She reaches voters through children
Petaluma mayor Pamela Torliatt draws
new generation to city council
Maybe her youthful ascent to Petaluma's city council makes her particularly inclined to reach out to young people. Barely 30 years old when she first landed a spot on the seven-member council in 1996, Pamela Torliatt just completed a four-year stint as mayor. She routinely visits about 15 elementary schools in town and asks third graders to deliver the pledge of allegiance at council meetings.
Most nine-year-olds have barely heard of city government. Many of their parents have never attended a city council meeting or even voted. So Torliatt, an astute leader in the Democratic party, finds new voters in two generations at once through her connection to schools. "The mayor comes to their school," she says. "It gives them a sense that their government cares about them."
At a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony, she met one little boy who came up and said: "You're the mayor. You came to our school."
Delighted that the boy remembered her visit, she responded. "The next thing I knew, he scooted over and gave me a hug," Torliatt says, wiping tears from her eyes. "How cool is that? How many mayors get that?"
City government has plenty of rewards, but Petaluma's council members earn only a pittance; it's largely volunteer work. As mayor of a city with 57,000 residents and total budget of nearly $150 million, she receives $10 per meeting. "It's about trying to be fair, to be open and protect the public's interest," she says. "There are people out there who are very smart and know how to manipulate the system. It is a constant battle to protect the public's interest. We advocate for the community."
City councils often spawn politicians with higher aspirations. Though she hasn't yet won a seat in higher office, Torliatt ran for state Assembly in 2006 and for Sonoma County supervisor in 2010. She may seek political appointments in state government or another term on the council.
Torliatt, who was born and raised in Petaluma, earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara. Soon after graduating in 1989, she met Lynn Woolsey, who catapulted herself from Petaluma politics to U.S. Congress. Woolsey helped Torliatt obtain an appointment to the city's planning commission. "The most important thing for girls is to have mentors," Torliatt says. "It made a difference for me. It can open doors."
Many women shy away from politics because they feel inadequately qualified, Torliatt says. In fact, their backgrounds in business and education may prepare them well for political office. After college, she worked for many years in commercial real estate sales and management. Her familiarity with land and building issues was a big asset in working on the planning commission.
"The most important thing for girls is to have mentors."
In 1998, Petaluma voters approved an ordinance to halt urban sprawl into farmland. "That had a great impact on the future of this city," Torliatt says. "We wouldn't have had an urban growth boundary if I wasn't on the council." When she campaigned for mayor, Torliatt pledged to work toward maintaining Petaluma's urban boundaries, allowing further development mostly within city limits. Recently the same boundary was reaffirmed for another 20 years.
New development ought to take advantage of public transit wherever possible, Torliatt suggests, especially commuter rail service. She helped orchestrate a $100 million priority development area in downtown Petaluma centered around a theater district.
Torliatt sits on the executive committee of the Association of Bay Area Governments, a regional government entity that shapes development in nine Bay Area counties. She also served as chair of the Bay Area Air Quality District. "I can make a big difference" in reducing pollution through such leadership roles, she says.
Petaluma, birthplace of a burgeoning telecommunications industry in the 1990s, has roots in agriculture. Some of Petaluma's residents come from traditional farming families. "They may not want to move in the direction we want to move in," Torliatt says. "There are dynamics of people trying to block good things from happening." For the first eight years of her political career, Torliatt found herself in a minority on many issues. Still, "in 90 percent of the things we vote on, it's unanimous," she says.
The recession has forced city leaders to slash the general fund budget by almost 25 percent. "We are trying to move forward while resources are dwindling," she says. "It's a difficult time. People get scared."
"I enjoy empowering children to engage. I always tell them this is theirs. It's a public building."
Despite the city's financial challenges, "I absolutely love being out in the community," Torliatt says. She especially enjoys bringing students into her office and taking pictures with potential leaders of tomorrow before they recite the pledge of allegiance for the council. Torliatt takes third graders to the council chambers and encourages kids to sit in chairs usually filled by council members. "I enjoy empowering children to engage," she says. "I always tell them this is theirs. It's a public building. That's what this is about. It's our future."
She poses mock questions about community issues and asks the youngsters to press electronic voting buttons. The majority results: a victory for fun. And a few of those girls will press the buttons on real community issues in a few decades.
—James Dunn
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