April, 2021

Get to Know the Cloverdale City Council                                             

The city of Cloverdale has not yet adopted the individual City Districts that many California cities have adopted due to the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. This means that each City Council member does not represent a particular district of their city, but they represent the city as a whole. The Mayor and Vice Mayor are not voted on by the cities’ residents but are in fact appointed by the City Council as a whole. 

On December 9, 2020, Mayor Jason Turner was appointed City Mayor. He was promoted from Vice Mayor. Currently, Mayor Turner is registered as Decline to State. You can email Mayor Turner at jturner@ci.cloverdale.ca.us

Marta Cruz was appointed to take over as Vice Mayor. As a council member, she chaired the City/School Relations Sub-Committee and the City Public Works Sub-Committee. She is registered as a Democrat. This seat will be up for election in 2022. You can email Vice Mayor Cruz at mcruz@ci.cloverdale.ca.us

Council member Gus Wolter is a fixture of Cloverdale. He was first elected to the City Council in November 2000 and served continuously for 12 years until 2012. He was re-elected in 2014 and again in 2019 for a four-year term, from 2019 to 2022. He has served as Mayor for five one-year terms; 2004, 2007, 2011, 2017 and 2020. He was instrumental in creating the City's first Urban Growth Boundary and helping Cloverdale receive a new Fire Station, History Center, Performing Arts Center, and a future Police Station. He is registered as a Democrat. This seat will be up for election in 2022. You can email Councilman Wolter at gwolter@ci.cloverdale.ca.us

Council member Melanie Bagby is a Sonoma County native and 17-year resident of Cloverdale. 
In 2016, Melanie was elected to the Cloverdale City Council and won re-election in 2020. Previously, she served on the Cloverdale Planning Commission from 2009-2015. She is active in environmental issues as she is an advocate for Sonoma Clean Power and the Northern Sonoma County Air Quality Control Board.She is registered as a Democrat. This seat will be up for election in 2024. You can email Councilwoman Bagby at mbagby@ci.cloverdale.ca.us

Council member Todd Lands is newly elected to the Cloverdale City Council. He was a contractor by trade with strong ties to law enforcement and a school board member of the Cloverdale Unified School District. Councilman Lands is registered as a Republican. This seat will be up for election in 2024. You can email him at tlands@ci.cloverdale.ca.us

Regular meetings of the City Council are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6 pm at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center located at 209 North Cloverdale Boulevard. Alternate meeting dates are set as needed for those meetings that fall on a holiday. The public is welcome to attend and participate in all public sessions of the Council. Agendas are available approximately 72 hours in advance of City Council meetings. Agenda Packets are also available for most Council meetings. Minutes are available upon approval by the Council.