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Profile: Sheri Spellwoman, Candidate for Albany City Council

Sheri Spellwoman will take her first run at the City Council. Click the "Keep me posted" button below for future posts related to elections in Albany. See more election coverage on Albany Patch at http://patch.com/bvdEL.

General Information

Name: Sheri Spellwoman
Age: 43
Place of residence: Albany, CA

Education

College

Attended college: Yes
College: Tufts University
Degree: English Major, Women's Studies Minor
Year of graduation: 1991

Employment Information

Job titles held: Yoga Teacher
Employers: Albany YMCA; Bridges Rock Gym

Political Information

Party affiliation: Other
Party affiliation: Green
Running for: Local office
Running for position: Albany City Council
Incumbent: No
Previous elective offices: NA
Unsuccessful bids for elective offices: NA

Campaign Manager

Name: Sheri Spellwoman

URLs

Website : SpellwomanForAlbany.org
Facebook : Spellwoman For Albany

Other facts

I am running for City Council because I love Albany! I care about our future and I want Albany to become a truly progressive leader among cities. I believe as a community, we have the power and the responsibility to create a healthy, sustainable environment that protects the quality of life for all of our residents. I am a member of the Green Party, and have been a political activist for many years, working for women's rights, gay rights, peace and justice, and the environment. I am a yoga teacher and mother of two, dedicated to natural and holistic living. My daughters were both born at home, one right here in Albany. Protecting our local environment is key to our personal and global health. We have high levels of asthma and respiratory diseases in Albany, especially among children. One way I will address our air quality issues, is to ensure that we meet our targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also have a delicate waterfront, open space and precious agricultural soil that I will fight to preserve. Albany has small city charm, which I will protect and build upon by advocating for urban village planning. We can provide more support to local merchants, expand bicycle and pedestrian routes, improve public transportation, cultivate public community spaces and promote the wealth of community activities our City offers. As a mother of two wonderful daughters who attend Albany schools, I want to expand the effectiveness of our educational system. I will work with teachers, students and families to help create a more supportive, challenging and exciting educational experience for our kids. I will work to increase traffic safety around schools, create more youth activities and help low-income families access assistance programs. I am deeply concerned about the current and future states of our democracy. I would like to expand the dialogue between the members of our community and the City Council. I support extending voting days to accommodate working people, implementing instant runoff voting in Albany, encouraging campaign finance reform, advocating for universal voter registration and joining the effort to repeal Citizens United. I want to hear the diverse needs, concerns and ideas of Albany residents. Together we will build a better community for all of us. We have so much to celebrate and I would like this opportunity to serve you. Vote Spellwoman for Albany City Council sheri@spellwomanforalbany.org

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for future posts related to elections in Albany. See the Albany Patch 2012 election coverage here.

Summer Hemphill September 13, 2012 at 09:41 pm
Sheri,what is your position on the cities ban on medical marijuana dispensaries which continues in defiance of state law ? Will you put your personal biases before the law & the needs of those who you are elected to represent ? Your position on this unnecessarily controversial issue may well be a deciding factor in the voters minds as you persue your political aspirations,so we'll be anxiously awaiting your response !!!
don September 13, 2012 at 09:52 pm
if you want that stuff go to berkeley i dont care if you vote here sounds like a person who dont deserve us albanians
Steven Steve September 13, 2012 at 10:20 pm
@don - Some of us 'Albanians' support our neighbors and friends who use medical marijuana. I know your from a different era don, but the laws have changed and Albany needs to continue to change and grow as well. Also, the medical evidence is overwhelming that marijuana (medical or otherwise) has no long-term deleterious effects and is FAR safer than either alcohol or tobacco. It is callus of us to continue to tell any of our community to LEAVE and go somewhere else for their church, food, or medicine...same goes for medical marijuana. don we need to grow our community using sound information from medicine and science, and not let left over artifacts from prohibition, like stigma and misinformation, guide our thinking. Personally, I welcome more of a science based approach.
You Enjoy Myself September 14, 2012 at 01:32 am
Way to phish, Summer Hemphill.
Sheri Spellwoman September 14, 2012 at 07:44 pm
Hi Summer, Thank you for your question. The citizens of Albany voted in 2006, Measure D, to establish a single medical marijuana dispensary in the City of Albany, subject to regulations of City Council. The Albany Ordinance that was passed by Council last November to prohibit such dispensaries, was in response to a case, Pack v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, that prohibited cities from regulating marijuana sales. Albany's Ordinance specifies that the City will follow new legal developments as they unfold. Last month the California Supreme Court dismissed Pack v LA. Therefore, I expect City Council to revisit this issue and reassess the situation. I support the majority of Albany voters who would like to establish a medical marijuana dispensary here that is regulated by City Council. I will try to post more information about my position on my website in the near future. spellwomanforalbany.org
Summer Hemphill September 15, 2012 at 09:41 pm
Thank you for your support & your well informed opinion regarding the most recent developments concerning medical marijuana ! It's important that those we elect reflect the wants & needs of their constituents & you'll certainly garner the support of the majority of voters who agree !
You Enjoy Myself September 17, 2012 at 02:51 pm
˙sʇǝʞɹɐɯ s,ɹǝɯɹɐɟ lɐɔol ʇɐ sɹɐllop ʎʇuǝʍʇ uɐɥʇ ssǝl ɹoɟ sʇunoɯɐ llɐɯs ɟo ǝlɐs ǝɥʇ ʇdǝɔxǝ 'pǝzılɐuıɯıɹɔ ǝq plnoɥs ɐuɐnɾıɹɐɯ ɟo ǝlɐs ǝɥʇ ɹǝʌǝʍoɥ 'lɐƃǝl ǝq plnoɥs ɐuɐnɾıɹɐɯ
don October 1, 2012 at 06:44 pm
steven all sounds good and would support but and is big butt look at berk oak sf sj richmond anti all having trouble with people getting the stuff and legal but not sick causing problems i like our city do you if you do you would do everything to protect it from further decay would you agree on that and if need be you could cross line and go to next city to get your stuff no problem is there don

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Amy Smolens June 7, 2013 at 02:57 pm
Hi there - This doesn't seem like an appropriate announcement for Albany or Berkeley Patch. 1) theRead More category is Announcements/Around Town and these events are all in Marin 2) Patch's "Terms of Use" say "You may use this Service solely for personal and non-commercial purposes. That is to say: You can’t use the Service to make a living unless you enter into a separate agreement with us that says you can." This is clearly solely a commercial venture, not a neighbor of ours or local organization providing a community service and charging for the service. 3) I went to the Novato website and saw this listing: "Ettiquette (sic) Series for Kids - 17737 Ages: 7 Years to 11 Years - Residents $150.00 - Non-residents $163.00" 4) These items push our items of local interest down and out of sight. Especially now that there is no box indicating the stories with the most recent comments, as there used to be on the Patch front page, out of sight does mean out of mind. Charles, what are your thoughts here? Thanks.
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Hi Amy, Thank you for letting me know and I understand! Angie
Mechanics from Street Level Cycles tune up bikes at the Albany Arts & Green Festival. Photo courtesy Matt McHugh
Lin B. June 6, 2013 at 11:29 am
I've been waiting for the right time to donate my son's old bike he used in middle/high school. It'sRead More been hanging on hooks in the garage and this seems like a great time to give it up!
christopher papazoglow June 7, 2013 at 10:30 am
Can you please post their hours / days of operation ? As i recall, they're only open afternoons aRead More few days a week, and it won't do to just leave donations outside ( they'll be scavenged ). And i was not able to find the info online.
AS&R - Albany Strollers & Rollers June 7, 2013 at 11:20 am
Thanks, Christopher. Open Community Hours are Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12-6pm so anytime those daysRead More are definitely fine. They're there (84 Bolivar Drive - Aquatic Park) most of the day Wednesdays and Thursdays for Youth Classes and the doors are locked. I just spoke to Amber Rich and she asked you to call them at 510 644 2577 and let them know what time is good for you and they will be sure to be there. Thanks for your generosity!
Dover June 5, 2013 at 02:47 pm
Thanks for the update but I am worried. This is very distressing. How will Eric and Tarina be ableRead More to afford their annual lengthy hipster vacation if they have to cough up lawyer fees? I am sure they were expecting that UCB (aka the rest of us) would pay Mr. Siegel's bill. Now they may have to resort to staying home and eating Top Ramen out of their charming and cheerful "made in Asia by small children but they're not slaving for 14 hours a day in front of our faces so we don't care" ceramic bowls. Oh noes! Bad, bad, very, very bad news.
Charles Burress (Editor) June 5, 2013 at 03:06 pm
David, thanks for the alert to the judge's decision.