Joachim best among strong Mill Valley duo

An open seat on the Mill Valley City Council has drawn two strong candidates. Both are articulate on local issues and want to make a difference in guiding their town.

They are vying for the seat left vacant by the retirement of Sashi Sabaratnam (formerly McEntee), who recently moved out of Mill Valley to Sonoma County.

She was the only woman on the council.

There is not a lot of strong disagreement over the issues dividing the two candidates, Susan Gladwin and Caroline Joachim.

It's likely a close call for many voters in the single-contest March 7 special election to fill the remainder of Sabaratnam's term, which ends in 2024.

Gladwin is a businesswoman who has raised two children in town and has been involved in youth soccer and as a volunteer at Tamalpais High School.

She works as a consultant, currently with the U.S. Department of Energy. Her resume includes senior management jobs with Apple and Autodesk.

Joachim is an attorney who has lived in town for 18 years and has raised a family here. She has been involved in local schools, Kiddo and Mill Valley Little League, for which she served as its president for four years.

Joachim's list of endorsements, 10 former mayors among them, reflects the deep connections she was built in those roles.

But Gladwin stresses that she is the only candidate who has been on a city committee, having served on the councilappointed climate change task force and serving as chair of its Buildings and Energy Subcommittee.

Both candidates have focused on Mill Valley's challenge of having to plan for the construction of 865 housing units to meet the state's regional quota for new housing.

There aren't many readily available sites that can accommodate that number around town and those considered for development usually generate stiff neighborhood opposition.

Joachim's experience in land use and real estate law should be helpful to the council as it meets that challenge.

She says she's not interested in getting Mill Valley enmeshed in a legal challenge of the state quotas, but supports proposed legislative reforms.

Gladwin admits that Mill Valley's number is “a big and difficult bar to reach,” but also stresses the city's need for affordable housing.

As an example, both candidates stressed that most of the city's workforce cannot afford to live in Mill Valley.

Both also emphasize the importance of supporting the local economy, Gladwin saying she would support more lodging in town and Joachim calling for streamlining the city's permitting process to attract new businesses.

Both also support City Hall's community-based response to the out-of-control Nov. 5 teen party where youths were seen jumping on a patrol car and an officer was injured by one of the bottles and cans hurled at police.

Gladwin, who helped start a Be The Influence program to curb substance abuse among teens, said community followup of the incident has been an opportunity to focus on support for local teens who have had to deal with the isolation and restraints of pandemic health protocols.

They also stressed the importance of two other big issues facing Mill Valley, emergency preparedness and promoting racial and economic diversity.

Both candidates would be solid additions to the council, providing professional knowledge and experience from community involvement that would be a good foundation for them to be strong decision makers and leaders.

The depth of Joachim's endorsements give her an edge, a clear sign that those who have done the job see her as the best candidate.

The IJ editorial board recommends the election of Caroline Joachim to the Mill Valley City Council.