[ upbeat music ] >> Hi, I'm Joanne Webster, president and CEO of the North Bay Leadership Council.

We're so proud to support NorCal Public Media's candidate town Hall forums, bringing candidates and people of all ages together for an important civic conversation.

The North Bay Leadership Council is a collective voice of employers who advocate for sound public policy, demonstrate and grow leadership within the region, and collectively work for more resilient, prosperous and equitable future.

Nblc is proud to support NorCal Public Media's Candidate Town Hall forums and support civic engagement across our region.

>> I'm Donna Roper, president of the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County.

The league is proud to partner with NorCal Public Media on these candidate town hall forums.

As part of our commitment to informed and active participation in our democracy, candidate forums, give voters an opportunity to hear directly from those seeking public office, learn where they stand on issues affecting our communities, and make informed decisions at the ballot box.

We're especially pleased to see local youth helping shape this conversation by submitting the questions and issues that matter to them.

Thank you for taking part in this important civic conversation.

[ upbeat music ] >> Welcome to NorCal Public Media's Youth Town Hall Candidate Forum for Sonoma County Supervisor district four.

Tonight's program is a forum, not a debate.

The questions were submitted by local youth and community members and selected to reflect the issues.

They want their next supervisor to address.

Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to each question.

The moderators may ask a brief follow up when clarification would be helpful.

When we do, each candidate will receive the same opportunity and will have one minute to respond.

We'll alternate which candidate answers first throughout the program.

Our timekeeper will help keep the conversation moving and ensure that each candidate receives equal time.

We ask the candidates to direct their responses to the moderators and our audience, rather than to each other.

Thank you to our candidates for participating, and to the young people and community members who contributed their questions.

Before we begin, each candidate will have the opportunity to make a two minute opening statement.

So, Mr.

Schwedhelm, may we start with you?

>> Well, thank you so much.

First, I want to thank everyone for being here and arranging this, because I think this is a very important conversation for a very important role in Sonoma County government.

So my name is Tom Schwedhelm.

I am a candidate for the fourth district supervisor's race.

I think it's important to start with letting people know why I want to run.

I've got a passion for Sonoma County.

I've been in public service for over 40 years, and I really want to make a difference in the lives of others, in the way that I've chosen to do.

That is over 40 years, either with the Santa Rosa Police Department or on Santa Rosa City Council.

I think that's very important.

Paying it forward.

One of the things that I look for in this supervisorial position, I want someone who's got some leadership skills, demonstrated leadership skills and experience, someone who has a track record of getting things done, and someone who still has the connections and ability to continue to move because neither one of us.

I think Melanie would agree with me on this.

We don't know everything, so you need to have the relationships to learn what is important to those in our community.

And so for me, my background, I started with the Santa Rosa Police Department.

I spent there 31 years, started as a police trainee, worked my way up through the ranks.

I retired as the chief of police.

The last five years of my career were there.

One thing I haven't done too well is retire.

A couple days into retirement, I was asked, hey, you ever thought about running for city council?

I chose to run for city council, and I eventually served two terms eight years on the Santa Rosa City Council, including two years as its mayor.

One of the big things that I did and incorporated the police department, it's a team sport.

No one does anything alone.

And that's what I brought to the Santa Rosa City Council.

We accomplished some huge things that hadn't been done specifically.

I'll just mention the annexation of Roseland that had been talked about for years, if not decades.

We got it done while I was on city council, and that's what I'm looking forward to doing, things like that, working with our community to make a difference.

And I believe I possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to make a difference in our community, and I look for the support of those in district four.

Thank you.

>> And Melanie, to you.

>> Well, thank you to NorCal Public Media and the League of Women Voters for bringing us together.

I'm especially glad to be here with so many students and members of our community.

I'm Melanie Bagby, candidate for fourth district supervisor.

I'm a two term former council member from the City of Cloverdale and previously served seven years on the Planning Commission and on our Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

You know, one of the biggest questions that Sonoma County is facing is whether the people who grow up here, like me, study here or begin their careers here can actually build a life here.

You know, can you afford housing?

Can you find a family supporting job?

Can you get around without spending a fortune on a car?

And you, can you trust that local government is preparing for climate change instead of simply reacting after the next emergency?

That's why I believe that values matter in local government.

You know, I've always been a Democrat.

I currently represent district four on the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee, and I'm a party member because I believe our political institutions should be responsive to our voters.

I am proud to be endorsed by Congressman Jared Huffman, by Supervisors Chris Coursey and Linda Hopkins, as well as the Sonoma County Democratic Party, the SSU.

Young Democrats, the srJc Young Democrats.

I'm supported by the North Bay Labor Council and environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Sonoma County Conservation Actions.

That is, the coalition that has is is supporting my campaign.

And and that's how I came in first in the June primary.

It was a people powered campaign, and we finished first with 37.9% of the vote, more than six points ahead of the of the of my fellow candidates.

So, you know, I've governed through emergencies and difficult situations in Cloverdale and in North County.

And so I'm looking forward to a real discussion tonight or today about our different records, our priorities, and our values.

And if you want more information about me, you can go to Melanie bagby.com.

>> Okay.

Well, let's start with a question regarding surveillance.

The county is increasingly using surveillance technologies.

What would you do as supervisor to address the benefits, risks and controversies surrounding our rapidly evolving governmental surveillance technologies landscape?

Tom.

>> So for me, let's just start with the thing that I think most people think about the flock cameras, city, Santa Rosa, they just did a community meeting, got a lot of feedback.

And for me, it's, it's a sensitive topic that you need to look at 360.

What are the pros of it?

What are the cons of it?

Right?

So you look at, okay, this is what we're hearing from law enforcement will be the benefits for community safety.

So it's not again, using Santa Rosa example that was just recently in the paper.

It's not just a benefit Santa Rosa PD, it's community safety or the consequence or the negative sides.

It's trust with the community.

Right.

And so you look at that, and again, I haven't seen the data that says, well, this is a panacea for all the issues in Sonoma County will make us a much safer community.

So for me, trust takes a priority over technology.

And right now, I don't think there's that trust and that technology.

So what would I do on the Board of Supervisors?

What are some of the safeguard measures?

Listen to the community and what would it take so that you, members of the community trust this technology to make this community safer?

And right now, I just don't think it's there with flock.

Okay.

>> And Melanie.

>> Yeah.

You know, when flock cameras first came to us, it was when I was still on the Cloverdale City Council.

And we were guaranteed we were given personal guarantees that personal information and privacy were going to be maintained.

And that was very different under a Biden administration, justice, Justice Department than what we are seeing today.

If I were on council today and I were needing to make a decision about flock cameras, it would be something that I would vote against because I don't believe that we are able to maintain people's constitutional guarantees of privacy under the current regime and with the current companies, with the lack of guardrails that we have right now.

So I believe that in Sonoma County, all of our cities and our county government need to be realistic about the possible violation of people's privacy rights, and we need to put a moratorium on it right now.

We need to stop all consideration and get out of those contracts and when and if possible.

>> And this next question, 83,100 immigrants reside in Sonoma County and are an essential part of our social fabric.

Discuss your position on the county's current policy regarding immigration, and what you will do to improve the lives of those who have been historically disenfranchized for example, immigrants, undocumented immigrants, stacker recipients, immigrants released from county jail, families impacted by immigration detention, and families with mixed immigration status.

We'll start with you again, Melanie.

>> Yeah.

Just yesterday, I was at a scholarship event in Windsor where the keynote speaker who was brought to this country illegally by his parents, is now the president of a major nonprofit in Sonoma County.

And the reason that opportunities opened up to him is that immigration policy at the national level changed in the 1980s.

And so access to education, even programs in high school and college became something that was attainable for, you know, the child of immigrant farm workers.

So, you know, I think that we've definitely, unfortunately gone backwards in, in the last couple of years as far as immigration or, you know, cooperation with Ice and by the sheriff in Sonoma County, I am opposed to it.

And I want to make sure that Sonoma County is a place where immigrant families enjoy the same constitutional rights that everyone else, everyone else is entitled to.

They are the backbone of our economy.

They are the backbone of our social connections with each other.

And there is a lot that we can do on a local level in spite of the in spite of the the climate that the federal the federal government is, is basically, you know, poisoning our relationships with our neighbors.

And so as, as a Sonoma County resident, I want to make sure that immigrant families and, you know, people who want to build a life here feel welcome here.

>> Okay.

Tom, the same question to you.

>> So for me, treat immigrants as members of our community because they are a valuable part of our community.

And that's what I've modeled by behaviors.

You know, at the police department, we are community policing.

We are out in the community because too often I think cities and governments, they start telling them, here's how you're going to feel safer.

I'm all about, no, let's go and actually hear what they think, how it's going to make them feel safer.

Using an example where Lothian is a local Latino group, and I remember when I was chief, I would ask them, I want to talk to ten people.

You pick who they are.

My only request, they live in the city of Santa Rosa, and they're not afraid to talk to the chief of police.

I want to hear it from them.

What I learned from them.

That's the real stuff.

There's no filters.

That's how you start making a difference and starting to adjust some of those things.

So the county's current policy with the sanctuary county.

I agree with the steps that they're going.

I'm very appreciative.

They put $1.5 million aside because this is unprecedented times.

What's going on now with the current administration, you have no idea what's going to be happening every day.

There's something new.

So I appreciate their okay, here's some dollars to help with this, but how do we make them feel safer regarding ice?

You know, there's a thing called Senate Bill 54, which actually is state law.

It's state law which says here's how local jurisdictions can interact with immigration in Ice.

Right.

And for me, it's deplorable.

What I've seen Ice do across the country.

I'm all about community safety.

And when you see some of those members of Ice in other communities, it's deplorable what they're doing, both for the individuals.

I don't think they have the training to be in those situations.

We do.

They are not needed here.

Now, regarding those that have been convicted of a serious or violent felony, per SB 54, the sheriff has the option of notifying Ice.

I'm supportive of that because if you look at the crimes in my history of working specifically in domestic violence at the Santa Rosa Police Department, there is victims who are afraid the next corner they're going to turn around is either a sexual predator or domestic violence victim, a sexual predator in California, if you're a registered sex offender, that's a lifetime commitment.

So if there is someone given those behaviors that they demonstrated in another country or here undocumented, and there's a way to have them exit our community, I'm supportive of that because it's a safer community.

>> Okay.

Thank you for that answer.

Next question in Sonoma County, Tom, over 45% of renters experience severe rent burden, spending.

More than 50% of their income on housing.

Discuss what renter protections, homelessness prevention and housing preservation policies you will work to implement to ensure housing stability and prevent community member displacement.

>> Yeah.

Once again, as I mentioned earlier, the current administration, because I heard there was just another judicial decision on Friday that may impact up to 200 units of permanent supportive housing here in Sonoma County because of a decision made by the federal government.

That's very challenging given my history of specifically when I was on City council working with our unsheltered population, we were working on a system to take a regional approach.

And so a regional approach means if you're looking for housing for some of the most vulnerable in one community, well, that's a resource that may be available to another community.

If that individual wants to go there, we need to collaborate and work together on that.

It's having the conversations with the people.

The county does not have this panacea.

We're going to solve everyone's problem, but listen to what those are, whether it be eviction processes, whether it be getting people into the housing, especially since you mentioned the homeless population.

How do we end homelessness with housing?

Right?

But it's not just putting someone in a house because a lot of the vulnerable people that are out on the streets now, they need those supportive services.

So it would be disingenuous for the county to say, oh, here's a house we're done with.

You know, we need to provide those supportive services so that they can thrive and start this new community.

And that's the part where many of those in these situations feel that government is a barrier for their success, for housing and housing stability, we need we need to do better regarding making more housing or producing more housing.

When I was on City council along with the county, we created the Renewal Enterprise District, which is allowing developers to actually that gap funding where if I got this project, we're ready to go, you know, let's say 150 affordable housing units, but we're about 2 or $3 million short.

We created this fund using PG and E dollars from the Tubbs Fire to actually, we'll loan it to you.

And then once you get occupied now all of a sudden, okay, you pay it back because it's going to be a perpetual thing that didn't.

I said that in about 20s.

It took quite a long time and time and energy and effort for us to come together on that.

So we work to help the population that you were just describing.

>> Okay.

Got it.

And Melanie, would you I can repeat the question or do you want to go ahead and take it?

>> I think that the the part of the question about the percentage that folks are paying for their rent is reflected in that wages are not keeping up with with inflation and rental rates.

And one of the things that the county can do is making sure that we are paying a living wage and that that becomes the culture in Sonoma County.

We need to we're never going to be able to build our way out of this housing crisis at the rate that our young people need us to.

We need to raise and respond to this wage inequity problem that we have in Sonoma County, both at the county and our employers have just got to be realistic about what the actual what an actual living wage is here in Sonoma County, so that people can keep up with the rents that they have.

And it's a multi-pronged, multi-approach solution that we have to become much more realistic about.

The number one thing that the county can do is that we have got to start using public lands for public benefit.

The biggest barrier to being able to build new housing in Sonoma County is the cost of real estate here, and we have a number of properties throughout the county in multiple districts that are potential candidates for for housing, where you could put the property into a land trust so that the bulk of the cost is actually building the housing.

In addition to that, when it comes to seniors, one of the most sensitive areas are the the the spike in the sales of mobile home parks.

We need to make sure that we are putting those mobile home parks into protection, and we're keeping seniors and housing.

And the best way to address homelessness is to prevent it in the first place, and then take care of the folks who are at great risk and who are already homeless right now.

>> This question back to you, Melanie.

In 2024, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors passed a novel disaster, triggered countywide eviction moratorium during a declared county emergency.

What would you do in your position to ensure a just recovery in housing, work language access and recovery efforts for communities during disasters or emergencies in Sonoma County?

>> Yeah, I think that one of the things that you learn as a Sonoma County elected official is you can have a plan when you get elected and things change very quickly.

I don't think anybody who was elected in 2016 anticipated the 2017 fires.

I don't think anyone who was elected in 2018 anticipated 2019.

And certainly none of us anticipated Covid.

And those are the kinds of things that need to be implemented on an emergency basis to make sure that people stay safe and don't fall through the cracks.

And I think that that's the importance of having good values and having the right experience, because you need to be able to be prepared to implement solutions like that.

And that's probably those are the kinds of things that we are going to need to be ready to do at the Board of Supervisors next year, when we are facing all of the Trump administration cuts, we're going to be having, having to make very difficult decisions and prioritize the services that we can provide for folks so that they don't fall through the cracks.

Okay.

>> So unfortunately, having had experience the Tubbs Fire, when I was on city Council, we had two because two parts of your question a, one of the things that we focused on was getting the property owners, the homeowners back into their houses.

And in Coffey Park, where I live, five lives were lost and 1400 homes burned to the ground.

So all of a sudden you had 1400 developers that never wanted to be a developer.

So we created a system where we brought additional resources into the city to help process this.

But then myself, along with city staff, we changed the way we did business.

We met with the people.

What are the issues you're coming from?

Because in 2017, we were the first.

Unfortunately, we were on the cutting edge of what do you do with this disaster?

Right.

I'd say we are rather successful.

And again, it's the person to person contact.

In December of 2021, then speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi came to Coffey Park and said, this is the model for how to rebuild a community when you've experienced a disaster.

Additionally, what I was doing was with the code because there was a lot of renters that lost their houses.

So they don't have they're not getting reimbursement, they're not getting the FEMA.

What do we do with them?

So working with non-profits, Catholic Charities, a variety of the other nonprofit leaders that I have worked well with, with some of our homeless efforts, we actually set up a process.

How do these folks get the resources and the services?

So you go to the code.

What resources do you need to support you getting back into housing?

And there's a process.

We took the most vulnerable.

Who are the most vulnerable people.

Let's offer those limited number of housing options that we have to actually get.

Their Salvation Army was another partner in that thing.

Again, it wasn't just the city.

It's understanding who's who in partnering so that the people who are most affected by these fires are able to get back into the housing.

I've done it.

And unfortunately, if it happens again, I have the experience to be able to move forward and actually make it much more efficient than it was the first time we learned it.

>> Okay, thank you for that answer.

And again, for you, Tom, discuss your views of IOLERO measure P implementation and the dispute over the sheriff's refusal to compel deputies to truthfully respond to questions from investigators and to discipline them if they refuse to do so.

>> Yeah.

It's always, you know, you get two minutes.

This is a complex issue, right?

And so when it was passed back, when it was passed, was spent five, six years of that concern I had in county counsel told the board, before you put it up here, there's some meet and confer issues.

And I know some people believe you shouldn't have to meet and confer, whether you like it or not.

Those are some legal rules, right?

If you don't, you can end up in some litigation.

Well, come to find out what has happened, over $400,000 of county resources on both sides have gone into litigating this.

The first judge found in favor of the perspective from the sheriff's office.

The last two have been in perspective of IOLERO.

That's the law of the land now.

So it my expectation is we're going to follow the letter.

We're.

We the Sheriff's office is going to follow the letter of the law, right, because it's now been litigated.

And I wish that could have been done at the forefront because I'm in favor of civilian oversight.

We had this.

We have a form of that in Santa Rosa.

I believe it's great because if you look at what is one of the purposes of IOLERO, if you look at what their mission, vision and values is, one of their missions is improve the relationship between the community and the sheriff's office during this litigation, I would argue either side, were you looking at improving the relationships between your community and the sheriff's office?

That doesn't happen in a courtroom.

It happens working together.

And so now that I'm hoping this has been resolved, now that we have our marching orders from the court, that's what they said.

This is their interpretation of it.

Some other state law has been passed.

Now we need to walk the talk, and we need to be compliant with what's in the letter of the law.

As it states now through the definition of the court system.

>> I was up for reelection at the city of Cloverdale for Cloverdale City Council in 2020, and I endorsed measure P at that time.

And I took a lot of heat for it.

But I know it was the right thing because we had implemented community policing standards and the city of Cloverdale.

And I got a firsthand look at how important it is to build community trust and so that you can provide policing services and everyone feels safe.

Coming to law enforcement oversight is an essential part of that public trust, you know, so the legal question is much clearer now.

The Court of Appeals held that the IOLERO has subpoena authority in cases before it, and California Supreme Court declined to review that case, leaving the the ruling in place.

So I support fully implementing the voter approved oversight system, giving IOLERO the resources and the lawful access that it needs to do its job, and supporting baseline public safety services.

At the same time, accountability and effective law enforcement are not mutually exclusive.

They depend on one another.

Okay.

>> Thank you Melanie.

And this next question comes back to you.

What will you do to make housing more affordable for young people, working families and seniors in Sonoma County?

>> Yeah, affordability really is the question.

And I think unfortunately, Sonoma County has had an affordability crisis long before it was really a part of national discussion.

The Sonoma County supervisors need to really work with the cities and make sure that we are placing housing within our urban growth boundaries and our community separators, so that we are protecting our agricultural lands, but we also can work in partnership to make sure that, you know, that that that housing is happening in every way, shape or form.

I've been a big advocate of housing for a long time, worked very closely with my colleagues to make sure that it was part of our general plan and an essential part of the services that the cities provide.

But, you know, also serving on Sonoma County Transportation Authority and Regional Climate Protection Authority, you learn very quickly how tied transportation and housing are to one another so that we we need to make sure that our housing choices are in our urban centers, but they're also receiving the transportation resources that they need in order to make that dense housing work for everybody.

>> And to you, Tom.

>> So for me, again, two minutes of housing affordability in Sonoma County, quite the challenge.

But for me, there are some specific things I think Sonoma County can do.

First of all, you need an I think they need to be an asset for building affordable housing and all housing, not a barrier.

And unfortunately, there's too many barriers.

Time is money for developers.

So when I talk to developers, some of the things that they've suggested you have a design review process, you have a planning commission.

Are they somewhat redundant because you have to prepare for each of those and there's time space between them, right?

What if you're able to combine those to make it much more efficient to actually get through those processes?

Because these are all professionals.

The other one is the way they charge the fees.

So right now it's a by-door fee, right?

So if you have a, you know, apartment complexes of 700ft, well, that per unit cost is going to be the same as if you have a 3500 square foot home.

Well, from a developer, what there's probably more money in that incentivize what we want.

We want more housing, right?

So we can't afford to have the single family housing anymore.

And I'll use the example up in Geyserville.

There's a project there now where initial initial development was 103 units, right?

They got feedback.

And what I was very appreciative.

They listened to the feedback community, gave some feedback.

They came back and said, you know, we've looked at this again.

And rather than 103 units, because the housing plan shows 900 or 90 units there, what if we did 45 units and then 45 ADUs, basically granny units.

And you could just see, yeah, that would work.

What they would also have to do in Sonoma County, this is something specific they can do.

Adopt AB 1033, which allows an Adu to be sold independently.

Right.

And so you talk about aging in place where you can buy, you know, I could buy the, the, the bigger house than the Adu have my parents, if they were still living, lived there or the kids.

But it also gives them the ability that could be your starter home too.

So it's changing that model.

It's hearing what the community has to say and then address it.

And Sonoma County needs to be a partner in that and not a barrier.

>> And I'd like to jump in with a follow up.

When we say we're hearing from community members about housing and affordability, what exactly are you hearing?

We'll start with you, Melanie.

>> I think one of the things that I hear from residents in in, especially in Windsor, is the frustration of increased multifamily housing with reduced parking requirements, but we haven't been able to increase the access to public transportation to some of that housing.

And I think that that's maybe one of the big resistance points among residents is they are not only concerned about parking issues that come about with with denser housing.

They they want and they want to see more housing for work, for working families and for their family members.

But they're frustrated by the fact that people can't quite let go of all of their cars yet.

And so one of the things that I think that we can do better on is making that a making that transportation solution a priority in Sonoma County for all of our cities and all of our areas.

>> You know, for me, one of the big things I hear similar to what Melanie is about the parking, right?

And if you look at balancing that, because I think it's all about a balance, I think everyone in Sonoma County says, yeah, we need more housing.

Yeah, but not on my street.

Right.

And that's a constant give and take.

Then all of a sudden you have affordable housing and the developers get density bonuses.

If they increase the density.

One of those density bonuses is what this.

A state law reduced the parking.

Well, there are some areas in district four that people are very upset about that.

Plus what we've experienced in district four evacuation routes.

You're putting all these more people there.

Where are they going to evacuate?

I don't have an easy solution to this, but we need to educate folks about that.

So we're able to actually get them more housing in a way that makes sense for everyone in the community.

There's still that affordability issue.

I hear oftentimes where my kids can they afford to live here?

That's why I mentioned that Geyserville project.

If you have an Adu, that might be a good starter home.

I know my first house in Santa Rosa.

It was a very small apartment, different than it is now, but we need to pay attention to the future and how do we make that happen for our folks.

>> Okay, thank you both for those answers.

The next question is.

This kind of plays off the last one.

How would you improve public transportation so that students and working parents can travel more easily throughout the county?

Let's start with you, Tom.

>> For me, it's focus on the consumers who are going to be riding it.

What's convenient for them, not what's convenient for the bus district or even smart.

Let's coordinate that.

When I'm very happy about is with smart, especially continued.

Eventually we get to Cloverdale, but coordinating all those public public transportation systems so you can actually go from one bus onto the smart train.

There's electric bikes there.

So I think we're doing much better with that, but we need to keep it on the forefront of, of what we're trying to do with our planning.

One of the other big impacts that I've heard from the city of Santa Rosa, they are investing a lot into bike safety.

Again, another mode of transportation.

And then all of a sudden, literally millions of dollars have been cut off from the federal government because apparently bicycle safety is Dei related, so that funding is lost.

So now we have to get creative.

That's our reality now.

So how do we come up with those dollars to make it safer for those that want to get around town on their bikes?

Those are challenging things, but we need to look at the big approach and not just look at it.

You know, whether it's Sonoma County transit, this is all of us know you're part of the regional system.

How do we improve that transportation?

And a key thing for me when it comes to transportation, what are the metrics we're going to use to gauge our success?

Right.

Because you can say, oh, we've got twice as many people as we had last year.

Okay.

I don't want to say so what, but what's the difference that it's making is improving people's lives.

Are they able to get to their jobs?

Are they able to get to, you know, other things that actually help their needs versus.

Oh, yeah, that's the way we we're going to measure ourselves.

And I don't know what Sonoma County Transit specifically uses to measure their success, but again, we have to go to the people.

What would success look like?

Or those that aren't using public transportation?

What would it take for you to actually participate and join, use public transportation?

And the number one thing I hear is schedules.

I don't even know where the bus station is.

I don't even know where we're going to get there.

We need to change that again.

It's more community conversations working together to solve this complex issue.

>> Well, that's something I've actually been able to do.

And I was on the Sonoma County Transportation Authority.

We approved the the fare free ride ride for our shuttles in Cloverdale and Sebastopol and a couple of other cities in Sonoma County.

We also, when I was on the smart board, we approved fare free for students and seniors and.

And actually adding to ridership with fare free enables smart.

And it enables smart to, to increase the frequency and reduce headways, which is what some of the challenges of people being able to rely on smart.

We're also probably familiar with the mascot study, which is an ongoing study to make sure that we decrease the redundancies in our busses and that the train and the bus and all of the modes of transportation are actually, you know, on the same page and working together.

It was also really important to me when I was when I was Sonoma County's representative on the great River trail, making sure that that trail that goes from Larkspur all the way to Humboldt Bay, it's not just a pleasure trail, which it will be for a lot of folks taking vacations there and taking taking breaks on it.

But it's really becoming the trail that connects communities just north and south with each other.

I know when I was able to go to the opening of the Foss Creek Trail in Healdsburg, we actually had that opening day about two weeks after the trail had actually opened because of the the weather that we had experienced, and people were already telling me how important it was because they were able to get from the north end of town to the south end of Healdsburg, and to shopping and taking their kids to school.

So those are the kinds of stories that we hear on a regular basis.

That's why it's important to continue the push to complete the smart, multimodal bicycle and pedestrian trail, because it's not just getting people access to the smart train, it's getting people access to services and schools.

So that's the kind of work that I look forward to continuing to do on the Board of Supervisors.

And I'd like to get back to Sonoma County Transportation Authority on the smart board.

>> Thank you, Melanie.

And this next question comes back to you.

What steps will you take to create more career opportunities and ensure that local wages keep pace with the cost of living?

>> Well, I'm very proud to be endorsed by the North Bay Labor Council.

And, you know, part of that endorsement process and working with our labor unions is really learning about the apprenticeship programs that we have available in Sonoma County.

We need to make sure that those are continuing and they're providing opportunities so that, you know, the future workforce has a place to, you know, work and live here in Sonoma County.

Unfortunately, so many of our labor union members have to travel outside of Sonoma County for work.

And I think as as somebody who would be sitting on the Board of Supervisors, we need to make sure that projects get off the ground so that we have good union wage jobs and family supporting jobs from our labor union members right here in Sonoma County so that they can live and work here and raise their families here.

>> So for me, again, it's working with our community partners.

You know, we talked about endorsements.

The North Bay Trades Council did a dual endorsement, but I also have the endorsement of Teamsters OE three, North Bay Labor Council, and they have innovative ideas.

Again, I'm not the subject matter expert.

The only thing that I think I do have some subject matter expertise that we can control is opportunities in government.

Because how many kids went to high school say, oh, I want to work for the government.

There are some wonderful opportunities in government doing some real important work to better your community that so many people are not aware of, because I don't think we advertise it.

Yes, you'll get the police, the fire, and some of those, but there are some other things that, you know, just at Sonoma Water or other things within the organization, there's 4400 employees.

I think there's some great career opportunities within the county of Sonoma.

Are we marketing that?

Here's what you'll get.

You want to give back to your community?

You want to stay local.

Here are some opportunities for that and expand on that.

Some of the other, you know, with the trades, you know, so they have all their shops, but the CTE Foundation, the executive director is a good friend of mine expanding that outreach.

So here are some opportunities because some kids in school don't know what they want to do with their career.

>> CTE stands.

>> For career technical education.

I think it's education.

>> Okay.

Sorry about that.

Sorry to interrupt you.

>> Sorry.

It's it's funny when you say the acronym CTE, you know, career technical, but exploring that opportunity and partnering with them.

So when they do a high school job fair or any job fair, young person, job fair, partner with them.

And don't forget about the county.

Yes, some of the trades are important.

They're very important.

Have them there.

But also look at the local government.

Same thing with health care.

There are opportunities there.

You look at the industries that are hiring the most folks.

It's there, have people there talking about the pros and cons of you taking your career post high school, which direction you want to go, what ultimate outcome do you want?

And so it's all about partnership and being on the same page for all.

>> Okay.

Thank you for that answer.

Next question is how what would you do to prepare district four for wildfires, extreme heat, drought and other effects of climate change?

>> Yeah, that's a challenging one.

Specifically for fire is interesting.

At one of my community meetings, someone said, how prepared are we for earthquakes?

You know, and again, prior to 2017, that was probably the big focus.

Are we prepared for that?

Fortunately or unfortunately, some of the lessons learned with our fires.

I think we're much better prepared for the earthquake and those emergencies.

Right.

And so I think because the voters of Sonoma County passed measure H, the fire tax measure.

Right.

And so there's funding that actually is doing a lot more education, because what I think all of us learned in any of the disasters or emergencies is that you may not be able to get Ahold of anyone.

Right.

So what can you do for yourself?

I just met with the Sonoma County Fire Chief earlier this week, and he says their department is ready.

We can go 96 hours on our own.

I mean, think about that.

Could you could they have done that before 2017.

So they're planning ahead now.

How are you paying it forward to the residents?

Some of the other impacts when you talk about water, you know, I know it's not directly related to the Potter Valley project and even groundwater sustainability.

There are county employees working on those issues.

And once they have the solutions, because there's no done deal and no one can really predict the super El Nino is going to come.

Cloverdale is already, you know, declared a state of emergency.

So they're prepared for that.

I don't believe that would have occurred ten years ago.

We're thinking ahead of the game because, again, with the Tubbs Fire, so many lessons were learned.

We come together as a, you know, as a community and educate our community about here's what you can do.

Don't just rely on the County of Sonoma to have all the answers there.

It's a shared responsibility.

And I think we're doing a much better job than we were because we're active, active participants in this and not just waiting for something to happen and then react.

>> Yeah, climate change is real.

And it's here no matter what the Trump administration says.

In addition to supporting Sonoma County's existing long term climate policy, positive policies.

And we have done a lot of work in that area.

We have to enact policies that address the immediate effects of climate change right away.

And that's really what we're talking about here.

We have to stop building in the wildland urban interface, and we need to convene collaborative plans between the city and county governments and provide information and resources, sharing in emergency situations, while we're also supporting local decision making by, you know, smaller districts and cities.

While we're doing that at the government level, we also need to make sure that we're supporting the community partners who are preparing people to be ready for disaster, any disaster.

And that's organizations like Nuestra Comunidad 707.

Everyone learned in 2017 and 2019.

You've got to have your go bag.

You have to have a plan.

You have to be able to communicate and let your family know where you are and where you are headed.

So, you know, while we need to prepare on a county wide basis, a community wide basis, we also need to get to know our neighbors, and we need to make sure that we have a plan to get out of our homes and evacuate, because it's not a matter of if there's going to be another disaster in Sonoma County.

It's a matter of when.

>> And this question will come back to you, Melanie, how will you improve access to affordable mental health services, particularly for young people?

>> Yeah, that's a great that's a great question.

I think especially with district four in mind, you know, we do not have a rapid response team currently in Sonoma County that goes north of Windsor Mental Health Services for members of our community.

They're there.

We are underfunded.

Underserviced.

And we're just now starting to really get mental health services for folks, actually, particularly in Cloverdale, especially amongst our immigrant communities.

You know, one of the challenges in D4 is actually bilingual therapists who can come into the community, be culturally competent, and get the help that we need.

I think it's really important for the supervisors to make it a priority to, to partner with Sonoma State.

I know Senator McGuire had some legislation and some efforts a while back to get counselors in school.

I think that we need to see the same kind of partnership for mental health professionals who can serve all of our our communities, make sure making sure that they are culturally competent and that they're serving the needs of young people, both in the district and northern Sonoma County, but also on our campuses and at the srJc and and Sonoma State.

>> Thank you.

And that same question to you, Tom, how will you improve access to affordable mental health services, particularly for young people?

>> Yeah, so I think it's expanding the services that we already started in Santa Rosa.

They're having some budgetary challenges.

But when I was on city council, we actually changed the model of responding to those in mental health crisis.

So instead of just having cops go there and then have some resources respond to you, because we're talking about the entry into the system, what we change.

It's our in response team.

We created this whole team where we have a firefighter paramedic to try to take the load off of the emergency rooms and or deal with any emergency medical stuff right there.

But we have a homeless outreach person there and a mental health professional there from that initial contact, because again, we talked about some people.

It's a stigma.

Oh, I don't want, you know, a cop showing up or mental health professionals, right?

How do we make it so that you're willing, if you need the help, you're going to call us.

And then additionally, we also have the supportive system with Buckaloo for referrals for that ongoing support, right?

It gets to be a challenge.

I also have done a lot of research.

There's a program in the Orange County called Be Well, and it's all the cities have done the same thing because when I talk to the ER doctors, how does this process help you?

Right.

And they say it's quite the challenge because you're just taking more patients, throwing them on the conveyor belt, and we're not getting any more er space, but they need the medical clearance.

Right.

Be.

Well it's different.

They don't go to a acute medical facility.

They go to a mental health facility for that clearance.

So how do we model that.

And we have to do it together.

So the residents of Sonoma County voted for measure O the mental health.

I'm going to look at those dollars.

So now statutorily the percentages are already laid out as to how much goes for.

But have the priorities changed?

And for them to change it, you need 4 to 5 supervisors.

I'm very willing to take a look at that.

Is this methodology and payout of measure O going to be efficient with what we're dealing with now?

I know it hasn't come up yet, but I'm going to be more supportive of that for the continuation of that because the need is great.

We also have some pieces where you had mental health abilities into the high schools, right?

But with some of the budget funding cuts, either from the school districts and quite frankly, measure O, it's putting that at risk.

And it's like we've made so much progress.

We need to keep this effort.

So if we're losing this funding stream, how do we replace it?

>> Okay.

Thank you for that question.

The next question, again from one of our students.

I want the county to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But I'm also concerned that new policies would make everyday life more expensive.

How would you balance those priorities?

>> Yeah.

Great balance.

And I just throw in the other factor.

What's come down from the federal government not incentivizing a lot of different things.

Just like I mentioned, the funding for bicycles, right?

That's clean energy.

And you're pulling that because it's related to your views on Dei.

That's a challenge.

And I don't think anyone who works for the county.

Oh, I was anticipating them doing that.

So we have to be creative with this.

But it gets to be a big challenge.

Same thing with offshore oil drilling.

We don't want that here.

We need clean energy.

Just like, you know, back in the 1980s when Santa Rosa had this liability of treated wastewater going into the Laguna de Santa Rosa, what did they do?

They got creative.

Well, what if we sent it up to the geysers to create clean energy?

Right, people, that's all the way.

There's no way that's going to happen.

It happened.

And it's now creating clean energy for 100,000 different people.

I've taken tours of the geysers.

There's opportunity for expansion.

Those are the things we need to look at.

Also electrifying the feet, the fleet.

Right.

I know in Santa Rosa we started trying to electrify our busses.

But you need infrastructure.

Infrastructure is not cheap.

And that's that balance that whoever wrote this, that's that fine balance.

So you have to look if we invest this on this area, here's the desired outcome.

You know, cleaner competing.

What else would we spend that on?

Right.

The other thing too, and City of Santa Rosa is dealing with this.

Now, I was supportive of gas station bans because if you look at the impact of the to the economy, well, not to, to the economy, but to our environment, especially with the removal of those.

I think we got enough gas stations.

I haven't heard anyone say, you know, I can't find an outside right after the Tubbs Fire.

I don't know where I get gas in Santa Rosa.

I think we can do let's do a ban on that.

Well, now economics have come into it, and I know the current council is revisiting that.

And I'm like, the reason we did it, I don't think that's changed.

We need cleaner energy.

Right.

And building more gas stations, I don't think meets that.

So some tough decisions have to be made.

But man, whoever wrote that, I'm like, what is that balance?

But that's where we need more community input.

We could do this or we could do that with these desired outcomes.

>> Yeah, I think that that's that question is reflecting every the decisions that individuals and families are making is, you know, we want to do the right thing and we want to adopt good policies.

But, you know, how can we afford it in the current climate?

You know, in Sonoma County, our number one greenhouse gas emitter is internal combustion engines.

It's our vehicles.

And one of the things that the county can do is to electrify, continue to electrify the fleet.

When I was at Sonoma Clean Power, we had incentives for people to buy electric cars.

And unfortunately, you know, those subsidies have expired at the federal level.

But that doesn't mean that we give up hope and it doesn't mean that we stop, don't stop.

We we don't continue working toward our goals.

One of the local resources that we have in the region is the geysers.

And it can be a source of 100% renewable baseload electricity.

And when I was on the board at Sonoma Clean Power, I supported the initiative to create the geo zone so that we could encourage pilot projects, because there is new technology that doesn't require as much heat as some of the the legacy generators are up there, and that has the advantage for district four of not just creating a clean baseload power for our region, but also creating a whole new industry that logically would should be located in proximity to the geysers.

And that means district four.

So it would also be a source of green energy jobs for our region and a great source of family supporting union jobs as well.

So that's something that I will make a priority when I'm on the Board of Supervisors.

>> Thank you Melanie.

And this next question comes back to you.

How will you give young people a meaningful voice in the decisions made by the Board of Supervisors?

>> Well, I think just this forum today, the fact that we have students here taking the afternoon off and participating in this forum, that's really encouraging.

I, you know, in my introductory comments, I mentioned that my endorsements come from the young Democrats of Santa Rosa Junior College and Young Democrats of Sjsu and Wine Country, Young Democrats.

That's a relationship.

Those are those are multiple relationships that I will continue while I'm on the Board of Supervisors, because I want to make sure that young people have a stake in our successes here in Sonoma County, because they are going to be the direct recipients of any policies that we put in place now, because that is that's the world that they're going to be inheriting.

So having a, a personal connection with with young people and the, the, in the Democratic clubs, but also making sure that when we are doing town halls, when we are reaching out to the community, that we're not just doing evening sessions, that for people after work, but we're varying the times, the places, locations and then the facilities so that people from in, you know, whether they are working or not working, whether they're young or old, retired, they're able to participate in local government.

And that's something that's really important to me as a supervisor.

I'd make sure that that's a priority for our staff as well.

>> For me, you have to build the relationship because a lot of unfortunately, many electeds across the United States, they say one thing and do another, but build a true relationship.

I know I started doing that this was way back when I was a police sergeant.

We did the Citizen Police Academy, but then we also in Santa Rosa, we did as a high school citizen police academy for that very thing.

It's all about building relationships and educating the students.

This is what the role of this organization is in your community.

When I was mayor, it the first year was great trying to get more kids actually into the Santa Rosa City Hall because it's this weird place.

Why would I go to City Hall?

You know, they're intimidated by it.

Well, you introduce them now you're talking to the mayor.

This is where we sit.

You know, I did the same thing with residents of Roseland, right?

And unfortunately for me, in my tenure as mayor, what happened in 2020, Covid?

And we couldn't do any of those.

And there's some disconnections there.

So we need to show them that a, the elected people and the folks in the County of Sonoma, they're real people, right?

And we want your voice, but it's got to be a shared responsibility, right?

Having meetings that are going to impact the lives of, you know, a specific age group, if you have it, like during school hours, that doesn't make sense.

Again, don't look at it.

What's most convenient for us as an organization, the stakeholders that we want to hear voices from make it so it's going to work for them.

But I have, you know, this is going way back when, when I was chief, I did the schools of Hope program.

One of the reasons I like to do that, we were reading to like first graders to try to get to their reading level by third grade, because you learn to read up to third grade, then you read to learn after that.

And it was great, the one on one connection, because what it also provided me with opportunities to talk to staff and principals at the elementary school level, which is a forgotten, you know, they don't have a lot of impact.

To your point with government.

I want to build that relationship.

So I know the teacher.

I know some of the students.

You can call me if you have that issue.

Don't wait for there to be an issue.

And if you'd like to meet on a regular basis, I'm all for that because that's how we build a relationship and actually start moving the needle.

>> And we're coming up on our last question.

So this is to you, Tom.

First, at the end of your first term, what specific measurable results should district four residents use to determine whether you have been successful?

>> Well, he shows up and I can trust him.

Right.

And what I've learned on the campaign trail and during my community meetings and doing, you know, the canvasing, you know, in the primary, we knocked on like 8500 doors, getting feedback of what's important to you.

And I would ask the question, especially during some of the interview process, they're very specific.

And I said, well, what would it take for a supervisor to exceed your expectations?

And this one person, this is after you go through an hour worth of question.

She said, well, I want you to be available.

You'll respond to my calls.

You're going to do what you say you're going to do.

Check.

And that's what I'm going to be doing.

There are some specific things I'll just use Permit Sonoma because I've heard in district four some changes need to be made there, right?

I'm very confident though.

They've got a new director, Scott, or a new county executive.

And some of those changes, I think, need to be done.

But unfortunately, there's some things this grand jury report made, some suggestions haven't completed them.

There's some things they hire.

Some consultants had a checklist of things.

They haven't completed it.

Those are some metrics.

I'm a metrics guy.

You talk to anyone I served on with Santa Rosa City Council.

What does success look like?

So what are those metrics that we're going to evaluate directly to your point?

So that's something like this is in writing, and I want us to be able to measure it.

No follow through with it.

That's how we're going to measure success.

But ultimately it's going to be more than or an ongoing it's more than just one year, but it's that trust in the individual that there are so many things that the county is involved with.

I can't know everything.

But even if you don't know anything, and if you know the character and integrity that I bring in my work ethic, I know that if Tom is supporting this, he's done his homework.

So I may not know all about it, but I trust that he's making the right decision for the benefit of those in Sonoma County, not for any other reason.

>> What I've been hearing in feedback from the folks in district four, when we're going to door to door is a couple of things.

First of all constituent services.

That means that when someone has an ad hoc issue, that they get a prompt response from the office and that they get follow through.

That's important in whatever office that you're in.

And district four deserves to have top notch customer service and constituent services in the district, no matter if you're in North Santa Rosa or in Franz Valley or in Dry Creek Valley or Alexander Valley, you deserve to have a strong connection with the office of your Board of Supervisors and know that your your needs are going to be answered.

You may not get exactly the outcome that you want, but you know that you have been heard and that that office is working hard for you.

The second thing that I would use as a measure would be, are my votes on the Board of Supervisors, reflective of my districts and my community values.

And are we in are we able to pass policy that is consistent with the values of the voters of district four?

And and it really comes back to both of those those measurements is what are the values of the person who represents you?

And I really believe that the values need to reflect those of, of the voters.

District four is a vast district.

It stretches from Montecito in Santa Rosa to Coffey Park to again, Alexander Valley, Franz Valley and north to to Cloverdale.

And it has constituents who are really urbanized and really rural.

And you need a supervisor who understands that and can represent those needs and those values.

>> Okay.

Thank you for that answer.

That concludes NorCal Public Media's Youth Town Hall candidate Forum for Sonoma County Supervisor, district four.

Thank you to our candidates for taking part and for speaking directly to the concerns of young people in our community.

We also want to thank the students and community members for submitting tonight's questions, your voices, experiences, and ideas are an important part of Sonoma County's future.

Special thanks to the League of Women Voters and the North Bay Leadership Council for their support of this series and their commitment to civic participation in our community.

We hope tonight's conversation has helped you better understand the candidates, their priorities and how they would approach the decisions facing our county.

Please continue learning about the candidates and the issues and if you are eligible, make a plan to vote on behalf of everyone at NorCal Public Media.

Thank you for joining us.

Good night.

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