WHEREAS the biologically productive Sonoma and Southern Mendocino Coast deserves similar protection from oil spills and land-based pollution including protection of the rich estuaries of the Russian and Gualala Rivers, and

WHEREAS adjusting the northern boundary for Cordell Bank will add an area called the Bodega Canyon, the vortex for much of the nutrient-rich upwelling along the Northern California Coast, that also deserves similar protection,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party (SCDP) supports the passage of H.R. 192, authored by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and supported by Congressman Mike Thompson to extend the boundaries to afford beneficial protections to the Sonoma and Southern Mendocino Coast, at the earliest possible date, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party will advise Democratic members of Congress representing Northern California districts to urge their support and will seek support for this important legislation from the California Democratic Party.

Resolution offered by Stephen Gale, Chair, SCDP, April 14, 2012 and adopted by the Sonoma County Democratic Party on May 8, 2012

WHEREAS, the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District is committed to offering a high quality educational program to all students in the District; and,

WHEREAS, in the last 4 years, the State has cut $8.4 million (27%) from the District schools, causing drastic reductions to teachers and academic programs, and the Cotati-Rohnert Park schools may lose another $2 million dollars in this year’s State budget; and,

WHEREAS, due to these cuts the District has been forced to close two elementary and one middle school, lay off more than 75 teaching positions, reduce salaries and benefits of all staff, increase class sizes and shorten the school year, close school libraries, cut programs and eliminate maintenance and administrative staff, and, 

WHEREAS, having already made such deep cuts, this leaves further cuts to core academic instruction unavoidable; and,

WHEREAS, Measure D is a 5 year parcel tax measure ($89 per parcel annually) which will provide dedicated, vital local funding to support students, and education, and;

WHEREAS, the funding from Measure D will preserve quality reading, writing, math and science programs, keep school libraries open and available to students, protect art, music and vocational education programs and retain and attract qualified teachers, and;

WHEREAS, Measure D must comply with strict fiscal accountability standards through an independent citizens oversight committee, annual audits and can only be used for specific purposes, and;

WHEREAS, our local federal legislators and numerous state and local elected officials and community leaders support Measure D,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party supports Measure D, the Cotati-Rohnert Park USD Quality Teacher and Academic Instruction Preservation Measure.

Adopted by Sonoma County Democratic Party Central Committee on April 10, 2012

WHEREAS, the top one percent of the wealthiest Californians have doubled their share of California’s income while paying even lower tax rates than they once did, and the state’s financial plight can be remedied by requiring these Californians ($250,000 per year income and more) to pay their fair share, and

WHEREAS, a broad coalition of labor and grassroots organizations have come together and negotiated an agreement with Governor Brown to each set aside their separate ballot measures and join forces on a new initiative which, if passed, will raise $9 billion in the first year, $8 billion of which will be achieved through a progressive income tax increase for individual Californians making more than $250,000 a year, or households making more than $500,000 a year, and

WHEREAS, no one making less than $250,000 will see an income tax increase, and a sales tax increase, affecting all Californians, will be just 1/4 cent, representing approximately 15% of the new tax measure’s revenue;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party endorses the initiative, the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party urges an unprecedented effort be made over the next 3 weeks to place this initiative on the ballot, and a sustained effort thereafter be made to pass this compromise measure to ensure that funding for public education, vital services, and public safety is restored.

Adopted by Sonoma County Democratic Party Central Committee on April 10, 2012

May 7       Voting by mail opens

May 21    Voter registration deadline

May 29    Deadline to request ballot by mail

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Click on the links below for detailed voter information:

SCDP Endorsements – June 5, 2012 Primary Election

Register to Vote

Vote by Mail

District and Elected Official Lookup

Precinct and District Maps

Explanation of the Top-Two Candidates Open Primary

Sonoma County Registrar of Voters

California Secretary of State – Elections and Voter Information

Voter Bill of Rights

This time, Santa Rosa voters deserve the opportunity to decide whether their elected representatives should come from the same areas of the city as the last hundred years or whether their councilmembers should truly representative the modern face of the electorate.

The time is long overdue for the city council to be elected by district.

More and more, cities our size, in the 100,000 to 200,000 population range, are turning to district elections to ensure the views of all citizens are equally represented. Those rights are guaranteed by the federal Voting Rights Act and the outdated method of selecting our city council through at-large elections comes dangerously close to flouting that guarantee.

Last week, the elected representatives to the Sonoma County Democratic Party unanimously voted to join increasingly calls for giving Santa Rosa voters the opportunity to decide on district elections. Our resolution states that district elections are long overdue because history shows that “council members do not come equally from all areas of the city but are disproportionately elected from the North East area; an area that houses only 25 percent of the residents.”

Only a glance at the map of where our current and past councilmembers reside should tell you all you need to know about the imbalance of influence perpetuated by at-large elections.

Full text of the resolution, which was approved unanimously at the March 13 SCDP Central Committee meeting, follows:

Resolution in Support of District Elections in the City of Santa Rosa, CA

WHEREAS, the City of Santa Rosa considers District Elections only once every 10 years during its Charter Review process, and

WHEREAS, Santa Rosa currently has at-large elections for all 7 council members and council members do not come equally from all areas of the city but are disproportionately elected from the North East area; an area that houses only 25% of the residents (see the attached map), and

WHEREAS, District Elections are a safe haven from voting rights act complaints and lawsuits; and district elections are successfully used by the Sonoma County Democratic Party Central Committee, the Sonoma County District Junior College (SRJC) Board of Trustees, Sonoma County Office of Education, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, the State Assembly and Senate, and the House of the United States; and because it costs less for the city of Santa Rosa to run district elections.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party supports District Elections for the City Council of Santa Rosa, California, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party send a letter to both the Santa Rosa Charter Review Committee and to the City Council of Santa Rosa recommending support for District Elections. 

Adopted by Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee, March 13, 2012

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Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

1st District - No Endorsement (Due to lack of concensus)

The Sonoma County Democratic Party bylaws require a two-thirds vote to endorse a candidate for election to a local non-partisan office. Five Democratic candidates sought endorsement for the 1st District seat, and no single candidate achieved the two-thirds vote required for endorsement.

3rd District - Shirlee Zane (Incumbant) 

5th District - No Endorsement (Due to lack of concensus)

The Sonoma County Democratic Party bylaws require a two-thirds vote to endorse a candidate for election to a local non-partisan office. Three Democratic candidates sought endorsement for the 5th-District seat, and no single candidate achieved the two-thirds vote required for endorsement.

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State Assembly

District 2 - Wes Chesbro (Incumbent)

District 4 - Mariko Yamada (Incumbent)

District 10 - Michael Allen (Incumbent)

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State Senate

3rd District - Lois Wolk (Incumbent)

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U.S. Congress 

2nd District - No Endorsement (Due to lack of consensus)

The Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee is prohibited from endorsing a candidate running for statewide or federal office unless that candidate has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party. The CDP bylaws require a 50% vote of members of the State Democratic Central Committee at the party’s Pre-Endorsement Caucus (held January 21, 2012) to qualify a candidate for endorsement in an open Congressional race. With four Democratic candidates seeking endorsement for this seat, no single candidate reached the 50% threshold required for endorsement.

5th District - Mike Thompson (Incumbent)

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Statewide Ballot Measures 

Prop 28 - YES: Limits on legislators’ terms in office 

Prop 29 - YES: Imposes additional tax on cigarettes for cancer research

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Local Ballot Measures 

Measure D - YES – Cotati-Rohnert Park schools tax

Measure E - YES – Healdsburg school bond

Measure F - YES – Guerneville school bond

Measure G - YES – Old Adobe school bond

Measure H - YES – Sebastopol school bond

Measure I - YES – Wright school bond

Measure J - YES – City of Sonoma sales tax

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Early Endorsements - November 6, 2012 Election

Santa Rosa City Council:

Caroline Banuelos

Erin Carlstrom

Julie Combs

Gary Wysocky

At the January 10 SCDP Central Committee meeting, members will discuss the merits of each candidate, culminating in a vote by secret ballot for one person for each award category. 

Please review the award categories and the requirements for each. Write a brief statement giving the qualifications of your nominee and your reasons for nominating.

Nominations must be received by December 31, 2011 for consideration.

Return nominations to the SCDP electronically at info@sonomacountydemocrats.org or by U.S. mail to Sonoma County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 3727, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Award Categories and Requirements  **All Nominees Must Be Registered Democrats**

Requirements: Male or Female, age 18-35, with at least 2 years of active service to the Democratic Party

3. Roberta Hallowell Award

Requirements: Female with at least 10 years of service to the Democratic Party

This award was created in memory of Roberta Hallowell, who was a leader in the Democratic community and a member of many organizations. As a retired teacher, education was one of her passions. She was active in the California Teachers Association, National Education Association, the Sonoma County Educators Council, and the Healdsburg Area Teachers Association. Other affiliations included National Organization for Women, Sierra Club, NAACP, National Women’s Political Caucus and California State Democratic Central Committee. Her union work and liberal politics probably started as a family trait, but Roberta blazed her own path and was a mainstay of the Sonoma County Democratic Party. Throughout her life she was active in a host of issues that benefited from her skills and contacts. 

Friday, February 24, 2012, 5:30 p.m.

Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building

Join us! The SCDP is committed to electing Democrats and to supporting our Democratic officials locally, in Sacramento and in Washington D.C. Your ticket purchase can help us by providing the funds necessary to do so.

Dine on all-you-can-eat, fresh-caught local crab; pasta from Sonoma County favorite Art "The Pasta King" Ibleto; salad; dessert; and fine Sonoma County wines. Silent Auction, Awards Presentation, and 50/50 Raffle.

Tickets: $50 per person

Sponsorships:

President - $1,500/16 tickets (reserved table)

Governor - $1,000/10 tickets (reserved table)

Speaker of the House - $500/6 tickets (reserved table)

Senator - $300/4 tickets

Congress Member - $150/2 tickets

All Sponsors Listed in the Program

Tickets go on sale January 17: www.brownpapertickets.com

To purchase tickets by mail, send a check to: SCDP, P.O. Box 3727, Santa Rosa CA 95402.

This event sells out every year, so purchase your tickets early!