Dick Spotswood: Councils across Marin have open seats in November

Despite the tumult that Americans are enduring with national politics and international affairs, it’s a big mistake to overlook approaching elections for local governing boards. These are the posts that most directly affect Marinites’ quality of life.

They’re filled by involved citizens who receive token compensation for what is essentially community service. To paraphrase former President John F. Kennedy, they didn’t ask what their county could do for them. They asked what they could do for their county.

There are no official terms for any Marin local office. By tradition, Mill Valley and Belvedere have informal limits of two or, occasionally, three four-year terms.

My focus here is on elections for council members in Marin’s 11 municipalities along with a contested race for one vacant seat on Marin County’s governing authority, the Board of Supervisors. That’s in District 2, representing Ross Valley, Larkspur, Greenbrae and southwestern San Rafael, where veteran Supervisor Katie Rice is retiring.

On November’s ballot are school trustee posts in 18 Marin school districts. There are also open seats on many of the often-overlooked directors of water, fire, sewage and community services district governing boards.

It’s not too soon for incumbents, whose terms are expiring, to make public declarations indicating whether they’ll run for reelection.

Sitting council members owe it to their constituents to promptly disclose whether they’re opting to run again. That enables potential candidates who might not wish to face an incumbent to learn if there’s an open spot on the ballot. It gives them sufficient time to assemble a campaign and collect valid signatures from registered voters.

Filing for Marin nonpartisan local offices opens July 15 and continues until Aug. 9. If an incumbent decides not to run, filing remains open until Aug. 15.

This five-day extension is to foil sleazy incumbents who waited until the last minute to announce they’ll not run again. In the past, that strategy was deployed to enable candidates’ friends or insiders who were tipped off to be prepared with the necessary paperwork and file at the last minute for the suddenly open office.

Belvedere sees the terms of three council members ending: Nancy Kemnitzer, Jim Lynch and Sally Wilkinson. Across the peninsula in Tiburon, the tenures of two incumbents, Vice Mayor Holli Thier and Isaac Nikfar, are concluding.

Novato elects their council members in five geographically drawn districts. Expiring are the terms of current mayor Mark Milberg and council members Tim O’Connor and Susan Wernick.

San Rafael is Marin’s only charter city with a directly elected mayor. Mayor Kate Colin will run for another four-year term. Two council  members, elected by district, Maika Llorens Gulati and Rachel Kertz, will likely run again.

Three Mill Valley council posts are on November’s ballot. Veteran Councilmember Jim Wickham is retiring, creating one open seat. Mayor Urban Carmel and Caroline Joachim will run for reelection.

San Anselmo has three council posts on November’s ballot. One will be vacant as its incumbent, Brian Colbert, is on the same ballot vying for the Board of Supervisors. He’s in a run-off with past Kentfield School District Trustee Heather McPhail Sridharan. Terms of council members Eileen Burke (the Hub City’s current mayor) and Alexis Fineman are also ending.

In Sausalito, the terms of current mayor Ian Sobieski and council members Melissa Blaustein and Janelle Kellman are all up.

Larkspur has at least one open post. It’s to fill the remaining two years to which the late Councilmember Kevin Carroll was elected. Mayor Scot Candell and Gabe Paulson’s terms are also over.

That leaves Fairfax. Its voters may experience one of the most contentious Marin elections in decades. The terms of three incumbents, Mayor Barbara Coler, Chance Cutrano and Bruce Ackerman, are concluding. There’s also the possibility that council members Lisel Blash and Stephanie Hellman will face a recall.

Columnist Dick Spotswood of Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays and Wednesdays. Email him at spotswood@comcast.net.