We, the undersigned members of the Petaluma Federation of Teachers, strongly object to the PFT's endorsement of Sylvia Lemus for Sonoma County Supervisor. We call on PFT leadership to reverse it.

We are the classroom and special education teachers and teachers on special assignments, counselors, and credentialed librarians, psychologists, nurses, and speech therapists, and everyone else represented by PFT who show up every day for Petaluma's children. We do not take lightly the decision to publicly challenge our own union. But an endorsement carries the name and credibility of every member, and this one does not reflect our values, our students, or our families.

1. Our students and their families are in the crosshairs, and this candidate will not stand firmly with them.
More than 40% of students in Petaluma City Schools are students of color. Many come from immigrant and mixed-status families, and they are the people most directly targeted by immigration enforcement. Our members see the fear in our classrooms: children who worry whether a parent will be home after school, and families who avoid campus events, doctors, and even grocery stores.

The Sonoma County Sheriff shares information with ICE, which the sheriff has limited to people convicted of serious or violent crimes. Supervisors have gone on record in support of immigrant communities, and one sitting supervisor has now publicly reversed course and called for ending the county's cooperation with ICE. Ms. Lemus has not taken that stand. She has instead reiterated her support for Sheriff cooperation with ICE, and at candidate forums she has repeatedly told voters that ICE's presence in the county is limited. That reassurance does not match reality. By ICE's own data, most of the people the agency detains have no criminal conviction. Experience across the country shows that a "limited" arrangement does not stay limited. Our students cannot afford a supervisor who accepts that risk on their behalf. (Source: The Press Democrat Northern California Public Media)

2. Her campaign is bankrolled by the Sheriff's own allies, and she has criticized the body that oversees him.
The Board of Supervisors funds the Sheriff's Office and oversees the county's independent law enforcement watchdog, IOLERO. A candidate who will vote on those questions should not be funded by the people who are being overseen. The record shows the following:

1. Campaign finance records show donations to Ms. Lemus from the Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff's Association PAC, the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association PAC, and Sheriff Eddie Engram's own campaign. (Source: The Press Democrat)
2. She is also endorsed by the Deputy Sheriffs' Association, the Law Enforcement Association, and the Farm Bureau. (Source: The Press Democrat)
3. The Deputy Sheriff's Association PAC also gave to the outside committee running independent spending on her behalf. (Source: The Press Democrat)
4. The Sheriff's Office and the Deputy Sheriffs' Association are in a bitter standoff with IOLERO over the voter-approved Measure P. In this same period, Ms. Lemus has criticized that oversight effort. She has said Measure P was not fully analyzed and that the dispute has cost all sides heavily in legal fees. Whatever her intentions, a candidate who takes maximum support from the Sheriff's allies and then questions the independent check on the Sheriff has created, at minimum, a serious appearance of conflict. (Source: The Press Democrat)
5. Our students and families, especially those already wary of law enforcement, deserve a supervisor who is clearly independent of it.

3. Outside money from development and business interests.
An independent expenditure committee called "Neighbors for an Affordable Sonoma County Supporting Lemus for Supervisor 2026" has reported $83,500 in donations. Its donors include the Sonoma County Alliance PAC, the National Association of Realtors Fund, and Northcoast Citizens for a Better Economy. The name suggests neighbors. The money comes from organized real estate, business, and law enforcement interests, and the committee is based in Sacramento, not Petaluma. Her campaign has also received money from the Sonoma Alliance for Vineyards and the Environment PAC, led by a prominent wine industry representative. In total, her campaign reports $111,599 in contributions since the start of the year. (Source: Latest snapshot shows low-key fundraising in two races for Sonoma County supervisor)

Teachers know what happens when powerful interests fund the decisions that shape a community. We want a supervisor who is accountable to working families, not to the people who paid for the mailers.

4. The same political establishment.
Ms. Lemus's political consultant is Rob Muelrath, who has worked for David Rabbitt and three other current sitting supervisors. She is endorsed by Rabbitt, whose seat she seeks. This seat has changed hands only four times in 48 years. Voters have a rare opportunity for change, and we should not lend our union's name to continuity with a political machine. (Source: Local News Matters)

5. This endorsement does not honor how our own gains were won.
Since 2017, the salary of our lowest-paid teacher has risen from $42,649 to $65,116. The top of the schedule has risen from $82,727 to $121,691. Those gains did not come from the goodwill of powerful donors. They came from members organizing, bargaining, the current School Board members, and standing together. PFT is a working people's organization, and it should not put its credibility behind a campaign funded by the industries and institutions we most often have to bargain against or organize around. Housing affordability is a real concern for our members, and we are skeptical of a campaign whose "affordability" message is paid for by real estate interests.

6. This was not a membership decision.
We do not believe members were given a meaningful opportunity to weigh in before this endorsement was made in our name. A decision this consequential, affecting our students' families and our union's public reputation, should have come with transparent debate and a member vote.

Our Request
We, the undersigned, respectfully but firmly request that the PFT Executive Board:

• Reverse the endorsement of Sylvia Lemus for County Supervisor, District 2.
• Hold an open member meeting and a member vote before any future endorsement in county races.
• Adopt a public endorsement standard that requires candidates to state clear positions on immigrant student and family protections, on Sheriff cooperation with ICE, and on independent law enforcement oversight, and that weighs where candidates' funding comes from.

We stand with our students. We ask our union to do the same.