As you can see in these photos, city council members were tasked by the interim city manager to draw up a list of goals/priorities they felt should be included in a five-year, one year, and five-month plan. The goals reflect a vision of the city’s future and guide decision-making at all levels of City government.

We are happy to say that the council included issuing the RFP for a second dispensary on its list of priorities to accomplish within the next five months.

A huge thanks to Josette Brose-Eichar, Dave Eichar, Perri Ellis Paniagua, and Richard Silver for their support and leadership and speaking at this meeting. Also, thanks to Robert Demler, Executive Director of the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation, for voicing his support, and Mark Bodenhamer, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for offering his assistance to facilitate the second dispensary process. Their voices brought additional validity to our goal.

We had front row seats directly across from council members, staff, the police and fire chiefs, etc., and one after another, down the line, we all made a case for the second dispensary. Some extra credit goes to Richard Silver for a brilliant bit of off-the-cuff oratory which I’ll always remember.

There is something more personal about sitting across the table from someone as opposed to standing at a podium talking to people on a dais. We’re all on the same level, all feet firmly grounded. I do think we made a very favorable impression. I also believe that had we not been at that meeting and spoken, we probably wouldn’t have made that five month’s goal list.

Two council members put us over the top. Former chief of police and now vice-mayor, John Gurney, put the dispensary on his five-month list, quipping, “I put this on my list because I’m tired of hearing about it.” That brought a good laugh to the room.

And as she ran down her five-month list, Councilwoman Patricia Farrar-Rivas looked at us, smiled and said, let’s issue the RFP.

We are still waiting for the video of the Goals meeting to be posted. Annual Goals meetings regard the future of the city. Citizens should always have the opportunity to review how such important decisions are made.

Nothing ever moves quickly and the devil is always in the details, but we feel very optimistic that our medical patients and consumers in Sonoma and the Valley will finally be able to take advantage of local competition. Competition will help keep prices down, result in the availability of a wider variety of products, and promote innovation in services. Stay tuned, more details to come…