The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on SMART, Mental Health, Communication, Sustainability

Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from Tom "Manure Man" Lynch:

If we can get the Sonoma and Marin voters, during a recession, to approve additional taxes for SMART (Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit). We will have a wonderful opportunity to avail people along the urban corridor an alternative to driving automobiles. Rail travel is 1/600th that of air travel and 1/25th of automobiles with green house gas emissions. We send 100's of millions of dollars from Sonoma County abroad every year for foreign oil; if we can keep those dollars in the local economy we would see them recycle 2 to 7 times. Vote for SMART!!

Answer from Rue Furch:

I support SMART especially as it would integrate bus routes, bike paths and walkable communities. We need to run smaller buses more frequently. I have lived in and visited other places where a transportation system is fully integrated and moves people seamlessly around. We need to make it very easy to use public transit. Many places do this very successfully. It is also key that development around SMART fit and support public transportation

Answer from Maddy Hirshfield:

SMART creates an opportunity to introduce more multimodal transportation into the unincorporated areas of the County. Additionally, the adoption of Urban Growth Boundaries and focus on infill development combined with the opportunity for a rail based system supported with feeder bus and bicycle routes could result in breaking the pattern of sprawl development. I will work aggressively for the passage of the SMART initiative. I have always maintained that if we want Sonoma County residents to get out of our cars we need to provide something for us to get into.

Answer from Maddy Hirshfield:

The Board of Supervisors needs to make mental health a priority. When one looks at the budget, just under half, about 47% goes to public safety while only about 12% goes to health and human services. Much of the public safety money is spent housing mentally ill in our prisons. It is not acceptable that the last inpatient mental health beds are being closed. We need to decriminalize mental illness and work toward prevention and treatment, not incarceration. Finally, we need to provide access to health insurance that covers mental health.

Answer from Tom "Manure Man" Lynch:

More resource needs to be applied to prevention not reaction; more gains from contributors, less the liability of our failures. We have criminalized poverty, and ignorance and mental illness. With 5% of the World's population we now have 25% of the global prison population in the United States. We cannot arrest ourselves out of our problems. It is not right to burden law enforcement with the care of our mentally ill...we must restore cuts to Human Services and Mental Health programs.

A recent Sonoma County Housing report notes that since 2000 the median household income in the County has declined by 2%, while the County Strategic Plan notes that salaries and benefits for County staff has increased by 65%. Recent data from County Administration shows that of the 4000 full time workers at the County, the top 1000 salary plus benefit average, is $165,378 per year!
I have met and spoken with many County workers as well as the Deputy Sheriffs Association, Service Employee International Union (SEIU), and the North Bay Labor Council. All have asked what should we do to remedy the Counties budget problems. I have said to all we are in a recession and in order to avoid the layoff of hundreds of County workers and further cuts in essential services we need a temporary freeze on salaries and benefits. We need to restore cuts to Human Services and Mental Health programs.

Answer from Rue Furch:

As I look at what we can and should be doing to maintain mental health services in Sonoma County, I do not see the necessary leadership from a majority on the Board. We deserve better. The Supervisors are responsible for closure of the Norton facility and the proposed closure of the Orenda Center. I promise to do everything possible to provide mental health services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Throwing addicts in the drunk tank simply perpetuates a pointless cycle. And when a mentally distressed young woman stops taking her medications and has a psychotic episode, her parents should not have to call the county jail to find out how she's doing.

Answer from Tom "Manure Man" Lynch:

I will continue meeting and discussing the issues with everyone throughout the District. I will be available by phone and e-mail. I would like to create a 501c3 non-profit with volunteers to help serve the needs of the District...kind of a 5th District Ombudsman Program.

Answer from Rue Furch:

I would like to set up citizen advisory committees for many of our communities who do not have official governing bodies, and are not likely to have them unless they incorporate. Participants should represent the spectrum of their community in order to have a balanced view, and a voice for all stakeholders. The sizes of these groups would vary based on each community and the complexity of the issues. I also have committed to regular visits in every village in the Fifth District to meet with constituents. The schedule will be posted on line so people will know the schedule, and not have to drive to Santa Rosa to meet their representative.

Answer from Maddy Hirshfield:

Understanding constituent concerns as well as keeping constituents informed requires frequent contact with voters. In addition to regular office hours I plan to go out into the district and have meetings on a regular basis. The 5th Supervisorial District is huge and I don't expect people in some of the outer lying areas to be able to make it into Santa Rosa to address their Supervisor. I plan to set up regular and informal meetings in the various different parts of the district.

Openness, transparency, availability are very important to me and I will bring these values with me to the office of Supervisor

Answer from Maddy Hirshfield:

I believe that there is a commonality of interest between the environmental and business/development communities. My experience is that most business people want to do what is right for their community and the environment. Government needs to appeal to that better sense and provide incentives for business to be more environmentally friendly. This could come in the form of government loans to help fund the high start up costs of converting to solar, installing water saving devices and following sustainable practices. I would look for opportunities to help business become stewards of our environment. I will also look to strict adherence to our environmental regulations.

Answer from Tom "Manure Man" Lynch:

These two issues need not be at odds with each other. If we are to have growth we must reduce our impact on the environment. We need reduce our water usage and increase reuse, improve air quality, restore fisheries habitat and water quality in our watersheds, reduce green house gases through conservation, photovoltaics and solar hot water.

Affordable housing is also an issue where we need to encourage the development of second dwelling units and SRO's (single room occupancy). Creative and innovative solutions are needed to allow young and old to remain in our communities.

Answer from Rue Furch:

I believe that a balance must be struck between environmental protection and economic development. Both are critical to our future. The balance must include both as fundamental values, without compromising or neglecting the other. Irreversible impacts must not be underestimated in favor of short-term gains. It is also important to consider decisions that are economically beneficial to one community or industry, but detrimental to another. Any comparison of economic gains must reflect a sum of all economic gains and economic costs. The aggregate economic impact should be balanced against the environmental costs.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.