District elections arrive in Sonoma. Meet your ballot.
For the first time, the council is elected by district. Three seats are on the November 3 ballot, and the Post lays out the field.
SONOMA: On November 3, Sonoma votes in its first district-based City Council election, the most consequential change to local democracy in the town's modern history. Districts 1, 3 and 5 elect their council members this year; Districts 2 and 4 follow in 2028.
The field, per the county registrar's certified candidate list: in District 1, Michael L. Menefee, Julian Mackie and Peggy Hutton. In District 3, incumbent John P. Gurney is unopposed. In District 5, Ron Wellander is unopposed.
District elections change the character of representation. Council members answer to a neighborhood now, not the whole town, which should sharpen attention to the unglamorous local: the street that floods, the park that needs lights, the permit stuck in a drawer. It also ends the era when every council race was a town-wide popularity contest.
The uncontested races deserve a note. Two of the three seats on this first district ballot drew a single candidate each. That is not a failure of the system; it is a signal about civic recruitment. Districts make each race smaller and more winnable, which should, over time, draw more neighbors into running. The Post hopes this year's quiet races are the exception.
What the Post will do: cover the District 1 race closely, introduce the candidates in their own words, and report the results on election night. What we ask of readers: find your district on the city's map, and vote like your street depends on it. It does.
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