Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $40-46.

Copperfield’s Books presents the New York Times bestselling author Lucy Foley, who returns to Sonoma County to celebrate her new Miss Marple mystery, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel. She will be in conversation with novelist and professor Amy Meyerson. Purchase tickets.

Donavon Frankenreiter + The Band of Heathens
Sunday, Nov. 8, 4 pm, at HopMonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $40 general admission before fees.

Born in Southern California, Donavon Frankreiter spent most of his youth chasing waves, turning pro at the age of 16. Now he entertains audiences with his unique blend of laid-back grooves, philosophical lyrics and soulful delivery. The opening act is Austin-based country rock band, Band of Heathens. Tickets.

Want us to feature your event in “What’s happening this week in Sebastopol?” Submit your events to the Sebastopol Community Calendar. This is one of the many resources we use to put this column together. Submitting your event to the community calendar doesn’t guarantee that your event will make it into “What’s Happening this Week,” but it means that we will see it and consider it.

Our reporter and photographer, Mark Fernquest, was out and about last night on Florence Avenue, while Dale and I held down the fort, er, tent, at the Halloween event at Ives Park, hosted by Kiwanis.

Here’s what we found:

And a few more from Ives Park…

At one tent in Ives Park, Granger Lawrence Jaffe invited young people to tell him a joke to get a large candy bar. Here were his three favorites:

Where do whales go to get braces?

— The orcadontist

Where do pirates get their hooks?

— From a secondhand store

What do you call a body without a nose?

— Nobody knows

A young man with a guitar came up to Lawrence. No joke, he wanted to sing a song. Their singing, joined by those around them, produced a bit of Peacetown on Halloween night.

At the Graton Town Square Halloween Party

Thanks to our Graton columnist Dewey Watson for rounding up photos of this year’s Halloween event at the Graton Town Square.

The Sebastopol Area Time Bank celebrates its 10th anniversary

Sebastopol Area Time Bank Coordinator David Gill reached out to us this week to tell us that the time bank is now 10 years old. He provided a little history about the founding of the Time Bank and how it works:

Befitting the Sebastopol Area Time Bank’s (SATB) reputation as an “under-the-radar” organization in our city, we “celebrated” our 10-year anniversary this month in typical quiet fashion: We didn’t stage a gala event, host a silent auction to raise money, or toast what is unquestionably a tremendous accomplishment in these difficult economic times. I’ll tell you what we did, but first some background on SATB:

Back in 2015, a small group of Sebastopol residents formed a committee to explore establishing a Time Bank for the Sebastopol area. They had heard about neighbors helping neighbors with no money changing hands, that the bank’s currency was hours and not dollars, and that each member’s hour was equal in value to the next member’s hour. Quintessential Sebastopol!

They took this concept to city leadership, and this new organization became an incubation project for Cittaslow and in October 2016 SATB was ready for launch as a free service in our community. Area residents joined to access our private, secure member website, where they could post requests for help and offers of service and manage individual accounts that tracked hours earned and hours spent. The City of Sebastopol provided our initial funding, and the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center serves as our “fiscal sponsor” to manage SATB’s funds at our direction.

For the past 10 years, our members have given rides, sewn clothes, diagnosed home problems, supported technology, volunteered locally, provided pet care, gardened and weeded, edited documents, taught bookkeeping, provided companionship, assisted with residential and commercial design, offered yoga and meditation, and so much more. These services cost recipients only the hours they had earned from serving other members.

And that brings me to how we celebrated our anniversary. We deposited 10 hours in our 330 members’ Time Bank accounts, one hour for each of our 10 years serving the community! We want them to take these hours and get the help they need, and then their helper can take the hours and get the help they need, and on and on and on.

Sebastopol Area Time Bank welcomes you to be part of this valuable community resource. Learn more about who we are, our mission statement, our core values, and our membership requirements at https://sebastopoltimebank.org

If you want to get and give help in this way, click on “Apply For Membership” to access our Time and Talents (TNT) member website login page and then click “Join” to begin the process. You, too, can get 10 hours deposited in your account by completing a few simple tasks.

At Sebastopol Area Time Bank, we build community one hour at a time. And for reading this article, we thank you for YOUR time!

David Gill
david@sebastopoltimebank.org

SATB also has a nonprofit organization collaboration program where the organization’s volunteers join the Time Bank and can claim hours equal to the number of hours they volunteer for their favorite nonprofit. Email David at david@sebastopoltimebank.org to begin that discussion. Find out more about the Sebastopol Area Time Bank here.

Update on the ICE arrest in West County

For those of you who didn’t see this update in our story about the SW100 awards, we have news about the arrest of a Forestville resident by ICE earlier this month. According to VIDAS Executive Director Monica Julian, the man was released the next day because he was picked up without a judicial warrant. “We activated the Bay Area Habeas Network, and he was released by the next morning,” Julian said.

The week of Oct. 26-31

While all the candidates have experience in fire service as volunteers and/or professional firefighters, four of those running for the board are women, all who have worked professionally in fire departments in the Bay Area.

The nine candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

• Domenico Carinalli (incumbent)

• Tara Daniels

• Christina Gibbs

• Kathleen Molloy Gilbraith

• Robert Gloeckner (incumbent)

• Doug Jones

• Stephen Petrucci (incumbent)

• Shannon J Shaffer-Killey

• Dave Warbug (incumbent)

(The seven-member board also includes those who were elected in 2024: Stacey Gambonini, Charles Lachman and Chris Tachouet. Their terms expire in 2028.)

About Gold Ridge Fire District

The Gold Ridge Fire Protection District covers about 300 square miles in western Sonoma County with its headquarters located at the Hessel Road station. The district was formed in 1993 when the Hessel and Twin Hill fire departments merged its three fire stations located in Hessel, Twin Hills and Freestone. In 2023, the volunteer fire departments that were part of CSA 40 (Fort Ross, Camp Meeker, Bodega, Valley Ford, Bloomfield, Two Rock, Wilmar, San Antonio and Lakeville) merged into Gold Ridge.

The consolidation of the Sebastopol City Fire Deparment into the Gold Ridge Fire District followed a February 4, 2025 vote by the City Council. The Sebastopol Times’s story on the consolidation quoted the City Manager at the time, Don Schwarz, who said the move would save the City about a million dollars a year. The merger came with a new parcel tax of approximately $265 per residence for homeowners and a higher rate for commercial properties.

Monte Rio Fire District with its three stations in Monte Rio, Duncan’s Mills and Jenner merged into Gold Ridge in 2025.

The District now has a total of 12 fire stations: Lakeville and Wilmar in Petaluma, Valley Ford and Two Rock, Fort Ross in Cazadero; near the Russian River in Monte Rio and Camp Meeker; along or near Bodega Highway (Sebastopol, Freestone, Bodega and Twin Hills) and Hwy 116 South (Hessel and Bloomfield). Six of the 12 stations are staffed full-time, and the other six are staffed by volunteers.

The district-wide parcel tax across its 11 areas of Sonoma County has transformed the Gold Ridge Fire District. The District board approved a 2026-2027 budget $24M. It’s 2023-2024 budget was $9.2M. There are 56 paid staff in fire suppression, which includes firefighters, engineers (drivers of the fire engines), captains, two deputy chiefs and three administrative staff. The Fire Chief is Shepley Schroth-Cary, who has been with the District since 1994. There are about 80 volunteer firefighters across the district.

Candidate Profiles

Sebastopol Times reached out to all the candidates by email with a few questions about their experience and background, how well the merger with Sebastopol Fire was going, and what their priorities were for the District. Other than the Sonoma County Voter Information Guide, there isn’t a lot of information online about the candidates. This article provides an opportunity for the candidates to speak in their own words about the issues shaping the District and its services.

Gold Ridge Professional Firefighters Association, Local 1401, which represents firefighters in the District, endorsed Christina Gibbs, Shannon Shaffer-Killey, Kathleen Molloy Gilbraith and Bob Gloeckner. It is worth noting that the union local chose to endorse only one of the four current board members.

David Warburg (incumbent)

Dave Warburg lives near the Twin Hill station. He moved to Sebastopol about 35 years ago from Connecticut, where he had been a volunteer firefighter. He began volunteering at Gold Ridge Fire Department prior to consolidation. Dave said that he was asked to join the board about “five or six years ago.”

“Fire service is notoriously slow to change,” he said. “I helped expedite some of it, but I handled it very gently because I don’t wanna step on toes.” As a board member, he was involved in the consolidation process. “I was on three or four committees that met with the various volunteer departments and their board members and put together a plan. Obviously it worked, but there’s still things that have to be worked on because some of the smaller departments found it very, very threatening. And, you know, I don’t blame them.” He mentioned his own work developing policy manuals and disaster preparations.

“One thing I will say about Gold Ridge is that the people who are working there are invested in what we’re doing. I’m not saying this just because I’m on the board. They’re invested in what’s going on. It’s just a matter of how productive they are. To me, what’s important is how do we improve what we’ve got.”

Dave sees the improvement in Sebastopol. “ (Gold Ridge firefighters) used to beat the volunteers from the station to anything that was going on in Sebastopol,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Anyway, those days are gone. We’re getting there on time. I listen on the scanner to make sure.”

One thing that bothers him is that the County does not have an evacuation plan. “This is something that shouldn’t be ignored,” he said. He’d like to see more publicity to involve the public in disaster preparedness. “You can’t choose when a disaster is gonna happen and what people are going to do, and that’s got me really concerned.” He’d like to see more disaster planning and communication efforts county-wide to involve citizen groups.

Robert “Bob” Gloeckner (incumbent)

Bob Gloeckner has served on the board of the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District since at least 2017 and he is currently Board Chair. He worked for 30 years for the city of Petaluma as a battalion chief.

“I started as an elected director on the Hessel Fire Board, and then we eventually merged with Twin Hills, and I served on that board.” He’s been on the board through all of the subsequent mergers. “We’ve accomplished a lot and hope to do a lot more in the future.”

Gloeckner talked about the ongoing transition away from all-volunteer fire departments.  “The volunteer companies for years were underfunded, and they did the very best they could with what they had to work with, and they actually did a pretty darn good job. But, as it’s become more and more difficult to get and retain volunteer firefighters, it became apparent that they needed more help. We merged with (volunteer fire departments) because they wanted to join Gold Ridge for a more reliable source of income, training and administration.”

 He said that Gold Ridge has done “a lot of things to bring the volunteer companies up to more of a current standard.” He mentioned purchasing equipment, upgrading training and improving their turnout equipment and breathing apparatus. “Fort Ross has a newer water tender that we purchased for them and a Type Six, I believe, which is a small rural fire truck.”

He said that “the volunteers are just as important as ever, and we try to fund them and take care of them as best we can. They come in on calls, and they take additional fire equipment. They actually can work shifts, and they can go on strike teams. They’re paid for that.” He added that “the number of volunteers has changed over the years,” saying that it’s a national problem.

 “We’ve been able to modernize some of the fire stations,” he said. “We have a current project in the town of Bodega. While the station is fairly new, they never built any quarters as dorms for sleeping, and we’d like to put some firefighters in that station. We’re getting plans approved to get some sleeping quarters there. When we meet county code, then we’ll have staffing there.

“We have plans to replace two fire stations. One would be in Lakeville, and another one would be in Monte Rio. We currently now have 24/7 staffing at Monte Rio. That was a new thing. We upped it to three people on duty every day, 24/7.”

He said that Sebastopol “had only one or two permanent firefighters, and they worked during the daytime. Now, we have permanent 24/7 staffing at Sebastopol.” He said that a priority for the board of directors to make sure to shorten response times. “For example, Sebastopol, when they were just volunteer, their response time could range from a few minutes to 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 minutes. Today our response times are very short. People are in the station. They immediately put their turnouts on when they get a call and get on the engine and go.”

The Board reviews all response times every month. “We collect data, and so far the response times really for the paid staffed areas are really very good.”

 Gloeckner said the other priority is “the wellness of our firefighters.” He said that firefighter tend “to have a much higher incidence of cancer, so we’re always supporting wellness programs for our firefighters.”

Christina Gibbs

Christina Gibbs spent “almost all my summers at my family’s house in Camp Meeker. My passion to serve others began while working for CAL FIRE Occidental Station.” In 1999, she began her career at the San Francisco Fire Department, where she was promoted to lieutenant and then captain.

“I was involved in behavioral health in the fire department for many years. I have a therapy dog named Sadie that was trained to offset the stress of firefighters.” She said she brings a lot of relevant experience. She has worked “through the merger of an ambulance division into a fire department, so I have a knowledge of expanding services as a fire department.” She believes the District is working hard to have services available throughout the district. “Expansion is a process, and I hope to help with that,” she said.

Asked about her priorities, she said: “I have a list of things I would like to see happen. My first priority is the health and safety of our firefighters. Firefighters in the US have a 14% higher rate of cancer-related deaths and a 9% higher risk of cancer diagnosis compared to the US population. We need testing for our firefighters to catch it early.” Her other priorities would be to see “the Bodega firehouse staffed full-time and expanding our intern program.”

Kathleen Molloy Gilbraith

Kathleen Molly Gilbraith served in the San Francisco Fire Department for 28 years, starting in 1995 and retiring in 2023. “I held many jobs within the fire department including: firefighter/paramedic for 20 years, inspector for 4 years, and lieutenant of inspectors for 4 years.” She has lived in Sebastopol since 2001.

Kathleen was recruited and supported by Local 1401. “When the union board member of Gold Ridge Local Firefighters’ Union 1401 asked me to have a conversation about what I believed in as a leader in my department, our views were the same. We aligned well.” She was asked to consider running for the board, but initially she said “no.”

“My thinking was a community member of one of the newly merged fire departments may be a better candidate and better represent the new department; the board members agreed. We thanked each other and wished ourselves good luck. About two months later they came and asked again, this time I had lunch with other members of the department and union and again we all had many of the same goals in mind. They asked again, would I consider; this time I said ‘yes.’”

“Initially they told me that the (current) board was not going to run and that they had decided to open up seats.” That changed at the last minute, as current board members decided to run. “By this time, I had decided to run.”

At SFFD, she worked on a merger that has “certain similarities with the mergers Gold Ridge is in the middle of. It starts with the agreement to merge,” she said. “In a way, it’s the hardest part, but it is also the easiest part. Now we have to work together and make it work for all involved, community and Fire Department workers. All of them! I am sensitive to this situation and aware that the process takes some time, but we must have a plan.” She said she is excited to be part of “creating the plan, and keeping all updated and aware of the process.”

Asked if she thought the consolidated district serves all of its communities fairly, she said: “This is a merger in progress! Does it look now like we want it to look? No… so right now, at this moment, it does not appear to be fairly distributed, but that is how it goes sometimes in the Fire Service. The ultimate goal is being fair and strong in all communities — Gold Ridge Strong!!”

Kathleen is currently a lifeguard at Ives Pool one day a week, and she volunteers at two preserves in the area, walking with 3rd-5th graders in nature, exploring and wondering.

Tara Daniels

Tara Daniels is a lifelong resident of West Sonoma County. She started out as a volunteer firefighter in the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department and now is a board member of the Bodega Community Association (formerly Bodega Volunteer Fire Department). “I have an established history of looking out for the needs of community members,” she said. She is also bilingual in Spanish, which she sees as “an asset in serving the needs of all of our community members.”

“I’ve worked as a professional firefighter for 25 years, in urban and wildland departments,” Daniels said. “As a volunteer firefighter prior to that, I understand all of the roles and dynamics present within Gold Ridge Fire Protection District’s systems. I have done a lot of budgeting, planning, and cooperating with other agencies to achieve public safety objectives.”

Daniels said her “sole motivation in running for Director is a sincere desire to help our community. My platform is based on prioritizing public safety for the entire district, as should be the #1 priority of a fire district, though I haven’t seen the same priority reflected by all other candidates.” She added that “the board needs to reflect the interests of the entire district. It needs geographical diversity. All but one other candidate live within the historical headquarters. Representation need to be diversified.”

When asked if the consolidated District has managed to serve all its areas fairly, she replied: “I do not believe that it has, and that’s part of what led me to run.” She explained: “As the district has consolidated, all new residents are paying property tax addendums to fund the district. Measure H sales tax revenue is also being allocated to each community within the district. While funding is designated to provide emergency services to the entire district, service improvements have been focused on the central and southern parts of the district, with no quantifiable improvements to public safety in the more rural areas. I believe that every resident of the district deserves fast, reliable emergency response from well-trained firefighters.”

Daniels said that she has several priorities, which are as follows:

• Secure fast, reliable emergency response to all service areas within the district.

• Ensure that emergency response in Sebastopol is adequate to serve the largest population within the district.

• Re-establish positive working relationships with volunteer firefighters. Those relationships have been strained in recent years in some areas, such as Sebastopol, leading to a significant loss of firefighters. Volunteer firefighters are a needed component of the district’s public safety response.

Shannon Shaffer-Kiley

Shannon Shaffer-Kiley was born and raised in Bodega. “I grew up around the firehouse,” she said. “I joined in 2003 and am still an active volunteer firefighter today.” She said that her connection to West County goes beyond the firehouse. “I spent 10 years working for West County Health Centers at different locations throughout the area. Between the two, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and get to know people in many of the communities that now make up Gold Ridge.”

She earned an associate degree in Fire Technology from Santa Rosa Junior College and a bachelor’s degree in Leadership Studies from Humboldt State University. “Today, I’m a Deputy Fire Marshal overseeing Fire Prevention for a large municipal fire department. My work involves everything from managing personnel and developing policies to inspections, code enforcement, and all the interesting challenges that come with local government.”

She’s “had the opportunity to experience the fire service from several different sides. I’m still a volunteer, so I understand that side of things, but my professional career has also given me experience with the administrative and leadership responsibilities that come with running a department. I can bring those different perspectives, along with my ties to these communities, to serving on the Gold Ridge board.”

Asked why voters should choose her over others vying for a board seat, said:
“I respect the work the current Board has done. Gold Ridge has changed a lot in a relatively short period of time, and bringing so many different agencies together is no small task. As the district grows, it’s important to have a Board that represents as many of our communities as possible. We cover a huge area, and each community has its own history, challenges, and needs. Having people from different parts of the district brings different perspectives to the table. Of course, once elected, you’re there to represent the entire district, not just the community you come from.”

She added, “I’m not coming into this thinking I know everything or that everything needs to change. I’m someone who asks questions, wants to understand why decisions are being made, and isn’t afraid to have the difficult conversations when they’re needed. I’ve watched Gold Ridge change a lot over the years, and I care about what happens next.”

Asked if Gold Ridge has met the challenge of serving fairly the many geographic areas of West County, she replied, “Gold Ridge has made a lot of progress, but I don’t think this is something you can answer with a simple yes or no. It’s something we need to keep evaluating.

“The communities (in the District) have very different needs, and fair service doesn’t necessarily mean having the same staffing or equipment at every station. The response model Gold Ridge has established is a good foundation. What I’d like to see is how well it’s actually working, Are we getting resources where they’re needed? What are our turnout and response times telling us? Are there areas where we could make adjustments to improve coverage? I think we have to look at the actual data to answer those questions.”

Shaffer-Kiley said that her priorities “come down to our people, planning for the future, and transparency and accountability.

“I want Gold Ridge to be somewhere that good employees want to work and, more importantly, want to stay. I also want to see our volunteer program continue to grow and offer opportunities for people to get involved. We’re a combination department, and both our career and volunteer members need to feel supported and valued.

“We need to be looking ahead. Gold Ridge has grown incredibly fast, and we need to make sure everything is keeping up. That means looking at staffing, stations, apparatus, and finances, and thinking about what we’re going to need five or ten years from now, not just today.

“Transparency and accountability is about making sure we’re being responsible with public money, asking questions, and understanding the decisions we’re making. I’d also like to see more communication with the public. People should know what’s happening with their fire district, what we’re working toward, and how decisions are being made. I don’t expect everyone to agree on everything, but I do think there should be a reason behind the decisions we make, and we should be able to explain them.”

Doug Jones

Doug Jones is a firefighter who has lived in this community and within the Gold Ridge Fire District his entire life. “Serving this community has always been important to me, and I am committed to continuing that service in a new role by serving on the Gold Ridge Fire District board.”

Jones began as a Fire Explorer before becoming a volunteer firefighter. “Today, I remain actively involved with the Department and the Firefighters Association while working as a professional firefighter for another department.

When asked why he was running, Jones replied: “I bring a very diverse and experienced view to help continue the growth and change the fire service brings us as everyday challenges to face as a District. I think looking out for our employees' benefits, wages and working conditions are important to provide a high-level service to the communities we serve.” He added: “I would like to help be a part of improving the infrastructure at our facilities along with bringing up the idea of new station placement to better service the communities we serve within the district.”

Jones listed three priorities:

• Maintain operational readiness to continue to provide a high level of customer service;

• employee health and wellness;

• infrastructure improvement or replacement and relocation.

Domenico Carinalli (incumbent)

Dominic Carinalli, who lives near the Hessel Station, has been on the board since 2000. He was a volunteer fireman for many years in the Hessel Fire Protection District. He said that he’s running because “I like helping my community, and this is a subject that I have knowledge about.”

He added: “We have worked with many different fire departments to pull all of our resources together and to provide a safer community for all. Due to consolidation, we now have three additional staffed fire stations. With more stations, we have faster response time for all calls.” Carinalli said that “maintaining a well-run fire protection district is our priority.”

Stephen Petrucci (incumbent)

Stephen Petrucci was raised in the Hessel area near the fire station. He was elected to the Board in 2010. His statement for the Voter Information Guide says that he has served in the community for 50 years, starting out as a volunteer firefighter. He retired in 2018 after 42 years of volunteer service. “I was instrumental in the consolidation of the Twin Hills and Freestone stations in 2013.” Stephen did not respond to emails from Sebastopol Times.

Come see us and many others at Sebastopol’s Kiwanis Trick or Treat Halloween Event in Ives Park from 4:00 - 8:00pm tonight. Happy Halloween.

The Sebastopol Police Department has been getting some heat recently for, uh, pursuing people who break the law. I know you think that’s their job. But some folks around town think they’re going a little too far.

The Sebastopol Times has gotten several calls about this of late. Most involved concerns about two driving incidents involving Police Chief Sean McDonagh—the first involved a high-speed chase of a motorcyclist, who ultimately spun out on a curve, and the second involved the Chief’s unfortunate head-on contact with some city infrastructure while pursuing a man who was shoplifting from Safeway.

This letter to the Sebastopol City Council captures the tone of the complaints we received:

“I would imagine all of you have had the same response I had when I read about our police chief chasing in his car a man on a bicycle and going down the wrong way of McKinley St with cars having to get out of the way until he hit a lamppost and a fence.

For a non-violent shoplifting crime.

How lucky we all are that no one was hurt.

This is outrageously reckless behavior and shows questionable judgement on the part of the head of our law enforcement.

And a few weeks before...a high speed chase that ended up in a vehicle crash.

This certainly makes me feel less safe on our roads and in our town.

From a concerned citizen

At the same time—and this probably isn’t a coincidence—the Sebastopol Police Department's Facebook page has been getting uncharacteristically exciting. Dramatic stories from last week include the guy who was assaulting people and throwing pumpkins at cars (at the end of a long day of mayhem around town), the guy at Ives Park threatening little kids with a screwdriver, and the homeless woman at Starbucks who threatened to murder all the baristas.

Seriously. All in one week.

The Sebastopol Times dropped by the police station to talk with Police Chief Sean McDonagh to find out what was going on.

The good news is, it’s not a sudden crime wave. The bad news is it’s always like this.

“It’s business as usual,” McDonagh said, “but it’s been part of my commitment to the community to be more transparent, so I’m putting it out there for people to see it, because if they don’t physically witness these incidents, they wouldn’t be aware of them.”

He said that many of these incidents involve repeat offenders.

Smashing Pumpkins

Case in point, Jesse Kruszynski of greater Sebastopol. He was the motorcyclist involved in the high-speed chase through town on August 31 that didn’t end well — at least not for him.

Here was the police’s description of the event, from their Facebook page:

At approximately 7:30 p.m., 31st August, 2026, Chief McDonagh was patrolling the city of Sebastopol when he observed a motorcyclist traveling in the bicycle lane on South Gravenstein Highway, passing multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed.

Chief McDonagh attempted to initiate a traffic stop; however, the motorcyclist failed to yield and fled, resulting in a vehicle pursuit.

The pursuit traveled northbound on South Gravenstein Highway, northbound on Petaluma Avenue, eastbound on McKinley Street, southbound on Morris Street, westbound on Sebastopol Avenue, and continued onto Bodega Avenue and Highway, northbound onto Ferguson Road, and Mill Station Road.

The pursuit ended at the intersection of Mill Station Road and Occidental Road. Due to his high rate of speed, the motorcyclist was unable to negotiate a bend in the roadway immediately before the intereection with Occidental Road, causing him to crash and be ejected from the motorcycle.

The rider, Jesse Kruszynski, a 45-year-old male from unincorporated Sebastopol, was taken into custody following the collision and transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for observation and any necessary medical treatment. The motorcycle was subsequently seized and towed.

During the incident, the rider reached extremely high speeds and committed numerous traffic violations. His driving behavior was extremely egregious and posed a significant risk to public safety, including to himself, other motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

Kruszynski will be booked on charges including felony evading, driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, reckless driving, exceeding 100 mph, failing to stop for red traffic signals, and additional California Vehicle Code violations.

Kruszynski was back, starring in a new episode, in mid-October. Here’s that report:

On October 16, 2026, Sebastopol Police officers arrested 45 year old Jesse Kruszynski of Sebastopol following a series of calls for service spanning approximately three hours and several locations throughout the city.

Kruszynski may be familiar to some members of our community as the suspect previously arrested following a recent motorcycle pursuit here in Sebastopol.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., our dispatch center received a report that Kruszynski was screaming at customers outside a restaurant on Sebastopol Avenue. The business reported that his behavior had also been causing significant problems for them over the preceding weeks. Officers responded but were unable to locate him.

Approximately 30 minutes later, officers were dispatched to Safeway following a report that Kruszynski was pouring alcohol over vehicles. He again left before officers arrived.

About an hour later, dispatch received additional reports that Kruszynski was near Community Market pouring alcohol over vehicles. Shortly afterward, another caller reported that he was near the Main Street intersection punching vehicles. Officers continued searching the area, but Kruszynski again disappeared before they could locate him.

After receiving information that he was heading toward the Joe Rodota Trail, officers began checking that area. Another call then came in reporting that Kruszynski had returned to Community Market and poured beer on a person. He was subsequently seen running toward The Barlow, followed by another report that he was throwing pumpkins at vehicles.

At approximately 4:30 p.m., officers finally located and detained Kruszynski while they investigated the various reported incidents.

During that investigation, officers were approached by individuals who reported that they had been assaulted by Kruszynski. After obtaining statements and the information necessary to establish probable cause, officers placed him under arrest.

During the incident, Kruszynski also made multiple threats against officers, including threats to their lives.

Kruszynski was arrested for battery, Penal Code § 242, and threatening or attempting to deter an executive officer, Penal Code § 69(a). He was subsequently booked into the Sonoma County jail, marking his fifth arrest in just over two months.

As a final display of defiance, Kruszynski defecated in the patrol car while being transported to the jail for booking. Cleaning that up is definitely not something our officers sign up for, nor is cleaning human biohazards something they spend much time training for at the police academy.

McDonagh said of this case, “We were very lucky that on that pumpkin incident day that an off-duty California Highway Patrol sergeant was in the area, and he actually held him for us because he [Kruszynski] kept running from location to location, and by the time we’d get there, he was gone.”

Kruszynski, who is not homeless and who lives in unincorporated Sebastopol, is familiar to the Sebastopol police. “We have had contacts with him in the past,” McDonagh said. “There was nothing for a while, maybe a number of years, and then all of a sudden the bike pursuit and then it’s just been ongoing ever since—multiple contacts a week.”

The Sebastopol Times received a letter from someone familiar with and sympathetic to Kruszynski, suggesting this is clearly a case of mental illness and begging us to write a story on the lack of resources for people with serious mental illness and their families, which is a good suggestion—since all of the incidents discussed in this article could probably be traced to the same issue.

An incident at Ives Park

Two days later, the excitement continued with another repeat offender. Quoting from the police department’s Facebook page:

On October 18, 2026, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Sebastopol Police officers responded to Ives Park following a report that a man had brandished a weapon at two children, ages 8 and 9.

The children reported that the man displayed a screwdriver and threatened them, stating, “Do you want to f*****g get stabbed?”

While Officer Levesque remained at Ives Park obtaining statements from the children, their parents and other witnesses, officers developed a detailed description of the suspect.

Officer Siar immediately began searching the surrounding area and located the suspect, identified as 27-year-old transient resident of Sebastopol, Noah Curry, in the Safeway parking lot. Curry was detained, and officers located a screwdriver in his pocket.

Curry is currently on parole and is known to our officers from many contacts and previous similar incidents in Sebastopol. This arrest marks his fifth custodial arrest in the city this year and he had only been released from jail for three (3) days since our last arrest and parole violation.

Based upon the investigation, Curry was arrested for criminal threats, child endangerment, brandishing a weapon, and violation of parole. He was subsequently booked into the Sonoma County jail, again.

McDonagh said the Sebastopol Police had arrested Curry for a similar incident in Ives Park earlier this year—screaming, swinging a stick at people at Ives and yelling “I’m going to get you, bitch!”—and that he’d been jailed for 60 days. He was released from jail three days before the screwdriver incident in Ives Park.

McDonagh said that the fact that he’d been held for even 60 days was unusual — and likely connected to the fact that he was on parole. “In this day and age in California, 60 days is significant. People we’ve arrested are often released the next day, if not the same day,” he said.

His frustration with this game of catch and release is one of the reasons he decided to start putting these incidents on Facebook.

A threat shuts down Starbucks

And it continued. Again, from the Sebastopol Police Facebook page:

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, October 20, 2026, officers from the Sebastopol Police Department responded to the Starbucks on North Gravenstein Highway following a report of a threat involving a firearm.

Sophie Obserstein, 36, of Sebastopol, was reported to have approached the drive thru window and allegedly threatened to shoot a store employee, claiming she had a firearm in her pocket while reaching toward it.

The employee quickly locked the drive-thru window and store doors, moved customers to a safe location inside the business, and contacted Sebastopol Police dispatchers to report what was occurring.

Officer Baldovinos and Sergeant Wong arrived in short order and took Obserstein into custody without further incident. Obserstein was then booked into the Sonoma County Jail for criminal threats and public intoxication.

We commend the employee for her quick thinking and calm response during what would understandably have been a highly stressful situation. Her actions helped protect both herself and the customers inside the store while officers responded.

Obserstein has been taken into custody twice in two days by the Sebastopol Police Department. On October 19th, Obserstein was reported to be causing a disturbance in the vicinity of The Plaza in downtown Sebastopol and also out front of a local business nearby. She was arrested about 3:30 pm by officers for public intoxication and transported to Orenda Center, a detox facility in Santa Rosa.

It turns out that Obserstein did not have a gun, but of course, the baristas at Starbucks had no way of knowing that.

And regarding the pursuit of the Safeway shoplifter

Concerns over the pursuit of 48-year-old Juan Jose Gutierrez Lopez on a charge of shoplifting at Safeway continue to reverberate—mostly concerned, as with Bradley’s letter at the top of this article, with the Chief’s decision to drive at a fast rate of speed backwards on a one-way street and the sense that this was an overreaction to shoplifting at Safeway.

McDonagh said that before he followed the man backwards down McKinley, he checked to make sure there were no cars coming. Some witnesses at Whole Foods and on the downtown plaza continue to say it felt unsafe.

A Safeway employee told the Sebastopol Times that Gutierrez Lopez was a known problem and that he stole from the store on a regular basis. Police say he has an extensive criminal record.

Whether that’s worth an unorthodox (and possibly unsafe) pursuit is a matter of judgment.

Taking a hard line

McDonagh knows there’s been criticism of his approach to policing, but he’s not feeling apologetic.

“This is how I police,” he said. “The city employed me because of what I presented when I interviewed. I don’t change the way I am. This is me. I will continue to police—and our police will continue to police—in that way,” he said.

He wrote to the Sebastopol Times earlier this month expressing the same sentiment.

“I make no apologies for taking a hard line on criminal conduct in the city. It’s long overdue, as the ‘softly, softly’ approach employed in previous years does not and has not worked. I’m addressing the criminal conduct that we receive a LOT of complaints about, in line with the Constitution, laws of the state and agency policy and supporting our soon-to-be fully staffed agency personnel in doing the job that the majority of citizens expect us to do. We can’t have us addressing criminal conduct from a safe space. We must be out there dealing with it head-on. I don’t intend to let the tail wag the dog here.”

To hear the rest of the world talk about Sonoma County, this region has everything anybody could ever need or want, including its natural beauty, world-class wines and diverse agriculture, livable cities and widespread affluence. But when we listen to ourselves talk about this place that we call “home,” we keep hearing about a severe shortage of housing and its unaffordable costs.

That kind of talk has been going on for decades without much change of tone or outcome. That is, until the nonprofit organization Generation Housing and its executive director Jen Klose arrived on the scene. Since 2018, they’ve been leading ongoing forums and other talks with local elected officials and community leaders about how to make more housing more affordable to more people who want to call Sonoma County home.

As it turns out, all this purposeful talk—and state legislation to back it up—is making a difference in how much housing is getting built. Over the last five years, more than a dozen new state laws have forced local governments to ease their most restrictive zoning and design laws to speed up project approvals and construction. State laws have evolved so quickly that many small cities like Sebastopol find themselves running to catch up.

“It’s one thing for us to change the conversation and messaging, but we have to keep backing it up with action and results,” Klose recently told the Sebastopol Times during a series of one-on-one conversations about her favorite topic.

The wake-up call

Following decades of slow-paced housing construction and after the 2017 Tubbs Fire that destroyed over 5,000 homes, Sonoma County leaders woke up to an overwhelming housing emergency. They adopted new slogans of “Sonoma Strong” and “Build Back Better.”

“The problems didn’t get any better at first,” remembered Klose, who was president of the unified Santa Rosa school board at the time. “Next, we had more wildfires, a flood and a pandemic.”

But the region’s leadership stuck together and launched a series of “resiliency plans.” They chased after federal FEMA funds, brought major local banks and credit unions together with homebuilders and saw the birth of the new nonprofit, Generation Housing.

Urged on by other community leaders, Klose put together a 30-page plan of action that quickly became the new nonprofit organization, Generation Housing, which today includes a staff of six people and a $1.3 million annual budget.

Klose, who is in her mid-50s, brought her background as an attorney and her experience on the Santa Rosa School Board to the project. She also credits her interest in community-building to the many dinner and evening conversations she experienced growing up with her journalist parents, Press Democrat reporter Bob Klose and columnist Susan Swartz.

Generation Housing is led by a 12-member board of directors, led by current chair Lauren Taylor, who worked at Burbank Housing, the county’s legacy affordable housing organization, and is now the director of St. Vincent de Paul Sonoma County. In that position, Taylor is now overseeing the development of Gravenstein Commons, a permanent supportive housing development in Sebastopol.

“From the beginning, we [Generation Housing] always saw ourselves as advocates, not builders,” said Klose. “Our work was to win more political and public will to attack these problems. No one was denying we had a housing problem and an affordability problem, but no one was moving fast enough in the right direction.”

Since 2018, Generation Housing has issued annual “State of Housing” reports full of baseline data, demographics, regional economic trends, and a series of proposed local housing policy changes. Generation Housing has held numerous public meetings and seminars in Sonoma and Napa counties to raise support for its recommended policy changes.

These include supporting state and federal housing subsidy bonds and programs; ending exclusionary zoning laws; streamlining housing project applications; supporting new housing types, such as ADUs (accessory dwelling units); and decreasing parking requirements and endorsing more transit-focused housing.

Generation Housing also publishes a “dashboard” on the status and progress of its many housing initiatives, a kind of report card for each of Sonoma County’s nine incorporated cities and unincorporated Sonoma County. According to the website, the dashboard assesses each city’s efforts across four areas:

• End exclusionary zoning. Create more diverse and more affordable housing by allowing up to 4-plex housing in single-family zones and expand zoning for Missing Middle small apartment complexes.

• Streamline housing development by integrating Design Review Boards into Planning Commissions. This accelerates housing projects while still ensuring transparency and accountability in decision-making.

• Incentivize Affordability. Support near-term construction of Affordable and affordable-by-design workforce housing by right sizing fees and adopting fees based on square footage.

• People & Planet over Parking. Let developers and their tenants make climate-smart decisions on parking needs by eliminating costly and heavy-handed parking mandates.

Generation Housing takes credit for attracting $170 million to Sonoma County for affordable and climate-smart housing. Since 2018, Gen Housing has endorsed 5,566 new housing units, including almost half considered 100% affordable as set in law for lower-wage workforce members.

How many new houses does Sonoma County need?

In 2021, Generation Housing laid down a challenge to local elected officials to facilitate the building of 58,000 housing units by 2030. That 58,000 number far exceeds the state’s 2026 RHNA targets, which total 14,482 for Sonoma County and all its cities.

Generation Housing’s higher number folds in past housing deficits and estimates of how many homes are needed to bring down the cost of building new homes and create a sustainable rental vacancy rate. Their 2025 State of Housing in Sonoma County lists their new goal at 50,000 houses—thanks in part to the almost 7,000 houses built countywide since 2021.

The group is supposed to release its new 2026 State of Housing in Sonoma County report before the end of the year, and, according to a talk Klose gave at a recent ReVillage event in Graton, they’ve dropped their goal for the number of houses built by 2030 significantly, down to 30,000 new homes.

“I’m not optimistic that we can build the 30,000 new housing units we think we still need before 2030,” Klose admitted. “But I will also tell you that I think it is possible.”

Her “glass-half-full” answer is based on local history where Sonoma County saw an average of 6,000 homes built annually during the mid-1980s to early 1990s before a slow-growth—and for Sebastopol, a no-growth—period for the last 25 years.

In other words, it’s been done before. “If we do everything we can to reduce barriers and increase (housing) opportunities by streamlining zoning laws and shortening permit timelines, we could make it happen,” she said.

Klose has a pragmatic view of those goals, however. “If we pick up the pace, then, sure, it would be pretty amazing. We just can’t let too much perfection be the enemy of progress.”

The housing seminar in Graton was hosted by the nonprofit Re-Village, which is leading the effort to redevelop the downtown of that small West County village. Klose was joined by other housing advocates who shared ideas about land use innovations, co-housing models and a “hyperlocal” view of Graton and the surrounding West County watershed and rural housing patterns.

At the Graton forum, Klose shared several examples of local housing success stories in places as far-flung as Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas and Minneapolis. She gave her audience a single challenge: “Will you stand up and say ‘yes’ for more new neighbors?”

Afterward, Klose told the Sebastopol Times that she thought it was possible to meet the new housing goals without changing Sonoma County’s Urban Growth Boundaries.

“There is plenty of opportunity for in-fill and transit-oriented projects,” she said. “We can’t go back to the years before the Tubbs Fire where we weren’t building any sustainable amount of new housing.”

How’s Sebastopol doing?

Some cities are permitting more housing projects than others, but all are increasing their efforts and have made some reforms to their zoning and permit application requirements. The cities of Sebastopol and Cloverdale have the lowest overall scores in meeting Generation Housing’s “Guiding Principles,” while the cities of Cotati, Petaluma and Santa Rosa have the highest scores.

The question of how Sebastopol is doing isn’t an academic one for Klose, who now lives near downtown Sebastopol with her partner and two dogs, just a short walk from the home her parents shared on High Street for 25 years.

Trying to be diplomatic, Klose said Sebastopol’s government leaders could be doing more to welcome or allow housing projects in the city.

“They (city leaders) just haven’t done many of the reforms that other cities have done. They’re not unique, but other communities have done better,” she said. “Look, Sebastopol does not have a growth problem; it’s actually shrunk over the last decade. Its traffic problem is a lot of people who can’t afford to live here but drive [through town] to go to work every day. More available and affordable housing here could help solve that.”

Asked to comment on the recent housing project to build 39 housing units on a three-acre site on Valentine Avenue, Klose said a lot of the city officials’ comments and public testimony demonstrated why many potential housing developers have avoided Sebastopol in the past.

“The comments were not very welcoming,” she said. Some individual city council members’ public complaints about their own previous actions to support state-authorized housing density bonuses were especially “counterproductive” to ongoing housing conversations and future housing project applications, Klose added.

Klose, for example, is a huge supporter of AB1033—the ADU condominimization law that made the 39-unit Valentine housing development possible. Sebastopol opted in to that law in January of this year. Now there are calls for it to opt out.

“Inaction will sink us deeper into a deficit,” one of Klose’s Generation Housing open letters to the community states. “Bold action is necessary to prevent homebuilding from slowing again to recession-era rates. But we can fix this; we’ve done it before.”

“Local elected officials everywhere have tremendous powers to make policy changes,” Klose said. “That’s the good news. They can change costly impact fees, restrictive zoning and parking laws, and they can support co-housing and other innovations.”

At the same time, she said, “Unless the public demands it (policy changes), we’ll just see more of the same status quo.”

Housing advocates and neighbors who might call themselves YIMBYs—Yes, in my backyard—need to show up at public hearings, said Klose. “Studies show that public officials respond more to ‘no’ votes than ‘yes’ votes. We need to outnumber the ‘no’ votes,” she said. YIMBYs are the opposite of NIMBYs — Not in my backyard—an expression she feels characterized many of the neighbors’ complaints about the recently approved Valentine Avenue project.

Beyond the housing crisis

While Generation Housing and other housing advocates rally support for new policies and new housing construction, Klose realizes there are bigger, more universal problems with the housing market—like increased mortgage rates, the ever-spiralling cost of building materials and the uncertain future of federal housing programs that underwrite most affordable housing efforts.

“It’s not only in Sonoma County, but family and personal income levels are not keeping up with rising housing costs,” said Klose.

“Lots of people call this a housing crisis, but I try to avoid that characterization. It’s too loaded with emotions even though we definitely have a housing scarcity and an affordability problem.”

An example of this would be the “missing middle” problem, where families with median or better incomes still can’t afford the costs of Sonoma County’s expensive homes or rising mortgage rates.

Klose’s list of other groups that are struggling includes first-time homebuyers, young renters, low-income workforce housing needs, and elderly homeowners on fixed incomes with large mortgages still to pay.

“With all these various needs and problems focused around affordability and scarcity, we are all ending up, as communities, paying for the housing that we don’t have,” she said. “Employers can’t find enough local workers, local tax revenues go missing, schools suffer declining enrollment, and overall outcomes of “healthy communities” go lacking.”

Klose understands that macro-economic problems like inflation and rising mortgage rates are beyond her control, but she remains convinced that Generation Housing can have a positive effect on local policies in Sebastopol and elsewhere that make a real difference.

“Yes, it’s incredibly complicated, and ultimately a lot of this is at the mercy of the cost of money and materials, but time is also a big expense. Delays and lack of action are huge, huge expenses — and we can change that,” she said. “Each (housing) project we face is very specific and unique to its location. No matter if interest rates change or not, we still have choices to build and make things easier or better for ourselves.”

Most Sebastopol events, especially repeat ones, appear on a local calendar each week. At the very least, they are listed somewhere, if only on a website. But some gatherings leave no written trail at all, and that makes them all the more mysterious and unknown to outsiders. And writing about them requires a different kind of research — in-person only. The weekly Wednesday night men’s basketball meetup at Community Church of Sebastopol is one such gathering.

On a recent Wednesday evening, Dr. David Fichman, of Graton, arrived at Community Church of Sebastopol a little after 7 pm. While he unlocked the gymnasium’s doors and readied the space for the evening’s activity, he spoke about the history of the meetup.

“I’ve been doing this at Community Church since 1989,” he said. Prior to that, he ran a basketball meetup on Tuesdays at Brook Haven school, which was damaged by the Loma Prieta earthquake. In the decades since, he has regularly — some might say religiously (more on that below) — attended the meetup.

An important caveat: Until now, the meetup has only ever been advertised through acquaintances, by word of mouth.

As regulars arrived this Wednesday, basketballs began hitting the court, and informal warm-up practice began. The nightly routine remains simple: About 6-10 men show up on any given Wednesday starting at 7 pm and spend a few minutes shooting baskets until everyone arrives. At that point, they create random teams, with an effort to make them equal in terms of overall skill levels. Depending on how many people show up on a given night, the teams each have between three and five players. Three-on-three means playing half-court. Game play begins at 7:30 p.m.

On this night, about 10 men, ranging in age from their late teens to their late 60s, showed up. They were a friendly and respectful bunch, and their familiar camaraderie was apparent. Some of them were relative newcomers, having attended for a scant two or three years, while others, such as Dr. Fichman, were decades in. Some of them knew each other outside of the meetup, while others only knew each other on a first-name basis. Several of them agreed to be interviewed before the first game began.

Wink Racherbaumer, 59, of Sebastopol, has been showing up for 15 years. When asked what he gets out of the meetup and why he attends, he had this to say: “What I love about basketball is that it’s an opportunity for team sport, where players can study each other’s abilities, their weaknesses, and combat. And it’s also kind of a way to work out your shit, you know? It’s like, this is my church. And we all kind of get to do that together.

“There’s moments, it’s like spiritual, man, fucking spiritual,” he added. “I’m in the field, playing, running around and like … I’m gonna make a move, and the ball comes and finds me. And boom, the shot goes in. And it’s just like, you’re in the flow. And we all [have them]; there’s those moments like that in their magic. That’s what I love about it.”

Dr. Fichman echoed similar sentiments, saying that years ago he and a friend used the phrase “going to church” for attending the basketball meetup.

“Because it was kind of like our equivalent,” he said. “I mean, we’re not super religious, but it was one of those things. It’s a release. If you don’t go, the next week you’re a wreck. And all of our wives loved that we went to play basketball because we were easier to live with, you know? It’s also community-based.”

Nicholas Zapp, 20, and Ryder Offill, 19, two friends both from Guerneville, have been attending for the past 3-4 years, since they were in high school. They also attend other local basketball meetups, including one in Occidental.

Zapp, who currently coaches women’s basketball at Santa Rosa Junior College, said: “I love to play, and this is honestly a fantastic outlet, just to have a run for the week. And everyone’s always nice here, which makes it good.”

Offill, who’s been playing basketball most of his life, said all the basketball meetups he attends are word of mouth. He said that sometimes as many as 15 or 20 people show up for this particular meetup, and in that case it lasts two or three hours. With fewer people, it lasts an hour and a half to two hours.

“I don’t really work out enough outside of this,” he said, “so this is my main way of running, staying in shape, that kind of thing.”

Jesse Fichman, 31, of West Santa Rosa, first attended 23 years ago, when he was a kid and his dad, Dr. David Fichman, brought him to practice. He’s now a regular.

“It’s just so fun. I feel so free on the court,” he said. “Being able to gel with the team and to mess around ... I don’t know, it feels like dancing. I love it.”

Tucker Hemquist, 47, a lifelong basketball player who resides in Occidental, began attending in 2006 after he first moved out to West County. A friend told him about it.

“For most of my adult life, it’s been kind of like church,” he said. “That was, like, Wednesday night, I would carve this out as the thing that I was doing. As an adult, I always did. That was my main thing.”

With our brief interviews over, the basketball players in attendance began playing their first game of the evening. Or should I say, going to church.

The weekly Sebastopol Wednesday night men’s basketball game begins at 7:30 p.m. at Community Church of Sebastopol. All local men are invited to attend. Dr. David Fichman, who rents out the space for the weekly get-together, asks for an $8 contribution per person to cover costs.

Dani Sheehan-Meyer has announced that she is withdrawing from the race for the Area 4 seat on the West Sonoma County Union High School District board. Area 4 covers much of Sebastopol and several Laguna neighborhoods stretching over to Guerneville Road. Sheehan-Meyer’s departure leaves the field to incumbent candidate Lewis Buchner, who joins two other WSCUHSD board candidates in running unopposed.

Election specialist Julianne Goble at the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters said, “Once the nomination period ends” — and that happened in late September — “people can’t officially drop out. The deadline for withdrawal is when nominations close. After that, because of ballot printing deadlines, they’re officially on the ballot no matter what. They can tell people not to vote for them. They can say they’re dropping out, but any votes for them will still count.”

Sheehan-Meyer is now urging voters not to vote for her but to vote instead for Lewis Buchner.

Why did she change her mind?

Sheehan-Meyer said she decided to run at the last minute because she has a grandson with special needs, and she and her daughter were upset about the board’s recent discussions concerning the special education consortium.

Her daughter didn’t have the bandwith to run for office, so she urged her mother to do so. Sheehan-Meyer agreed with some trepidation.

“Schools aren't really my thing,” she said. “I've been in construction. I’ve advocated for the SMART train.”

She said she’s not a quitter—and she’s a little embarrassed to find herself in this position—but when she got to know the broader field of candidates running for the high school board, she just changed her mind.

“Here’s all the people who want to do this, and I was doing it because I didn’t see any alternatives,” she said. “But now I’m seeing the alternatives—and they’re going to be just fine with these three people coming on board … Lewis is uniquely qualified. Denny Rosatti, I’ve known for many, many years, and his wife was on the school board. And Hal Kwalwasser, the newcomer, seems brilliant … His pedigree is astounding.”

As for Lewis Buchner, he’s feeling philosophical about the whole thing.

Contested campaigns are more expensive than running unopposed. Paying for the signs, plus door hangers, plus the candidate statement in English and Spanish in the Voter Information Guide came to around $1,800, but he’s not begrudging the money.

“I wish Dani had come to her decision before my friends helped me place yard signs and deliver 1,500 door hangers,” he said, but added, “It’s all OK. We move on.”

“It’s all somehow part of local democracy and being willing to ante up,” he said.

“I admire Dani's decision to make her choice public,” Buchner said. “Our conversations have been open and honest. I wish her only the best.”

Sunday was a gorgeous, bright blue day, and the vibe inside the Balletto Center for the Sebastopol West 100 (SW100) Awards Ceremony was just as sunny. Now two years old, SW100, a giving circle dedicated to supporting interesting nonprofit projects in West County, was poised to give away 44% more money than they gave away just a year before. The group handed out $295,000 in grants in last year. This year, they split $425,000 between nine grant winners.

SW100 has also grown in size. Last year, the group had 130 members; it’s now up to 172 members, each of whom pays a minimum of $1,300 a year or $110 a month. Some give considerably more.

SW100 received 64 applications from nonprofits in Sonoma County this year. The group’s Grants Committee winnowed that down to 18 applications. SW100’s membership—now 172 strong—then voted on which of those organizations would be the final winners. Regardless of how much a member donates, he or she still gets only one vote. An organization doesn’t have to be located in West County to apply for a SW100 grant; it just has to do a significant amount of work here.

Here are this year’s grant awardees:

Blue Tailed Skinks — $25,000

This Graton-based nonprofit provides Sonoma County youth with the opportunity to experience the joy of mountain biking alongside peers on trails in Sonoma County’s regional parks. Each spring and fall, the group offers a progression of rides that helps young riders gain confidence while riding with family and friends. They offer summer and afterschool programs, family camps, skills workshops and more. For families that can’t pay, they provide generous scholarships and loaner bikes.

Apis Arborea — $25,000

Apis Arborea was founded to preserve the life and resiliency of honeybees through ‘wilding’, that is, the restoration of bees’ natural nesting habitat. The name of the organization, Apis Arborea, is meant to shift “the focus from thinking in terms of commodities (Apis Mellifera) to that of their natural, historical habitat in trees. In his acceptance speech, Apis Arborea Founder Michael Thiele compared the selflessness and life of service of honey bees to the spirit of local philanthropy embodied by SW100. Learn more at apisarborea.org

Sonoma County Tool Library — $25,000

The Sonoma County Tool Library (SCTL), currently located in Santa Rosa, provides free tool lending to all residents with a focus on low- and moderate-income households and tools required for fire safety work to creating defensible space around homes. SCTL’s Executive Director Martin Reed said the organization will use the money to create a tool library in Sebastopol. Learn more at borrowtools.org.

Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services — $25,000

VIDAS, which stands for Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services, provides trauma-informed immigrant legal advocacy and community wellness programs. The organization has offices in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Napa and Vallejo. Director Monica Julian said, “It’s important to us that we make sure that our services reach every part of West Sonoma County, and through your generosity we’re going to be able to do that.”

Julian told the crowd, “In this time of divisiveness, in this time when people are really being targeted for exclusion, I cannot tell you how powerful and how meaningful it is to have an entire community stand up and say, ‘We are with you. We are for you. And we unequivocally support immigrants.’

She also commented on recent ICE activity in West County. “Some of you may know that ICE was recently in Forestville, and that was very close to home. And VIDAS activated immediately. That gentleman was actually arrested in Santa Rosa. We activated the Bay Area Habeas Network, and he was released by the next morning.” Julian later told the Sebastopol Times that the man was released because he was picked up without a judicial warrant.

Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation — $50,000

Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation’s mission is to restore and conserve the Laguna de Santa Rosa and to inspire appreciation for our local “Wetland of International Importance.” Christine Fontaine, the director of education at the Laguna Foundation, reminded the crowd that the Laguna Foundation was “created by community members in West County, in Sebastopol, who stood up and said, ‘This ecosystem is worth our attention. It’s worth our energy. It’s worth our efforts to protect and conserve.’

Noting that many people in the room had been involved as volunteers and donors over the years, she touted some of the organizations accomplishments: “Just last year alone, we provided Learning Laguna, our elementary school program, for more than 900 elementary school students; we provided summer enrichment at Camp Tule for 120 children plus 25 teens and young adults who are building their job skills.” In addition to hosting more than 165 events for the community, she noted that the Laguna Foundation “grew more than 50,000 native plants in our nursery and produced over a million seeds of endangered vernal pool plants that are going to be installed in our endangered vernal pool ecosystems.”

Ruthless Kindness — $50,000

Started last year by two women veterinarians, Dr. Sarah Reidenbach and Dr. Kate Kuzminski, Ruthless Kindness is a Sebastopol-based nonprofit that supports victims of domestic violence and their pets. In accepting the grant, Kuzminski said, “One in four women experience domestic violence, and yet up to 50% won’t leave their unsafe situation if they can’t take their pet with them. And nobody really knows that…The other half either have to leave their pets behind, or they choose to become homeless with their pets, which is why we get so many calls from women who have just recently become homeless and are living in their cars.”
”We work with 30 victim and human service agencies, and our entire job is to remove the pet barrier so that their clients can get safety and stability … We provide emergency pet boarding and emergency foster care for the pets, so that women who need to flee today can get into safety tonight. We work that quickly. We also provide free veterinary care, so we take care of the support and services that the pet needs, so that the client can get support and services for herself and her kids. And then, when she is ready to leave the safe house, we reunite them. In 2025, we received over 1,200 calls from victim service partners and clients asking for support for a pet.”

In the middle of Kuzminski’s speech, a SW100 member raised her hand. “Out of all of the propositions or the grants that we chose between, yours is the only one that literally made me cry. So I’m glad you got selected.”

The Sebastopol Grange — $50,000

The Sebastopol Grange was awarded a $50,000 grant, most of which will go toward repairs and improvements to the Sebastopol Grange Hall, which was built in 1953. Since 1898, the Grange has served as a gathering place for west Sonoma County. They host over 200 events a year—about half of these are private events; the rest are Grange events, the vast majority of which are open to the public.

“I’m continually asked, ‘What is the Grange?’” said Grange President Peter Rogers. “Well, my answer has become, ‘The Grange is what the Grange does.’ So, what does the Grange do?” In answer, he reeled off some of the organization’s accomplishments: These included “a home garden produce exchange throughout the spring and summer, the recent Sebastopol City Council Candidate Forum [co-hosted with the Sebastopol Times]. We have a craft fair in the fall. We have monthly dinners, music, and lectures—you’re all invited—the last Tuesday of every month, and we recently started a series of Wednesday night workshops … We also partner with many other clubs and organizations in West County. We worked together with the Kiwanis in the spring to do a garden box build. We partnered with Slow Food Russian River recently to do the first in an annual series, Celebrate Sonoma Apples, for the local apple producers, apple growers, and apple products producers. We are hosting the Flynn Creek Circus next week … Over Thanksgiving, we’re going to host—along with the Kiwanis and the Lions Club—a turkey drive. In addition to that, we have clubs that use our hall regularly. We have a ping pong club, the Love Choir, the Sonoma Folk Society, the Sonoma County Mycological Association and California Homemakers Association.”

Sebastopol Community Cultural Center — $75,000

This is the second year in a row that Sebastopol Community Cultural Center has won a large grant from SW100. Executive Director Philena Chantha said, “I just want to say how absolutely thrilled I am that we received this $75,000 grant. As many of you know, it’s been a tough couple of years, and the [$50,000] grant that came from the SW100 last year was critical. It helped us move past the worst of it, and we’re in a place now where we’re growing … We have over 1,500 classes a year, close to 300 private events and concerts sponsored by the community center. There are hundreds of people moving through our doors, and it’s a big responsibility for a very small staff— and so we count on the volunteers that come in and help us get through those events. This year, with the $75,000, it’s going to allow us to continue that work and to grow. We are really proud to announce that we’ll be launching an arts education initiative where we will be bringing cultural assemblies to the schools in our area. Once we’ve got that down, then we’re going to be moving into the rest of the county.”

Career Technical Education Foundation — $100,000

The organization that walked away with the biggest grant this year—$100,000—was the Santa Rosa-based Career Technical Education Foundation. They won for their program called Paths to Purpose, which is a countywide high school internship initiative designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world experience.

Executive Director Eli Weinzveg, who grew up in Sebastopol, introduced his organization’s mission: “Alongside our education partners, our business community, students and educators, we built an equitable system so that high school juniors and seniors from across the county can spend a semester inside of a real local business, gaining invaluable experience and establishing a deep sense of belonging,” he said. “This year, more than 340 students raised their hands and applied for internships countywide. At CTE Foundation, we believe every student should graduate equipped to keep pace with an unpredictable future. We are not there yet, and we need more internship placements to get us there. So, if you have a business in construction, engineering, healthcare, or advanced manufacturing, or if you are a nonprofit leader, we need you. Open your doors to young people who are craving a real experience.”

“This morning, our community said something about what it values,” he continued. “It said our future isn’t just in our vineyards, on our main streets, or our open spaces. It’s our young people and their chance to build a life and a career that raise them up. This is the investment you’ve made today, and every student who walks to a local business through Path to Purpose will hear the message behind them: ‘We see you. We’re making room for you, and we want you here.’”

Interested in becoming part of Sebastopol West 100? Find out how.

Living Well: Healthy Aging and Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others
Monday, Oct. 26, 3 pm to 4:30 pm, at Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St., Sebastopol. $5-$10.

Aging well. Caregiving Well. Living well. This uplifting presentation offers practical tools, encouragement, and a few laughs to help you navigate healthy aging, caregiving, and life’s transitions. Call the Senior Center to register: (707) 829-2440.

Love Choir Sing-Along
Monday, Oct. 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, at Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. Free, by donation.

Jim Corbett leads this weekly community sing-along. No experience is needed, so just show up and sing.

Science Buzz Cafe: The Neurology of Aging: Beyond the Brain
Monday, Oct. 26, 6 pm, at Hopmonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $10 at the door.

Join neurologist Dr. Allan Bernstein for his talk entitled “The Neurology of Aging: Beyond the Brain” at Hopmonk. This talk will discuss how peripheral and autonomic systems may act as key drivers of decline. (Yeah, I didn’t understand that either—see this PDF for details)

Sbc # 579 Flyer Dr

202KB ∙ PDF file

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Spinning Local Wool: Drop Spindle Basics
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, at Gather Sebastopol, 122 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $115.

Learn to spin wool into yarn with shepherd and woolmonger Marie Hoff of Full Circle Wool. Using a locally made drop spindle and locally grown wool, you’ll experience the transformation from loose fiber to handmade yarn while building the foundational skills to continue spinning on your own. Rescheduled from last week. Register.

Fire Cider & Herbal Vinegars
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 4 pm to 6 pm, at Gather Sebastopol, 122 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $135.

Winter cold and flu season is the perfect time to strengthen your home apothecary. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to craft two time-honored herbal preparations—Fire Cider and herbal vinegars—that support immunity, digestion, and everyday wellness. Guided by garden enthusiast and folk herbalist Anna O’Neil, you’ll explore the health benefits of fresh herbs, roots and spices infused in organic apple cider vinegar. Register.

What Matters Most: Two-part series
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 3 pm to 4:30 pm, at Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St., Sebastopol. $20-30.

Join Redwing Keyssar, RN—author, nationally recognized expert, and director of education at Humanity in Healthcare—for a clear, supportive workshop to help you create a personalized Advance Directive for Healthcare. In this two-part series, you will learn the differences between Advance Directives, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, POLST forms; reflect on your values and make informed decisions about your future care; begin and complete your own Advance Directive with step-by-step guidance; ask questions in a respectful, supportive environment. You will finalize your documents in Part 2 of this workshop, which is scheduled for Nov 18, 3 pm to 4:30 pm. Reserve your spot.

Home Gardener Produce Exchange
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 5 pm to 5:45 pm, at Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. Free.

This is the last Produce Exchange of the season. Since 2019, the Grange has hosted a seasonal produce exchange/produce donation where community members share their surplus homegrown produce with other home gardeners or donate it to those in need. It has evolved to include advice and demonstrations from the local Master Food Preservers, Tend & Befriend events to help each other with home gardening projects and collaborations with other groups such as the Community Seed Exchange. Join the Grange gardeners in their mission of creating an economy of abundance. More info.

Sebastopol Grange General Meeting & Potluck
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at Sebastopol Grange Hall, 6000 Sebastopol Ave. (Hwy. 12), Sebastopol. $10.

Grangers warmly welcome guests and visitors to their monthly general meeting. Come for social time starting at 5:30 pm, followed by a potluck dinner, music, and an informative presentation. Please bring an appetizer, entree, side, or dessert to share (lovingly labeled), and your own dishes and utensils. The StriderFactor duo will entertain us. The evening’s presentation is by Harte Singer of the Sonoma County Mycological Association.

Poetry Lives!
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6 pm to 8:30 pm at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. The workshop is $5-$20, sliding scale.

This monthly evening of spoken word poetry meets on the fourth Tuesday, with the following schedule: 6 pm to 7 pm — Spoken Word Workshop; and 7:15 pm to 8:30 pm —Open Mic, which is open to all. The one-hour workshop welcomes writers of all abilities and experience levels. In the workshop, participants do a freewrite, hear poems read aloud, join a discussion and work through structured writing, with an optional chance to share. The open mic is for anyone who wants to read a finished poem or one written earlier. Register here.

Peacetown presents: The Musers
Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 pm, at Hopmonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $5, cash at the door.

The Peacetown series continues with local favorite, The Musers, a free-range folk Americana bluegrass band.

The Birds Movie: An Alfred Hitchcock-inspired paint night
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 6 pm to 8 pm, at Golden State Cider, 180 Morris St., Sebastopol. $40.

An Alfred Hitchcock-inspired paint night! Get an introduction to color theory, then paint the night away as you watch the movie, “The Birds,” on the big screen as you create your work of art. Get tickets.

Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce Mixer at Bliss Organic Day Spa
Thursday, Oct. 29, 5:30 pm to 7 pm, at Bliss, 186 N. Main St., Sebastopol.

Join the Sebastopol Chamber for a business mixer at Bliss Organic Day Spa. Beverages and appetizers will be available as you mix and mingle with community members and business owners.

Flynn Creek Circus: The Cricket & the Wren (Family special)
Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, at 7 pm at Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave. (Hwy. 12), Sebastopol. Ticket prices vary.

Flynn Creek Circus brings its new show to the big top tent at the Grange for four days. The Cricket & the Wren is the telling of an original fairy tale that incorporates acrobatics. Featuring aerialists, jugglers, knife throwers, and a little comedy, this circus blends classic storybook archetypes with imaginative new heroes. Adult and family-friendly shows, so take your pick. Tickets and information.

Wine, Witches, and Warlocks!
Friday, Oct. 30, 5 pm to 9 pm, at Balletto Vineyards, 5700 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa. $81.88

The Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise invites you to sip some spooky sips and meet your favorite magical misfits for a wickedly fun night! Costumes are encouraged but optional. (There will be prizes for the best costumes.) Two glasses of Balletto wine and hors d’ oeuvres curated by the Analy High School Culinary Program are included in the ticket price. There will be raffle prizes, music, and dancing too! The funds raised will directly benefit local community partners who share the Rotary vision of ending hunger, providing education, and improving lives. Get tickets.

Andrew Duhon
Friday, Oct. 30, 8 pm, at Hopmonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $36.37.

Blending the gritty, bluesy, folksy, country sounds of his New Orleans home with the experience of traversing the country and immersing himself in the broad array of cultures across the American landscape, Andrew Duhon’s music creates real connection between former strangers through song. Get tickets.

Thotty’s Naughty Revue & Wax Poetic’s Burlesque Show & Halloween Party
Friday, Oct. 30, 7 pm to 11:30 pm, at Main St. Theater, 104 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $33.85-$44.52.

Come to Wax Poetic (formerly Main Street Theater) for a ghoulish night of burlesque, dancing, and Halloween fun. The show runs from 7:30–9 pm, but the party continues late into the night with dancing and all the perfect spooky-season vibes. A night filled with incredible performances, vintage cool vibes, and a costume contest with prizes. Get tickets.

Crooked Goat Halloween Dance Party
Friday, Oct. 30, 9 pm, at Crooked Goat Brewing, 120 Morris St., Sebastopol. Free.

Halloween DJ Dance Party with spooky vibes, music by @djsweetlou and cold beer (of course). Plus, a costume competition. Dress to impress (or terrify).

Flynn Creek Circus Healthy Halloween Circus Workshop
Saturday, Oct. 31, from 10 am to 12 pm, at Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. $60.
Children ages 5 to 8 can try acrobatics, aerial arts and juggling with professional performers. Costumes are encouraged. Register here.

Trick-or-treat at the Barlow
Saturday, Oct. 31, noon to 2 pm, at The Barlow, 6770 McKinley St., Sebastopol. Free.

Bring the kids out in costume and trick-or-treat your way through shops, tasting rooms and restaurants in the Barlow. Little witches, ghosts and monsters of all kinds are welcome. Free and family-friendly.

Graton Gallery Reception for “Fresh Work”
Saturday, Oct. 31, 1 pm to 4 pm, at Graton Gallery, 9048 Graton Rd, Graton. Free.

“Fresh Work, featuring artworks by Mylette Welch and Bruce K Hopkins, along with guest artists Nancy Dempster, Hilary Mosberg, Erin O’Brien & Teri Sloat, along with art by Sonoma County Open Studio artists. Reception music by Jeremy Lipsin.

Graton Town Square Halloween Party
Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 pm to 10 pm, at Graton Town Square. Free.

Costume contest, live music from Batacha and DJ A-Ko, pumpkin carving contest, bobbing for apples, and a candy buyback. Free and family-friendly.

Kiwanis Halloween Trick or Treat
Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4 pm to 8 pm, at Ives Park, 7400 Willow St., Sebastopol. Free.

Trick or treat your way through decorated tents lining the paths of Ives Park in this third annual Halloween event, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. The park will be transformed with AstroBotanicals (inflated, illuminated sculptures) to set the mood, plus music, community spirit, a pumpkin Fairy Godmother and tons of candy from tents hosted by local organizations and businesses. (The Sebastopol Times staff will be there looking spooky.) There will even be adult beverages available for a bit of extra cheer. All ages welcome. Rain cancels.

The Great Pumpkin Party
Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 pm to 8 pm, Sebastopol Christian Church, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol. Free.

Come to Sebastopol Christian Church for a non-spooky, Christian-focused, family-friendly event, including a carnival with prizes, free food and a family photo booth.

The Rewind’s Halloween Party
Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 pm to 11 pm, at The Rewind Cafe, 6780 Depot St., Sebastopol. Free.

The Rewind is throwing a Halloween Party. More space, more games, more places for ghouls to lurk. DJ Snarky Marky is back spinning spooky bangers like last year. Costume Contest with prizes. The best-dressed creatures take home the goods. Never been to an arcade night? This is your sign. No skills needed, just a costume and a willingness to get chased by Pac-Man ghosts. 21+ after 9 pm. Learn more.

The Mother Hips Halloween Bash
Saturday, Oct. 31, doors open at 2:30 pm, show starts at 4 pm, at Hopmonk Tavern’s outdoor venue, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $47.15-$88.60.

Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits,” the Mother Hips headlines a Halloween party with Scott Gates. Tickets are limited to four per customer. According to the website, “The shows are all ages. Kids need a ticket to attend. No babies in arms.” Buy tickets.

Halloween Masquerade Ball: Into the Deep
Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 pm to 2 am, at Laguna Lab, at Laguna Lab, 117 Morris St., Sebastopol. $45.11.

Into the Deep, Laguna Lab, and Om Records present a Halloween Masquerade Ball like no other with a legendary lineup of DJs spinning quality underground sounds, including Doc Martin (Sublevel Music, Los Angeles); Galen (Sunset Sound System, San Francisco/Amsterdam); 40 Thieves (Permanent Vacation, San Francisco); Shiny Objects (Om Records, San Francisco); Timoteo Gigante (Laguna Lab). Dress to impress and enter the costume contest for a shot at over $500 in prizes. Behold the massive, spooky visual installation by visual wizard Mark Johns of Slide and Spin Productions, San Francisco. Come ready to dance and lose yourself in the mystery of this otherworldly night. Get tickets.

Rain is expected to return in the middle of next week—the first week in November. May it be so.

Deb Hoadley resigns as branch manager of the Sebastopol Library

We were sorry to learn that Deb Hoadley has resigned her position as the branch manager of the Sebastopol Regional Library. She joined the Sebastopol Library this spring in the aftermath of the firing of longtime Sebastopol branch manager Mathew Rose.

Hoadley, who is also a library consultant, will be pursuing other library positions in northern California. Her areas of expertise include helping libraries with strategic planning, leadership and management training, and other staff-related workshops. In the meantime, she is focusing her attention on her non-profit, Library Leaders in New England.

“Leaving the Sebastopol branch was a difficult one. I love the community and am in awe of how much they love reading and the library! It was difficult, since the branch closure, to have staff scattered throughout the county. I know the staff is adaptable and have accepted their assignments at other branches. The other branch managers have been wonderful, welcoming them to their libraries, and have helped them navigate this difficult time. The Library to Go staff has a lot to deal with; there are only a few of them, and they are working hard to keep up, processing the amount of book returns and holds, and serving the patrons during the four hours [a day] that the library is open Monday-Saturday. As those of you who have left a position know, it is hardest to leave those you work with behind. The staff at Sebastopol welcomed me after a very difficult time, and we had found a way to come together through our common goal of serving the community with compassion, professionalism and enthusiasm as each patron walked through our doors. I am extremely proud of that.”

The Library-to-Go reopened this week on Monday, Oct. 25. The new branch manager is Melanie McCallum, who has worked at the Guerneville, Occidental and Forestville libraries and was recently appointed as Branch Manager at Sonoma Valley. A message from Friends of the Sebastopol Library said of McCallum, “Since she lives in West County, she is happy to come to Sebastopol.”

The Library To Go schedule will be the same as before the recent closure:

• Mon., Tues. & Thurs. 2 pm to 6 pm

• Wed., Fri. & Sat. 10 am to 2 pm

Aged to Perfection was the bee’s knees

Photos by Elizabeth Vanden Heuvel

The Sebastopol Area Senior Center held its biggest fundraiser of the year last night at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center. The theme was the Roaring 20s, and some attendees went all out to capture the spirit of the era. The preliminary word is that the organization raised 20% more with this year’s fundraiser than last year’s.

Graton Station hosts an investor party

By Dewey Watson

On Oct. 17, in the spirit of community-investor fundraising that has raised nearly $900,000, the team at Graton Station held its first toast to its community investors, bringing them together to share excitement about the future of The Graton Station cafe.

Before the walls were finished, the team invited everyone to leave their wishes and blessings for the café on little notes of hope and encouragement, which will soon be tucked behind the walls, becoming part of the place forever.

“It felt like the beginning of something really special. The first of many gatherings, shared meals, and friendships to come,” said Tori Immel, one of Graton Station’s four partners.

The Station still has $100,000 to reach its goal of $1,000,000 in community investment. If you’re curious about joining the community of investors, you can find the full offering details on Wefunder.com/gratonstation. This community crowdfunding effort comes to a close this week on Oct. 31.

Corrections and clarifications

Rabbi Zelig Golden had a few corrections and clarifications from yesterday’s story on the forest synagogue, Makom Shalom.

1. In addition to the four board members you mentioned, Yael Marmar is also a founding board member and was there from the start.

2. We have not learned from Coast Miwok people; rather, we are acutely aware that we are living on Coast Miwok land, while integrating indigenous wisdom—like sacred fire traditions, learned from Lakota ceremony—from other traditions.

3. The 24-hour fire was not Sukkot, but rather Yom Kippur. And I do know people praying around a fire for 25 hours; I just simply don’t know of anyone praying around a fire for 25 hours in observance of Yom Kippur specifically.

The week of Oct. 19-24

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Perched high in the woods on Occidental’s Bohemian Lane, Rabbi Zelig Golden’s home is a leafy refuge. As his King Charles Spaniel bounds out to say hello — his name is Ori, which means “My Light” in Hebrew — the rabbi refers to the purchase of his property nine years ago as “a prayer answered.”

Golden lives on seven acres with his wife Rachel Ruach Golden (a third-generation West County resident), his three children and, of course, Ori. Fitting for his location, Golden has an earth-based approach to Judaism that he has been refining for decades. After co-founding and leading Wilderness Torah for nearly 20 years, the Spokane native established the local Makom Shalom synagogue over a year ago to bring together a wide spectrum of Jewish believers.

The rabbi attended Berkeley Law School in the early 2000s and graduated with a JD in environmental law. Working for the Center for Food Safety, his law career culminated with a U.S. Supreme Court victory against agrochemical giant Monsanto, a win that secured protection for organic farmers and seeds. But Golden became burned out on practicing law.

“I was pretty depressed,” he said.

The rabbi ended up doing a vision quest with Mike Bodkin — what would be the first of many with a man who would become his mentor. He returned to his original love: the great outdoors, which led to the creation of Wilderness Torah. The West County rabbi established land-focused rituals and nature-based rites of passage to ground Judaism in the environmental realm.

“We’re a forest synagogue,” he said.

Golden’s approach might feel novel, yet he said it grows out of the religion’s origins. “The Hebrew people are a rain-praying people,” he said. “This is earth-based Judaism.” Jewish tradition has always followed the earth’s cycles, he contends. West County, with a rain schedule similar to that of Israel’s, is the perfect location to lead a synagogue with this type of approach.

According to Golden, Yom Kippur is not the most important holiday as is traditionally thought. Instead, it’s the seventh day of Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabbah, a joyful day of dance and blessing for water and rain.

“How do we root down again and move past our previous traumas?” Golden asked. “This is healing the tradition and returning to the original instructions.”

Golden applies everything he learned from co-founding and leading Wilderness Torah to the establishment of Makom Shalom.

The rabbi saw an unmet need for a rooted Jewish community in West County, and after numerous meetings, he launched Makom Shalom with a board composed of its original enthusiasts: Joe Green, Lauren Ohlsen, Zeb Zankel, Yael Marmar and Simcha Schwartz.

The congregation meets in three main locations: the forest at Salmon Creek School (and auditorium on rainy winter days), on a member’s land near Occidental and at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Sebastopol.

While Golden was ordained as a Neo-Hasidic rabbi in 2018, his earth-based Judaism is open to followers across the spectrum, including non-Jews. “We want to merge the traditional with the non-traditional.”

In the year since its establishment, the synagogue has organized men’s, women’s and queer community groups as well as a prayer lab and study group. In the future, they’d like to expand their youth offerings to ensure that children are afforded meaningful rites of passage, especially for those who don’t resonate with the traditional B’mitzvah synagogue process. Makom Shalom is finding an audience, with 85 paid members and groups as large as 150 showing up for holiday services.

Yet there are also challenges. Some are the standard fare that come with running any kind of startup: how fast to grow, spreading awareness, sustaining programs. There is also the issue of space. “We can’t sustain a synagogue within a private community,” said Golden of the Bohemian Lane location, which has necessitated a roving approach.

Other challenges are unique to running a Jewish organization, and they are issues that the larger community is also dealing with. Anti-semitism is growing, and the Israel-Palestine conflict remains a heated issue.

“Some people have stepped away because they feel we are not anti-Zionist enough,” Golden said. “Others feel we are not Zionist as they’d like us to be.”

The synagogue’s official stance on the whole Gaza issue is not to take one, opting for a heart-based approach instead of a political one that can allow people to see and feel each other’s similarities and differences.

Yet the rabbi acknowledges that Gaza is the most challenging and most important issue facing Jews today. “We’re split and divided among so many lines right now,” he said. “Yet the anti-semitism you see on Main Street is real.”

So while he advocates a heart-based approach, he also makes it clear the synagogue is not simply “a bunch of hippies in the woods.” They take threats seriously and had armed security for the High Holiday celebrations.

On a happier note, Rabbi Golden has found his calling, weaving the two main threads of his life—nature and Judaism—into an organization that serves and heals his community. There may be no better home than the wilds of West County and the community of Sebastopol for the 52-year-old to carry out his work.

“It’s the interface of the wild and the settled,” he said.

“Finely Crafted,” which opens today at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, is a sly, funny and surprising exhibition, with a curious edge of darkness that’s perfect for the season.

Curated by Jamie Studley, Gabrielle Disario and Robert Brent, the exhibition is part of a nationwide celebration of craft, called “Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026,” which seeks to showcase “the importance of the handmade both throughout our history and in contemporary life.”

“There are hundreds of events around the country,” Studley said. “It’s another renewal of ‘Let’s appreciate craft’ and inviting people, each in their own community—national organizations and very local ones—to all do something to contribute toward this momentum in the 2026 Year of Craft.”

Because SebArts already has a well-known fiber arts show, Disario said this exhibition focuses on pieces made of wood, ceramic, glass and metal.

“We wanted to create the window for other artists,” said Disario, a graphic designer who has an MFA from Stanford.

The exhibition’s call for entries asked for “Works that are original, uniquely expressive, created with skilled hands, inspired by the material itself, all the while celebrating traditional origins.” For the most part, that’s exactly what they got—though many of the pieces in this exhibit play with the idea of the traditional rather than embodying it.

SebArts received 330 submissions, and 70 pieces were chosen for the show by jurors JoAnn Edwards, co-founder and retired executive director of Museum Craft and Design in San Francisco, and Scott A. Shields, chief curator and associate director of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

Disario said her interest in craft grew as the art world at large moved toward the ephemeral over the last 30 years. “There was a moment for me when we were having performance art and a lot of what I thought was not visual art—and so I started to look toward craft from the ACC [American Craft Council] shows that used to be in San Francisco every spring.”

For those who think of craft as something separate from art with a capital A, this show might surprise you. There is nothing “functional” about most of the pieces in the show—though there are some straight-up beautiful ceramic cups and some exquisite furniture. But much of the work is indistinguishable from what we’ve come to think of as art.

Studley, a former college president and Education Department official, who was on the board of the American Craft Council for nine years, called functional art “a subset” of craft. “Craft is to me the how you made it, the materiality and the creation, and art is the intention, and they can overlap,” she said.

“I think our title, ‘Finely Crafted,’ is a way of borrowing ‘finely’ from fine art and ‘craft’ from craft, and saying, ‘Let’s look at how they come together.’

“And it also implies incredible skill,” Disario added.

Studley doesn’t see much point in debating the distinction. “I‘d rather look at the work itself than debate these edges and titles,” she said.

You will probably feel the same. Here’s just a small taste of what’s there:

‘Finely Crafted’ runs from now to Nov. 29, and the opening reception is today Oct. 24, from 2 to 4 pm.

The Sebastopol City Council meeting on Tuesday night was dominated by a single subject: whether or not to approve a 39-unit development for the former Mormon Church property at 8100 Valentine.

The room was packed with unhappy neighbors hoping to block the project that the Planning Commission had warned them three weeks ago was virtually impossible to stop.

Thanks to legislation meant to increase the amount of housing built in California, cities have lost the ability to apply almost any planning or permitting constraints on housing developments, unless the development poses a serious threat to the health and safety of the community — and the bar for that is very high.

The project subdivides the 2.69-acre lot into 20 parcels and puts a small main house and a smaller ADU on each lot. Thanks to AB 1033, which Sebastopol opted into in January of this year, the developer can sell each unit separately.

As consulting Associate Planner John Jay explained on Tuesday, the state’s Density Bonus law allows a development that makes 10% of its units “affordable” to request waivers and concessions from local zoning requirements. “This project [meaning Valentine] qualifies for one concession and an unlimited number of waivers,” he said.

The developer is using their single concession to get out of fully complying with the City’s tree protection ordinance, which means they can remove more trees and site homes closer to the base of the remaining trees than would normally be allowed. Fifteen of the 19 heritage trees on the property will be removed.

The table below shows in pink the zoning rules for which the project was granted waivers because the development didn’t meet the local requirements.

After Jay’s presentation, Rob Toste, a senior project manager for the developer, Grupe Investment Company, explained the changes the company had already made to the Valentine development because of input from neighbors at a public meeting in March and from the planning commission. These changes included a more attractive and varied design, larger replacement trees and native plants, and, crucially, moving the two-story main homes away from the property line to ease the visual impact on the neighboring homes bordering the development.

The original plan had two-story main houses and ADUs staggered along the northern edge of the property. This approach had two advantages—the varying heights of the buildings along the property's main driveway made it more visually interesting from inside the development and also required fewer trees to be cut down. Toste warned at the Planning Commission that removing this stagger so that none of the two-story main homes on the north side were close to the property line would require the removal of more trees. But so many neighbors complained about the prospect of two-story houses looming above their back fences that, at the council meeting, Toste introduced an alternative site plan that put a line of single-story ADUs along the northern edge of the property.

When the presentations were done, the council peppered the developer and the city’s planning staff with questions. Zollman didn’t like the design of the project’s driveway—a hammerhead for emergency turnarounds rather than a U-shaped drive that would provide two entry and exit points.

In public comment, neighbors continually hit at this point as well, wondering not merely how fire engines would turn around but how the people in the development would be able to evacuate in case of an emergency. (Toste said there would be a small alleyway for emergency exits). Gold Ridge Fire Chief Dave Bray said a U-shape would be his preference as well, but that hammerhead meets the state Fire Code’s minimal standard.

Councilmember Neysa Hinton, noting that the developer kept mentioning how affordable these homes would be, asked how much these units would go for.

With the proviso that the price might change, Toste said, “Right now, the price range that we are assuming in our model is for the smaller 750-square-foot ADUs to be in the low 600s,” meaning the low $600,000s. “The 1,000-square-foot ADUs are in high 600s. The single-family 1,400-square-foot plan is in the low 700s, and the 1,600-square-foot plan is in the high $700s.”

Another sticking point was the trees. The original plan retained 11 trees, while the new alternative site plan retained only three. The proposed removal of almost all of the 19 heritage trees was a concern to both the neighbors and several councilmembers, particularly Councilmember Sandra Maurer.

Looking at the project’s “Environmental Review Consistency Checklist,” Maurer noted, “It says there are no project-specific effects which are peculiar to the project…However, the alternate proposal is going to cause a loss of 16 of 19 protected heritage trees. Is that not an effect?” she said incredulously.

A heritage tree under the Sebastopol Municipal Code is defined as one with a trunk at least 20” in diameter. (The measurement, oddly, is taken at “breast height” or 4.5 feet above the ground.)

Attorney Alex Mog replied that, “Under CEQA regulations, an impact is not peculiar if it is mitigated by the application of the city’s uniform standards.” The developers are complying with the city’s tree mitigation ordinance, which involves planting two small trees for every tree removed or paying a $75-per-tree tree-removal fee.

“The loss of 16 heritage trees as a concession—that is pretty much a failure of state law of protecting heritage trees. Just because you replace them with two box trees, you can’t replace these beautiful 40- to 60-inch heritage trees.”

Mog agreed. “We used to have the ability to deny a concession if it would have … an environmental impact. Within the last five years, the legislature amended Density Bonus Law to remove that language.”

This detail was emblematic of the larger threat hanging over the council’s decision—namely, that recent changes to state housing law have made it almost impossible for cities to stop or even demand significant changes to new housing developments without getting sued.

Zollman made this explicit, asking Mog, “Can you walk us through what you stated here would be the significant legal risk to the city if we were to actually deny this project tonight?”

“The city has very limited authority to deny it,” Mog said. “So if the city denies it…that is something that the developer could sue the city over, based on the way state law is written and the limits it imposes on us. I think there’s a high chance that they would win and, if they win a lawsuit like that, the city is responsible for their attorneys’ fees as well.”

But developers aren’t the only ones who could sue the city, Mog said. “One thing I would note is that under state housing law in general, interested parties can also sue for violations of housing law. So what you see in a lot of cases is … housing advocacy groups sue instead on behalf of people who could have lived in the housing if it was built.”

There was also a lot of discussion about AB1033, the ADU condominiumization ordinance the council opted into in January of this year on a 4-to-1 vote, McLewis dissenting. The Valentine project would not have been possible had the city not done this. AB1033 lets property owners hive off and sell their ADUs as condominiums. The law was envisioned as a way to help house-poor homeowners pay off their mortgages and stay in their homes, while creating small, super-affordable homes for first-time home buyers and elderly downsizers.

What the majority of the council didn’t foresee—though its critics did—was that developers would use AB1033 to build twice as many saleable units on smaller pieces of property than the law previously allowed—and that the developers, not the homeowners, would reap the profits from those sales.

This is exactly what the developer, Grupe Investment Company, is doing with the Valentine project.

There were 17 public comments, only one of which was in favor of approval of the project. This commenter noted that Valentine would be a good option for elderly downsizers with mobility issues because of the single-level ADUs. He contrasted these with the three-story Canopy development. (Another commenter noted that downsizing to a 750-foot ADU that would cost more than $600,000 didn’t seem like a good deal.)

The vast majority of comments came from unhappy neighbors complaining about the loss of trees—both for the trees themselves and the loss of privacy their removal will cause. Neighbors also brought up the inevitable increase in traffic on Valentine Avenue, the negative impact on property values of surrounding homes, the psychological and physical costs of super-dense development, as well as the development’s impact on water and sewer, fire safety and emergency evacuation. That the city’s experts in Public Works and fire had signed off on these latter three did not assuage the neighbors’ concerns.

There was also the usual chorus of McLewis supporters and critics of AB 1033, who, metaphorically speaking, sang in unison, “We told you so.”

“I told you so” was also the theme of Mayor McLewis’s critique. “So I voted ‘No’ on AB 1033 the first time,” she said. “I expressed concern about the burden on our infrastructure when I voted no. I expressed concern that we didn’t know all the ins and outs of this optional ordinance. It’s not something we had to adopt. Not many places had. I asked if we could create more stringent guardrails around this with the ADUs, and I was denied by everyone. I was called a NIMBY and ridiculed in public comment, saying that I was acting privileged because I expressed concern about ADUs impacting the value of existing homes … I truly believe that the only reason that this development is being pursued is because of AB 1033 … If the developer didn’t have this option, they wouldn’t be doing this. I understand the need for housing. I absolutely do. But I don’t see this as the solution. I don’t see the solution of putting all these ADUs in there, jam-packed-full, taking down all these trees. That’s just not what we’re about here in Sebastopol.”

Phill Carter took the opposite stance. “I like AB 1033. I think it’s important,” he said, noting that he realized that change and density development is hard to get used to. “But you know, I kind of feel like I’m in a country club—and how is somebody gonna let me into this city? How are our kids gonna be able to live in Sebastopol and be able to buy a house … and how are we [the city] going to be able to pay for everything? So when I look at this neighborhood coming in, I see one and a half million dollars of new spending in the city; I see new revenue that’s going to be able to pay for the streets, to be able to pay for the sewer. I see 40 more people paying for water and sewer into our enterprise funds. So when you say, like, ‘Hey, we don’t need this,’ I strongly believe that we don’t have this type of housing … and when the trees grow up, these houses won’t feel any different than the houses that you have now around you.”

He agreed that he didn’t love the design of the development but said, “That’s not my job. I mean, these are the developers. They’re coming in to spend money to build out a new neighborhood. It’s their job to figure out what sells. My job is to make sure that there are people—new families—that are coming into town to support our schools, that our businesses aren’t shutting down because we’re not getting to the stores, that we have a northern part of the community that’s vibrant and active, and this will be a genuinely good part of it.”

Carter’s speech was accompanied by gasps and cries of incredulity from the neighbors.

Zollman and Hinton both indicated that they felt forced to approve the development because they were afraid that otherwise the developer would sue the city.

“They will not drop this … and we will be sued,” Zollman said. “So then we’ll end up spending everyone’s tax dollars defending a lawsuit that apparently, according to Alex, the case law split on, so we’ll probably end up losing. So the developers in this case are really atrocious, and karma will come, I’m sure, in your direction,” he said, looking at Toste.

The hour was getting late, but Councilmember Maurer wasn’t done fighting. She used her council comment to go over the site plan and fight for trees, lot by lot. She noted that on Lot 13, they could save a redwood if they shrunk the ADU, putting in the 750 sq. ft. model instead of the 1,000 sq. ft. ADU.

Mog reminded her, “You can ask the developer if they're willing to accommodate this request. We cannot require them to decrease the density of their project by removing buildings.”

Toste agreed to shrink the size of that one ADU. Maurer made two other suggestions, which he rejected.

Councilmember Hinton spoke last. “The state has really tied our hands,” she said. “We also, as elected officials, have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the city’s financial resources. While I understand the neighbors are here tonight, I’m elected to represent 7,200 people that live in Sebastopol, and just signing up for a lawsuit when California has restricted local authority, this would expose the city, and as Alex already mentioned, we would have to pick up attorney fees if we lost. So, just considering everything, I just can’t. I can’t vote to deny this project, based on years of sitting on this council and knowing what would happen. Basically, the city’s litigation exposure would be huge.”

In the end, the council voted 3 to 2 to approve the Valentine project, with Maurer and McLewis dissenting.

After the vote, the neighbors walked out into the night. Although she understood why the council voted the way they did, neighbor Janet Lundgren was fuming.

“I feel like they had a gun put to their head,” she said, but that didn’t make her feel any better about their decision.

“I feel violated,” she said. “I don’t know how else to put it. This is wrong.”

We cast a wide net for the events we include in our Monday column, “What’s happening this week in Sebastopol?” but this week we missed two important local events—a film about indigenous Hawai’i, which plays this evening at SebArts, and the Sebastopol Rotary Lobster Bash, which happens this Saturday. We thought you’d want to know about them.

World Premiere: Kupuna ‘Aina: Hawai’i, The Land Remembers
Thursday, Oct. 22, 6 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. $15.

Kupuna Aina invites you into the heartbeat of Hawaii. Through the voices of kupuna (elders), healers, and modern warriors restoring the aina (land), the film honors a profound remembering of ancestral ways. This is a journey of reclaiming ancient rhythms, revitalizing native language, and embracing the sacred kuleana—the duty to secure a living future for generations to come. Q&A with Sebastopol-based film directors Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo after the film. Get tickets.

Sebastopol Rotary Lobster Bash
Saturday, Oct. 24, 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm, at the Friedman Event Center, 4676 Mayette Ave., Santa Rosa. $175.

Music, dinner, dancing, raffle, live and silent auctions. Dinner includes the freshest 1-1/2 lb lobster, plus shrimp, sausages, potatoes, corn, leeks, salad, dessert and appetizers. Wine, beer and cocktails included. This is Sebastopol Rotary club’s major fundraising event of their 102nd year. Help to support youth leadership, scholarship, and other educational programs, teacher grants, Learn to Swim, Cool Kids Camp for physically or emotionally abused children 8-12 years old, and much more! Get tickets. Call Cindy Carter at 408-431-7820 with questions or to reserve a ticket or table for 8.

See more of what’s happening this week HERE.

Would you like to advertise in the Sebastopol Times?

Although the two items above were not paid ads, the Sebastopol Times is considering accepting some limited paid advertising from local businesses only.

If you have a local business or service you’d like to advertise to folks in Sebastopol or West County, let us know. We’re trying to gauge how much interest there is on the part of local businesses.

There are 7,500 people in Sebastopol, and more than 5,000 people read the Sebastopol Times every day.

Perhaps voters already had their minds made up and had no questions for the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) board candidates. It’s also true that only one of three seats is contested. That might explain why nobody came out this past Tuesday to the candidate forum at El Molino Library, organized by the Sebastopol Times. However, the three candidates were there along with eight dedicated district employees and a board member, and we got to talking education.

The candidates included:

• Dani Sheehan-Meyer

• Lewis Buchner

• Dennis Rosatti

Buchner is the incumbent, having served one term, and he is running against Dani Sheehan-Meyer in Area #5, the area that includes much of Sebastopol. Dennis Rosatti is running unopposed for the Area #3 seat, which represents south Sebastopol, and Hal Kwalwasser is running unopposed for the seat in Area #1, which represents most of far west county north of Graton. He was unable to attend the candidate forum, but he provided information which we’ve included in this article.

So, although I planned for the forum to be an opportunity for the public to ask questions of the candidate, I instead engaged in informal conversation with the candidates to learn more about who they are and why they were running for the school board. I share their comments below.

Trustee Area #5: Buchner versus Sheehan-Meyer

Dani Sheehan-Meyer said that most of the work she has done was in marketing. She was involved in the nonprofit Friends of SMART, doing advocacy work for the SMART train in the community. “Then Measure B passed, providing 29 more years of funding.” She realized that her work there was done.

Sheehan-Meyer’s grandson is autistic, and her daughter-in-law was frustrated with special needs programs. She encouraged her to run for the school board. “I spontaneously said, ‘Yes, sure, I’ll do that.’ She decided four days before the deadline.

“I felt there was a need,” she said. “I felt West County needed more of a voice. It’s not that I’m the representative of that voice, but I understand it.” That was part of the reason she committed to running.

School board incumbent Lewis Buchner said that he’s “a big believer in localized democracy.” He said that like a lot of people, he’s “extremely worried about the fate of democracy in this country.” But he added, “There’s not a whole lot I can do about that, but I can do this. This idea of just working, putting energy and time and effort into something very, very hyper local is a way of addressing the macro problems that we have.”

Buchner said to Sheehan-Meyer: “I’m really glad that you decided to run.” She replied with a jab: “Your wallet’s not happy.” Buchner conceded that yes, he had to spend money on his campaign, which he would not have had to do if he were unopposed.

“Lewis is a great candidate,” said Sheehan-Meyer. “If I wasn’t running, I’d vote for him.”

After that exchange, Buchner continued: “I’m a blue-collar tradesman kind of person. I now have a small design cabinet business. Luckily, my wife’s a very talented licensed interior designer. We have a shop in Penngrove with three employees, and we live on Pinecrest in Sebastopol.” He explained that he once had a much larger shop in San Francisco, and he had “to learn about budgets, legal stuff and management theories.” He said that training was a “very powerful way of looking at making decisions with a group and getting input from everybody involved in the decision. If it’s done properly, you always end with a better decision.”

He said that his three-and-a-half years of experience on the school board was the one thing that differentiated him from Sheehan-Meyer. If nothing else, he’s been able to learn some of the acronyms — “it’s an acronym-filled world.” He said that the way schools work is fascinating to him. “I’m kind of getting it now, and I’m learning more and more about it as we go on.”

Buchner said that “The board’s job was, first of all, to remember that ultimately everything we decide has to be what’s in the best interest of the students and to not get snowed by the union, or the superintendent, or other board members.” He said the board needs “to try to stay aligned with the big goals of the District.”

Trustee area #3 - Denny Rosatti

Denny Rosatti has lived in Sonoma County about 25 years. “I spent my first ten years in Camp Meeker/Occidental, where I had the privilege and honor of being on the Harmony Union School Board for six years, one year as board president,” he said. Rosatti is a local political consultant who has worked on several campaigns for ballot measures in the North Bay. He will take the seat in Area #3 held by longtime trustee, Jeanne Fernandes, who is not running. Area #3 runs along Gravenstein Hwy South below Highway 12 and then from Burnside Rd on the west and into parts of Santa Rosa on the east.

Rosatti said he was motivated to run because of the difficulty many boards and councils have in finding people to run. “Seeing that phenomenon, I was reflecting on my own past service and knowledge. I have kids in the district. Right now, my oldest daughter is a junior, and my youngest is in 6th grade. So the plan is for her to go to Analy at some point. It felt like the right thing to do. It’s an honor for me to step into this role. But it’s a little interesting that there was no one else that filed to run.”

Rosatti added that the school board job is “really important and difficult to do.” How are volunteer board members supposed to know all the technical items in a school budget? He said that he’s a curious person so he “can’t wait to sit down and find out more about the budget.”

Rosatti’s wife and partner, Kellie Noe, served on the WSCUHSD board for 16 years. “I did see a lot of the things happen over time so I’ve got a little bit of institutional history there, which is good or bad depending on your perspective. I’m really excited from what I hear from my own daughter, just in her experience about where things are at.”

Rosatti said that a board member must “remember that we have to listen to the community. We have to be conscious of voices in the room as well as outside the room when we’re making our decisions. I’ll do my best to be a good steward of our public assets and dollars and keep the students first in mind as we make our decisions.”

Trustee Area #1 - Hal Kwalwasser

Hal Kwalwasser is running unopposed for the Area #1 seat that includes Guerneville and out to the coast. Kwalwasser was unable to participate in the forum. “I had previously committed to help oversee voter protection efforts in Michigan,” he wrote.

As a 19-year-old VISTA volunteer in Mingo County, West Virginia, Kwalwass did some teaching. He said it was “eye-opening and challenging.” Then he went to Yale Law School, practiced antitrust and trade law and eventually became the Deputy General Counsel/Legal Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense.

A former client of his, Roy Romer, became Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and asked Kwalwasser to be his General Counsel. “LAUSD was – and still is – the second largest school district in America, and I learned a great deal about what to do – and what not to do – when educating students. After I left the District, I put that learning to use, writing and consulting, including authoring a book on education reform: Renewal, Remaking America’s Schools for the 21^st Century.”

“After two decades in education, I have concluded that many districts get overwhelmed by issues that do not really enhance students’ education,” he wrote. “That is a tragedy for several reasons, the most important of which is that to continue to be good you always should strive to be better. Constantly focusing on how to improve fosters the kind of self-awareness that makes teachers and administrators want to do the best for all their students every day. Doing that takes an openness to new ideas and time and organizational space to focus on them, both of which I’ll work to ensure.”

He said that he will “try to listen to students, parents and teachers about what is working, and what is not – and then identifying the things that we can do to improve what we do.” He added: “I think most of you would be surprised at the number of relatively low-cost ideas whose implementation can have a profound effect on student outcomes.”

Do you have skin in the game (i.e., kids/grandkids in the school district)?

Because Denny Rosatti had mentioned that he had one daughter at Analy and another who also might go there, I asked the other two candidates if they had or have children in the district.

Dana Sheehan-Meyer said she had two children go through Harmony and Salmon Creek and then to El Molino. Her husband, Fred, also had two children graduate from El Molino.

“Now, my graduate son is married to a graduate daughter, and they have an autistic 8-year-old. He’s nonverbal. He has special needs, and he doesn’t like to eat lunch with the other kids. He’s perfectly delightful and very handsome, of course. He will kind of work his way out of this.”

She and her daughter-in-law were some of the people in the community confused by the District’s proposed exit from the West County Consortium, and it worried her that her grandson might not get what he needed.

Lewis Buchner said that he had a daughter at Analy, who graduated last year. “She was really why I ended up on the board. She’s biracial, and when she was in middle school, there was a lot of language issues. She was getting called the N word in middle school, and the staff didn’t know what to do about it.”

He thought the problem wasn’t the people but their lack of training in how to deal effectively with these problems. “These are really good, well-intentioned educators, but they had no training. We got together with some other parents, and we came up with a DEI program at the school. At that time, we had a new superintendent coming on board, and we were very pleased to find out that he was actually very supportive of this idea. We ended up with the first DEI committee, now the ABC committee.”

On the future of the West County Consortium

In the August board meeting, a proposal was on the agenda to have the District exit from the West County Consortium at the end of this school year, even though its contract to manage the Consortium ran through 2028. The Consortium administers special education programs for elementary and middle schools in West County, and the District has overseen it for many years. The District’s proposal to exit the Consortium caused the public to come out in opposition to the move, and Dani Sheehan-Myers and her daughter were among those questioning the move.

Buchner admitted that “the board did a really lousy job of communicating around this issue.” He said: “Analy doesn’t have any students in the consortium because we’re managing all of those special need kids in-house with our own resources. Yet, we’ve still been in the position of managing this other entity that’s been a little bit hard to manage, and there’s a lot of different cooks in the kitchen. We were struggling to manage something that’s not really inside of what we need to do to take care of our own kids.”

He also admitted that “it sounded like we were going to stop servicing special needs kids. The community turned out as they should, with a lot of angst, asking how could you possibly cut services to these poor kids that are the most needy in our community. This is not at all really what was happening, but it sounded that way.”

Buchner said that “the public input was valuable, and we were trying to push it too fast. I think we do need to (honor the contract) through the 2028 date.” He concluded: “We didn’t do a good job of communicating.”

“The board did do a poor job of telling us what was going on,” said Sheehan-Myers.

On the problem of declining enrollment

For several years, the district has operated with a structural deficit, meaning that it spends more than what it receives in revenue, and uses its reserve fund to make up the difference. At the start of the year, the district had good news in that its deficit was considerably less than projected for 2025-2026, and the reserve fund also grew. But even after making painful cuts to staff last spring, the budget deficit is an ongoing concern. The majority of its revenue comes from the number of students enrolled in the school, and the district faces declining enrollment, like almost all districts in California. I asked the candidates to discuss its impact.

“Our strategy of wanting to be a destination district and attracting transfers in is a good strategy, “said Buchner. “It’s a little bit competitive, but… the better job we do of having great teachers and great programs and diverse programs, the more we will somewhat address the loss of very local students. But it’s not a forever solution. We just have to right-size (the school).”

Sheehan-Meyer asked if the school could recruit more from Santa Rosa schools. “There’s a number of students that might want to come to West County, as opposed to where they are now.”

Superintendent Chris Meredith jumped in to explain that the district already gets about one-third of its students from Santa Rosa and other areas in the county. He also said that “it’s not necessarily something we can count on,” noting Santa Rosa City Schools had denied out-of-district transfers over the last year.

“A school has to be nimble these days,” said Rosatti. “You can’t just be in a silo on your own. You got to make sure you’re integrated into the greater community, if you will. We’ve got 10 elementary school districts. To me, how do we capture as many of those butts in our seats as possible, to get them to come to our ninth grade, right?

“The district has done a good job of marketing and bringing in others from outside because that’s what you got to do today. Crazily, elementary school districts within our territory are doing the same thing to each other.”

Rosatti said he’s a believer in consolidation of school districts, but only if the State covers the costs to make it happen. (There are 39 districts in Sonoma County.) But there’s too big a financial hit on the districts to consider consolidation. “Otherwise, who in their right mind, with declining enrollment school, is going to go forward and spend money (to pursue consolidation)?” He added that consolidation “can be really difficult and painful, and it can also be really fruitful if it’s done the right way.”

Special shoutout to the District employees who attended this forum. It says a lot about them and how much they care for good public schools.