Healy denounces Demo-only policy

Sub-committee of local Democratic chapter urged elected officials to appoint fellow Democrats

October 5, 2005

By COREY YOUNG
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

The Sonoma County Democratic Party's consideration of a policy that urged elected Democrats to appoint only Democrats to citizen boards was written partly in response to two of Mike Healy's appointments earlier this year, the Petaluma council member believes.

The policy would encourage Democratic officeholders, including those on local city councils, to choose the "qualified" Democrats when applicants of different parties sought seats on non-partisan commissions. The 30-member Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee adopted the policy in June.

Last week, after public outcry and objection by some local Democratic officeholders, the smaller, 10-member "executive committee" of the local Democratic group voted to recommend that the larger body drop the policy. The central committee meets Tuesday to reconsider the issue.

The policy said any elected Democrats who supported other candidates when qualified Democrats applied for the same position would not be allowed to sponsor official Democratic Party events, such as the annual crab feed fund-raiser. It said Democrats would maintain a list of such "incidents of misconduct" and called on "all Democrats" to report such incidents.

Healy, a Democrat, said the resolution was crafted this spring by a Petaluma-area member of the Democratic Central Committee, Stan Gold.

Healy said he learned in an e-mail exchange among Democrats that Gold was upset about the appointment of a Republican Petaluma council member to two posts, an action Healy supported.

Gold said he wrote the original wording of the resolution that was later modified and adopted by the central committee. But he denied it was crafted in response to Healy's actions and referred further inquiries to committee chair Joanne Hurley.

Hurley said the resolution, crafted after discussions by the Democrats' candidate search and development committee over a year and a half, was not intended to punish anyone for past appointments.

"I don't believe there was any one specific officeholder targeted," she said. "In no way was this an edict to Democratic officeholders."

If the policy remains in place after Tuesday's meeting of the central committee, "I would hope that we would have a discussion with the person before we would say that they could not be a sponsor," Hurley said. "What we're really trying to do is identify qualified citizens and urge them to serve in local government."

The text of the resolution says the policy is necessary because boards like planning commissions and other advisory committees serve as "critical incubators for future Democratic officeholders to obtain essential political experience."

The support of non-Democrats by Democratic officials in such situations is "harmful to the Democratic Party" and "should not be rewarded" by allowing those officials to sponsor events, the resolution states.

In January Healy supported the City Council's appointment of Councilmember Keith Canevaro, a Republican, as the council's Planning Commission liaison and the council's alternate representative to the Sonoma County Transportation Authority. Healy is the city's primary representative to the SCTA.

Healy said he voted for Canevaro for those posts because he believes it is important for newer council members to gain experience in the planning process as liaisons to the planning commission, and because Canevaro shares his vision for the Rainier cross-town connector and the Novato Narrows widening.

He said public feedback on the policy has been negative, and he understands why.

"It's a horrible idea," he said. "It couldn't be better designed to alienate moderate voters from the Democratic Party."

Political affiliation shouldn't be a factor when council members appoint citizens who want to serve their communities, Healy said.

"I think we should be looking for the best-qualified person for each appointment we make," he said. "That's been my practice and it will continue to be my practice."

(Contact Corey Young at cyoung@arguscourier.com)