By Gina Cuclis

The following commentary also appears on today's Sonoma Index Tribune editorial page under Valley Forum. Additional commentary about whether the incident described here is a good idea if one wants to advance his or her local political career is included at the end.

Four visitors from Petaluma attending Wednesday's Sonoma City Council meeting left with a lowered opinion about Sonoma, as they were offended by the disrespectful behavior of Joanne Sanders and Aug Sebstiani who walked out of the meeting.

Two Petaluma councilmembers and two women from a group called "Moms for Clean Air" were at the meeting, because the Sonoma City Council agenda included the consideration of sending a letter to the Board of Supervisors supporting the Petaluma City Council's position regarding locating an asphalt plant on the Petaluma River next to a popular county park (Shollenberger Park). The city councils of Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Sebastopol and Santa Rosa have also taken such action.

Individuals and groups from one end of Sonoma County to another have taken a stand on this project, due to the number of environmental, economic and land use issues involved. Construction companies are concerned about access to the materials the plant will produce, environmentalists are concerned about negative impacts to habitat and air quality.

The proposed plant is within Petaluma's urban growth boundary. The Petaluma Council believes an alternative site can be found. It unanimously signed a letter to the County Supervisors asking to be allowed to work with the project's applicant to find another location. How the Board of Supervisors handles this request is a concern to the city councils who have sent letters, because they want to have a say regarding development within their urban growth boundaries. This was also the opinion of the majority of the Sonoma City Council, who voted 3-0 to send a letter.

Despite the fact this is a county-wide issue, with implications for cities, Sanders and Sebastiani walked off the dais and out of the room before the discussion began. They said they had nothing to offer, as if Sonoma County's air, wildlife and economy were confined to city and county boundaries.

I spoke with the Petaluma visitors afterwards. They said no other city council has members who treated them so rudely. If Sanders and Sebastiani didn't agree with sending a letter, they should have stayed on the dais and voted no or abstained.

Additional Commentary:

Was This Political Theater?
This incident clearly looked as if it had been planned in advance. A seasoned politician told me this type of behavior is advocated by Republican political consultants. In a county where Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one, I say if they acted as they did because someone advised them to, they got bad advice. Councilmembers represent the people of their city. How they behave at council meetings reflects on the people they represent.

For clarification: Sebastiani is a Republican. I currently don't know with which political party Sanders is registered, but for many years she was a Republican. Lately she has also been both a decline-to-state and a Democrat.

How Not to Advance Your Political Career:
If either of these two have desires to run for higher office, they have given their opponents something to use against them. I think the good people of Sonoma County expect our local officials to disagree without being rude. Plus candidates for county and state offices are expected to have a grasp of the broader issues affecting all of us in the region. I suspect Sebastiani and Sanders will find that this incident will come back to haunt them.