Two newcomers vie for Santa Rosa's District 5 city council seat

Caroline Bañuelos, a Santa Rosa Junior College trustee, is vying to fill the seat being vacated by the long-serving Chris Rogers.

photo credit: Caroline for Santa Rosa
Caroline Bañuelos, candidate for Santa Rosa City Council District 5.

Four city council seats are up for election in Santa Rosa; two are contested; and only one is guaranteed to have a new face fill the chair.

Santa Rosa’s District 5 encompasses the West End neighborhood, Railroad Square, parts of downtown, and Coddingtown Mall.

It has been represented by Chris Rogers - who’s now running for a seat in the state assembly.

Two candidates are running to fill the seat Rogers is vacating, and KRCB spoke to both.

One candidate is Caroline Bañuelos.

"I'm currently a sitting Santa Rosa Junior college board of trustee," Bañuelos said.

"So why run now?" KRCB's Noah Abrams asked.

"Well, a lot of folks ask me that question," Bañuelos said. "So in 2022, [the Junior College] board like many, many boards redistricted. And the result of that was that put me in the same district as one of my colleagues and I didn't really wanna run against her 'cause she's a friend and also a really good trustee. So at that point I had thought, well I probably am done."

"But then this opportunity on the city council came along and I thought, okay, it's a district now so I think it's doable, and I decided to run," Bañuelos said.

"As a Santa Rosa Junior College board member, are there any specific insights on the needs of Santa Rosa’s younger residents you feel you could bring to the council?" Abrams asked.

"Probably first and foremost. housing," Bañuelos said. "I also work at Sonoma State University and I work with a lot of students both at the four year level, as well as two year over at Santa Rosa Junior College, and one of the topics that we often talk about is housing, their struggles just to get housing while they're students but then afterwards after they graduate."

"So I think Santa Rosa's done a good job of beginning to try to fill the housing needs that they need to do, and we've got a lot of projects going on right now, but mostly it's for low income, and you have to make a certain amount in order to qualify for that," Bañuelos said. "We don't have a lot for people who are kind of between low income and luxury, which I call, you know, working class folks; and that's a big gap that I see for working class folks as well as young people who are just starting out or people who are just starting families."

"What are some other issues [or] programs, within the city government and administration you would want to improve upon if elected?" Abrams asked.

"I think we have to continue to work on issues around homelessness," Bañuelos said. "Again, I think the city has made some inroads in that area, but I know we can do more. I do have a background in homeless services. I used to work for the Living Room and also Community Support Network, which both deal with folks who are homeless."

"So I think my perspective will be a little bit different having been a homeless service provider," Bañuelos said. "There's two shelters in District 5. I think there's some things we can do to expand the number of beds and I think also provide services for people who are without homes. I [also] think the city of Santa Rosa does have a problem with communication and they're not alone, a lot of cities do."

"As we build, which we need to do, we need to build more housing, we also have to think about infrastructure all the time," Bañuelos said. "Again, I know we're working on that in different areas, but particularly in District 5, we need to pay attention to the traffic in those areas."

"District 5 covers some of the city’s very important commercial areas, including downtown," Abrams said. "Much has been made about the state of downtown Santa Rosa and revitalization, do you have any specific ideas for what the city should do for commercial areas?"

"Revitalization, that's something that comes up all the time and it comes up every election as well," Bañuelos said. "I'm of course looking at what's gonna happen with the mall, which I do not know whether or not we build a convention center or more affordable housing. Those things are all on the table right now; and as well as what can we do? I think one of the things that the Chamber has done really well is provide events for the community."

"I think that's been great and I think people really enjoy coming to [Old Courthouse] Square and coming to different events that are going on. I think more of that and also maybe looking at parking," Bañuelos said.

"I know we're looking at that parking garage, the one that's underutilized, and whether or not to build some affordable housing there, which I personally would be in favor of," Bañuelos said. "I think the problem when you talk to residents is that they have trouble parking, in general, and what that means is parking close to wherever it is they wanna go. The outdoor seating that was created during the pandemic, a lot of folks feel like they would love to see more of that again, and I know again that takes away some of the parking, but kind of putting everything on the table and seeing what we can do to really meet residents where they are so that they have a reason to come downtown."

"Elections are often all about change, but what are some things you think make Santa Rosa special, and you’d like to keep?" Abrams asked.

"I've walked the whole district now and so some of the areas are still kind of rural, which surprised me," Bañuelos said. "So protecting all our open spaces of course, and preserving what we can as we're trying to meet our housing needs, which is really a tight rope. Also finding that balance, so looking at ways that we can improve some of the infrastructure. District 5 in particular is a wonderful district. [The residents] really care about their community and they're very involved in what's going on within the community."