Northbay Uprising - Information for the liberated zones of the San Pablo Bay

2012-01-26 "Gomes won't run for Solano County supervisors post" by Sarah Rohrs from "Vallejo Times Herald"
[http://www.timesheraldonline.com/opinion/ci_19824982]
Vallejo City Councilwoman Stephanie Gomes said Wednesday she will not run for the Solano County Board of Supervisors District 1 seat held by retiring Barbara Kondylis.
First elected in 2005, Gomes is in the middle of her second term. She and Kondylis have been close political allies, and the supervisor said Wednesday she considered reversing her retirement decision upon learning that Gomes would not run.
Kondylis added that she will throw her support behind a new entry in the race, political and community activist Katherine (Katy) Miessner.
As the race is shaping up, Miessner would be the fourth declared candidate for the seat. She would join four-term former mayor Tony Intintoli Jr. and Vallejo Councilwoman Erin Hannigan as well as businesswoman Susan Anthony.
Former Vallejo City Unified School District trustee Rozanna Verder Aliga has also said she is considering a run.
Gomes had been expected for months to be eyeing Kondylis' seat because she did not run for mayor last year and only two years remain in her term.
Meanwhile, Gomes said she gave the matter of a supervisorial bid a lot of thought and spent "many dark nights of the soul" considering her options. She also talked it over with family, friends and her supporters.
In the end Gomes said she felt a responsibility to the Vallejo citizens to finish out her terms and to continue to work for the city's recovery.
"I've worked too hard to help get us to the point where we are to leave just before we turn the corner," Gomes said. "Ultimately, I want to stay and finish helping to rewrite the story."
Gomes said she has not ruled out the possibility of running for the Board of Supervisors in the future, or seeking an additional City Council term. She could run again for City Council after a break of at least two years.
A strong Gomes supporter, Miessner has been involved in numerous local political and community campaigns and organizations. She was an advocate of city bankruptcy and abolition of binding arbitration.
"It's really the right time for me," Miessner said Wednesday, citing her sense of fiscal responsibility and knowledge.
She has worked in the financial divisions of several nonprofits, including the San Francisco AIDS Foundation as its budget director and The Kidney Trust. Currently she is a financial contractor for a variety of organizations, she said.
A resident of Vallejo since 2000, Miessner is also an artist and been involved in the Mira Theater.
She serves on the Vallejo Heights Neighborhood Association and is a contributor to the online Vallejo Independent Bulletin.
Kondylis said she plans to not only support Miessner but will most likely be directing her campaign. She added that both she and Miessner share political philosophies and have worked on campaigns together.
Kondylis said when she learned Gomes wouldn't be running she "seriously considered" calling off her retirement and making a sixth bid.
"I made a promise to the general public and to employees that I would not retire unless there was somebody in the wings that I thought could carry on in the same philosophical vein I've been doing for the last 30 years," Kondylis said, adding that Miessner meets that criteria.
Miessner, Intintoli and Anthony have all taken out petitions from the Solano County Registrar of Voters to collect signatures so they can avoid the filing fee.
The official filing period opens Feb. 13.