Vote Sonoma Strong
Sonoma County's only progressive voter guide.
November 2026 Voter Guide
Our November 2026 General Election Voter Guide is here! Given the feedback we received from our community, the guide posted below is a short version. A full verison, complete with reasoning for each recommendation, can be found here.Thank you for using our guide; please share with friends, family, and community!STATE PROPOSITIONSProp 1: YES
Prop 2: YES
Prop 3: YES
Prop 4: YES
Prop 5: YES
Prop 37: YES
Prop 38: NO
Prop 39: NO
Prop 40: YES
Prop 41: NO
Prop 42: NO
Prop 43: NO
Prop 44: NO
Prop 45: NOLOCAL MEASURESMeasure D: YES
Measure E: YES
Measure G: YES
Measure H: YES
Measure AB: YES
Measure I: NO
Measure J: YES
Measure K: NO
Measure L: NO
Measure M: YES
Measure N: YES
Measure O: YESCANDIDATESState
- State Assembly, 2nd District: Chris Rogers
- State Assembly, 4th District: No Recommendation
- State Assembly, 12th District: Jackie ElwardCounty
- County Supervisor, 2nd District: Joanna Paun
- County Supervisor, 4th District: Melanie BagbyJudicial
- Electing judges: YES to allCity
- City Council, City of Cloverdale : No full endorsement, best available: Colleen Shields, Kimberly Kern, Will Carter
- City Council, City of Healdsburg, District 2: Mathew Lopez
- City Council, City of Healdsburg, District 4: Chris Herrod
- Mayor, City of Petaluma: Kevin McConnell
- City Council, City of Petaluma, District 1: No Recommendation
- City Council, City of Petaluma, District 2: Brent Newell
- City Council, City of Petaluma, District 3: Eric Vazquez
- City Council, City of Rohnert Park, District 2: No full endorsement, best available: Michael Desimone
- City Council, City of Rohnert Park, District 5: No full endorsement, best available: Susan Hollingsworth Adams
- City Council, City of Santa Rosa, District 2: No Recommendation
- City Council, City of Santa Rosa, District 4: Melanie Jones-Carter
- City Council, City of Santa Rosa, District 6: No Recommendation
- City Council, City of Sebastopol: James Woodruff, Brandie L. Solovay, Erin Mitchell
- City Council, City of Sonoma, District 1: Julian Mackie
- Mayor, Town of Windsor: No Full Endorsement, best available: Rick Massell
- Town Council, Town of Windsor, District 1: Gina Fortino Dickson
- Town Council, Town of Windsor, District 4: No Recommendation
- Director, Gold Ridge Fire Protection District: No full endorsement, best available: Tara Daniels, Shannon J Shaffer-Killey, Christina Gibbs
- Director, Sonoma County Fire District: No full endorsement, best available: Steve Klick, Gary So, Robert M. BriareSchool
- Superintendent of Public Instruction: Richard Barrera
- Sonoma County Board of Education, Trustee Area 2: Caitlin QuinnGoverning Board Members
- Sonoma County Junior College District, Trustee Area 5: Leticia Contreras
- Sonoma County Junior College District, Trustee Area 7: Michael Valdovinos
- Calistoga Joint Unified School District: Laurel Rios, Irene Pena
- Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District, Trustee Area 1: Angela Marie Scardina
- Sonoma Valley Unified School District, Trustee Area 1: Susan Joyce McIntosh
- Windsor Unified School District: Stephanie Ahmad
- City of Santa Rosa High School District, Trustee Area 2: Teresa A. Medina
- Petaluma Joint Union High School District, Trustee Area 3: No full endorsement, best available: John Garcia
- Petaluma Joint Union High School District, Trustee Area 5: Seitchik Sebastian
- West Sonoma County Union High School District, Trustee Area 5: Lewis Buchner
- Harmony Union School District: No full endorsement, best available: Tiffany Danielle Monroe, Michael Podshadley, Jasmin Tokatlian
- Monte Rio Union School District: No full endorsement, best available: Craig Baker, Melissa Frost
- Twin Hills Union School District: Anna-Maria Guzman, Jeff Harding
- Two Rock Union School District: No full endorsement, best available: Laura B. Gutierrez, John C. Martin, Joel Ruiz
- Waugh School District: Christine D. Pieper, Denise Bugbee, Kevin Gushue
Methodology
Local Politics Matter
In our voter guides you will find recommendations for local elections---candidates and measures---as well as state propositions. Local elections involve smaller constituencies and thus our vote goes further and has more impact. We research these elections so we can help empower our communities.
Propositions and measures
should meet the following criteria in order to receive our recommendation:1. Democracy
We recommend policies that increase individual access to voting and the democratic process.2. Equity and Equality
We recommend policies that support increased equity and equality across all intersectional lines (race, gender, orientation, status, etc).3. Empowerment
We recommend policies that facilitate community empowerment, giving everyday people more individual and collective control over their lives.
Candidates
should meet the following criteria in order to receive our recommendation:1. Politics
We prioritize progressive candidates: those who acknowledge climate change, housing insecurity and inequity, racial justice, and law enforcement reform as fundamental issues for Sonoma County.2. Representation
We prioritize Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ candidates, and if none are available candidates who have pledged to increase said representation.3. Honesty
We prioritize candidates who are beholden to their constituents, the voters, and not to corporations, business associations, or entrenched interests who leverage money to buy political change.
About
Founded in early 2020, we have issued progressive political analysis and recommendations through free, publicly-available, voter guides every election since.We are a nonpartisan and unaffiliated political research body whose mission is to engage critically with local politics in the interest of the working class, marginalized, and otherwise excluded from the conventional political system. We do not accept financial contributions of any sort and do not engage in lobbying.
votesonomastrong [at] gmail [dot] com