Voters in two of Sonoma County’s five supervisorial districts will get their first real look at the candidates vying to represent them this week, as the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County hosts back-to-back online forums on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
The forums come at a pivotal moment for local governance. Neither the 2nd District seat in southern Sonoma County nor the 4th District seat in the north has an incumbent running, making both races wide open for the first time in over a decade. Supervisor David Rabbitt, who has held the 2nd District seat since 2011, announced in March that he would not seek a fifth term. Supervisor James Gore, who has represented the 4th District since 2015, is also stepping aside.
The 2nd District forum, set for Wednesday, April 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., will feature four candidates competing for the seat that covers Petaluma, Penngrove, Cotati, and the surrounding agricultural corridor. Joanna Paun, a Petaluma City Schools board member, will face off against Penngrove rancher and operational engineer John King, professional motorcycle racer and dairy farm operator Shelina Moreda, and Cotati Mayor Sylvia Lemus, who is the city’s first Latina council member. With four candidates and no incumbent advantage, the race could easily head to a November runoff if no one captures an outright majority in the June 2 primary.
The following evening, Thursday, April 9, the 4th District candidates will take the virtual stage for the same 6-to-7:30 time slot. That three-way race for the northern county seat — encompassing Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, and parts of northern Santa Rosa — pits former Cloverdale mayor Melanie Bagby against former Santa Rosa mayor and police chief Tom Schwedhelm and Cloverdale Vice Mayor Todd Lands.
Both forums will stream live through a link on the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County’s website, and recordings will be posted to the League’s YouTube channel afterward, according to the Press Democrat. Mail ballots for the June 2 primary begin going out May 4, giving voters roughly a month after the forums to weigh their choices before casting a ballot.
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