Save Our Sonoma Roads
Save Our Sonoma Roads (SOSroads), a county-wide all-volunteer citizens group, was founded in 2011 by Craig S. Harrison and Michael Troy to improve the condition of Sonoma County roads. They believe that county roads are vital to public safety, property values and the county’s economic well-being. They saw that the deteriorated condition of the roads that served their homes was a countywide problem that needed a countywide solution.
After forming SOSroads, they quickly developed a large citizen following and began a grassroots lobbying effort to persuade county supervisors to make road repairs a funding priority.
Craig and Michael learned that the general fund contributions for Sonoma County roads, adjusted for inflation, had declined about 70 percent since the late 1980s. County supervisors had under-funded preventative maintenance and pavement preservation during both economic booms and recessions. The result: Sonoma County’s roads had become among the worst of California’s 58 counties.
The county supervisors’ initial reaction was, “We don’t have the funding to fix the roads.” However, with SOSroads prodding since 2012, the supervisors have devoted about $50 million in additional funds for pavement preservation.
These additional funds have resulted in 200 additional miles of roads being resurfaced that otherwise would have continued to deteriorate into cracks and potholes. SOSroads will continue to ask our county leaders and state officials to commit to improving funding for county roads.
SOSroads has drawn national attention to this issue with articles in the Wall Street Journal and the Reuters wire service and has published many articles in the local press (including the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Petaluma Argus-Courier, Sonoma County Gazette, Kenwood Press, Sonoma Index-Tribune and Bohemian). Craig has been a frequent guest on local radio programs such as KSRO, KRCB and KSVY.
SOSroads is devoted to the improvement of Sonoma County roads and will continue to urge that road funding be a top priority.
SOSroads is a section 501(c)(4) non-profit California corporation.
Board Members
Craig S. Harrison, President. Craig is a retired environmental lawyer. He holds degrees from U. C. Berkeley (Biochemistry), Humboldt State University (MA Biology), and the University of Hawaii (J.D.). He was a founding board member of the American Bird Conservancy and was president of the Bennett Valley Community Association (2008-2019). Author of Seabirds of Hawaii: Natural History and Conservation (Cornell U. Press) and Dreams of a Vanishing Africa: A 1970s Transcontinental Trek (Lulu) he enjoys viewing and photographing wildlife in remote parts of the planet.
Ken Adelson, Board member. Ken is a retired lawyer at Cooley LLP. He holds degrees from U.C. Berkeley (BA, 1966; JD, 1969). He and his wife, Karen, live on Sonoma Mountain above Glen Ellen, where they became aware of the dreadful conditions of Sonoma Mountain Road and other nearby roads. He is a board member of La Luz Center located in Sonoma.
Jeff Blakeslee, Board Member. Jeff was born and raised in Santa Rosa, CA. He graduated from Santa Rosa High School and attend SRJC. Jeff has owned and operated Blakeslee Electric, Inc. since 1987 providing commercial and institutional electrical services to the North Bay area. Jeff is a proponent of vocational education and was a founding member of the Independent Electrical Contractors Redwood Association Empire Chapter where he served on the board and as an apprenticeship instructor for 5 years. Jeff has been married to his wife Diane for more than 30 years and is the father of two boys. He enjoys guitar, and also classic car restoration in his spare time.