The 707
Sonoma County real estate up 5.44% over last year The total value of assessed real estate in Sonoma County has reached an all-time high of $127 billion, according to the county Clerk-Recorder-Assessor’s Office. It marks a 5.44% increase compared to last year’s assessed value. The county’s net-assessment roll reflects the value of all real and business property in Sonoma County as of Jan. 1. The county’s real-estate assessments are how property taxes are determined. Tax revenue generated by the assessment roll provides funds for public K-12 schools, community colleges, and municipal operations by counties and cities. About half of the revenue goes toward public education, county officials said. The 2025-26 assessed value notices are posted on the assessor’s website at sonomacounty.ca.gov/assessor. Property owners who feel their assessed value is higher than the market value as of Jan. 1 can file an Application of Change Assessment with the Clerk of the Board by Nov. 30. The assessor’s office can be reached at 707-565-1888.— JW
Copperfield’s Petaluma to close used-books floor Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma is downsizing—the popular bookstore is scaling back its floorspace and shuttering its downstairs used-books department, staff announced through social media channels Monday. “We received a notice [on June 26] from the company’s legal counsel that they intend to reduce the Petaluma store location size by half and close the used books section entirely,” staff posted on the Copperfield’s Books Union Facebook page. The Petaluma outlet is the only Copperfield’s location where staff is unionized. The target date for the changes is Sept. 30, the post said. As a Copperfield’s spokesperson explained it to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat , increased financial losses from the used-books section spurred its board of directors to make the “agonizing decision.”— JW
Sonoma Supes appoint elections czar Sonoma County has its first-ever standalone registrar of voters. Evelyn Mendez, a longtime veteran of running state- and county-level elections, was named Sonoma County Registrar of Voters this week by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. The new position was created in January to better align Sonoma County with other similar-sized jurisdictions. The registrar had formerly been a combined responsibility with what had been the elected position of Clerk-Recorder- Assessor-Registrar of Voters office. “The board was intentional in creating a standalone Registrar of Voters Department to eliminate the inherent conflict of interest in having an elected official overseeing elections,” Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Board of Supervisors, said. Deva Proto will continue in the elected position of Clerk-Recorder-Assessor. Mendez comes to Sonoma County from the County of Santa Clara, where she served six years as a division manager in the Registrar of Voters Department. She previously worked in the California Secretary of State Elections Division, eventually serving as
program manager. She has worked more than 110 elections at the state and county level, county officials said in an announcement of her appointment. Mendez will oversee the next scheduled election on Nov. 4, when seven small districts hold elections. The 2026 election cycle includes a June primary and a November General Election. Her starting salary will be $195,041.— JW
12 NorthBaybiz
August 2025
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