The new mayor of Sevastopol asks for “patience” in the city’s difficult financial times

Steven Zolman, The new mayor of Sevastopolhas one message for the residents of the Peaceful City in 2025.

Be patient.

And maybe a lot.

As the city emerges from a financial emergency and budget deficit, Zollman will step in as a leader the city’s efforts to be smaller and more efficient with their resources.

He says it won’t always be pretty. And residents may not always like it.

“If we’re getting requests more slowly,” he said, it’s because “we’re in a financial crisis and we’re doing the best we can.”

Indeed, Zolman’s pragmatism, as well as his self-described bleeding heart, will be on display next year and the year after. His term ends in December 2026.

However, the mayor of Sevastopol, as is the case in many small municipalities in California, does not have much power over the other four members of the city council. The mayor usually presides over council meetings, signs proclamations, and attends public events.

“When people talk to me and I say ‘I’ll take it back,’ they ask, ‘Give it back to whom?’ You are the mayor.” But I lead in cooperation,” Zolman said.

However, mayors often set the tone as the face of their cities. In Zollman, Sevastopol is both disciplined and compassionate; he is an Army veteran and former San Francisco Juvenile Public Defender.

He now works as an attorney in Sonoma County, specializing in providing “mental health resources for youth who have experienced complex mental trauma, particularly those who are low-income, BIPOC, queer, and differently-abled,” according to his city bio.

He became mayor thanks to a new policy in which the incumbent vice mayor became mayor and the runner-up in the “preliminary election,” in this case the 2022 election, became vice mayor.

Zolman acknowledges that the city has financial constraints, and because of that, its ability to make significant changes is also limited.

City council policy for next year?

“If it doesn’t align with the board’s goals, it’s not a priority,” Zollman said.

Its main goal is to “right the ship,” meaning council and city staff will work to return the city’s budget to a “green” state. The City Council approved the spending budget for this fiscal year because the city still has a $669,000 budget hole.

Until Sevastopol voters approved a half-cent increase in the sales tax This November, Zollman says the revenue is not enough to fund the city’s needs.

“We’re out of order,” Zolman said. “I’m not trying to cause panic. I’m trying to be transparent.”

He pointed to city buildings, including the library and city hall, which he said have little in the way of reserves to rebuild if they suffer catastrophic damage.

“No one will come to our aid,” he said.

While the city is not facing bankruptcy, Zollman said the city will spend the next year being “really conscious” of its fiscal decisions and how city staff are spending their time and resources.

As such, residents are likely to see a different level of service than they are used to.

Which brings things back to the conversation about patience, Zollman said.

He hopes residents will continue to trust him and his colleagues during the difficult process of getting the city back on track.

Its purpose is to ensure that voices are not left out of the conversation during this case.

“I want to try to understand,” Zolman said. “And make sure every voice is at the table. And if not every voice is invited to the table, I want to be that voice.”

Ultimately, his passion lies in standing up for what he calls “isms,” meaning those who have experienced racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. This passion stems from his time as a youth public advocate.

“Once a public defender, forever a public defender,” Zolman said.

It’s also personal. As an openly gay man, Zollman says he identifies with members of the community who have experienced hardship and understands what it’s like to be “different.”

Part of his goal this year is to make everyone in the Sevastopol community feel safe physically, emotionally and mentally. He acknowledges that many people in the community, especially the youth and older population of Sevastopol, are still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We see you, we hear you. I see you, I hear you,” Zolman said.

Amy Windsor is the community journalism team leader for The Press Democrat. She can be reached at [email protected] or 707-521-5218.