Supervisor Race Reshapes Sonoma County District's Political Future

HEALDSBURG, CA — Voters in Sonoma County in June will be selecting someone to fill the seat of a departing supervisor who oversaw grape-growing regions and some of the county's most-visited tourist spots such as the Russian River, The Geysers, and River Rock Casino.

District 4 covers Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, northern Santa Rosa and the grape-growing regions of Dry Creek, Knights and Alexander valleys. A candidate would need to get at least 50% of the vote in the June 2 election to win the seat and avoid a November runoff between the top two finishers.

For three terms, the region has been represented by Supervisor James Gore, who initially announced that he would be running to fill the state Senate seat of Mike McGuire, only to drop out of that race last year.

There are three candidates. Todd Lands is a former sheriff's deputy and the former mayor and current vice mayor of Cloverdale. Melanie Bagby is a business owner and IT professional, as well as a two-term Cloverdale councilmember and one-time mayor. Tom Schwedhelm, former Santa Rosa mayor and police chief, rounds out the trio.

Lands is serving his second term on the Cloverdale City Council and works as a contractor. He identified his main issues as fiscal security, healthcare for rural and underserved communities, new investments in homelessness and mental health, wildfire prevention and ensuring a long-term water supply.

He sees affordability as a key problem in the county and would like to see less red tape around housing development.

"I will be a strong advocate for middle-income housing -- the kind that enables teachers, tradespeople, young families, and small business owners to build a life in Sonoma County," he says on his website.

He is endorsed by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, Cloverdale Police Chief Chris Parker, and District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, as well as Cloverdale councilmembers and some school board trustees throughout District 4.

Coffey Park resident Schwedhelm was the mayor of Santa Rosa following the 2017 Tubbs Fire and hopes his experience as both chief of police and an elected official will get him a seat on the Board of Supervisors.

Schwedhelm identified his most important issues as water availability, affordable housing, infrastructure, environmental protection, and "caring for our most vulnerable," including undocumented immigrants.

On his campaign site, he said that he has been "devastated by the unlawful arrests and detention of people who pose no legitimate danger to the public -- especially children" and said he will work to put safeguards in place to protect people from federal law enforcement operations.

He is endorsed by multiple law enforcement, firefighter, and blue collar unions as well as the Sonoma County Farm Bureau (in a dual endorsement with Lands). Also endorsing Schwedhelm are U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, state Assemblymember Chris Rogers; Supervisors David Rabbitt, Rebecca Hermosillo, Lynda Hopkins and Gore; District Attorney Rodriguez (also a dual endorsement with Lands), Sheriff Eddie Engram and county Superintendent Amie Carter.

Former Cloverdale mayor Bagby is the only candidate mentioning the "T" word, or Trump, leaning into being a progressive Democrat running against two others who have stated no party preference (Lands was a registered Republican up until 2023).

"Our next Supervisor will need to deal with critical issues: high housing costs and rising prices for working families, completing vital transportation and infrastructure projects, improving climate resiliency and disaster preparedness, and standing firm against the Trump Administration's attacks," reads her campaign website.

Her other main issues are completing the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit pathway, workforce development for county employees, and citizen oversight of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, including making sure the office does not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Bagby was fined this year by the Fair Political Practices Commission for government contracts she voted on as a councilmember and on the Sonoma Clean Power board that involved businesses that were clients of her family's IT consulting firm, Sirius Mobile Solutions.

Bagby has said that it was an oversight and that the items on the agenda were a part of the consent calendar, which groups multiple items into one routine vote. The commission's finding determined that she did not attempt to conceal or deceive anyone with her actions, but she had to pay $9,000.

Bagby is endorsed by U.S. Rep Jared Huffman and Sonoma County Supervisors Chris Coursey and Lynda Hopkins, as well as multiple councilmembers and mayors from around the county and Bay Area.

She is also endorsed by the California and Sonoma County Democratic parties, the North Bay Labor Council and two Service Employees International Union local chapters. Environmentally focused groups such as the Green Party in Sonoma County and the Sierra Club have also endorsed her.

By Katy St. Clair, Bay City News
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