Tanya Potter

Background

Tanya Potter first ran for office in 2020, the first year Windsor elected its mayor at large. The Healdsburg Tribune then described her as a 41-year-old probation supervisor with more than 15 years of crisis response and emergency planning experience and a long history in military service and law enforcement. She campaigned on emergency preparedness, support for local businesses and revitalizing the Town Green, and told a September 2020 forum that "We need new voices on town council that will actively listen." Dominic Foppoli won that four-way race. The Press Democrat now reports that she is 47 and a police sergeant.

In office

Potter won the District 4 seat in November 2022 over Kevin Gonyo, with 73 percent of the votes counted the day after the election. Her top stated priority then was revising the town's mobile home ordinance to cap charges to residents. Her term runs from December 2022 to December 2026, and the Press Democrat describes her as second in command to Mayor Rosa Reynoza for three years. Her regional assignments include the Northern Sonoma County Homelessness Task Force and alternate seats on the Sonoma Clean Power and air pollution control district boards.

Windsor began its 2025-26 budget with a $9 million shortfall, cut departments 10 percent and drew $8 million from reserves. On June 3, 2026 the council voted 4 to 0 to place Measure I, a one-cent sales tax that staff estimate would raise $5.5 million a year, on the November ballot. Potter warned that without it "there will be significant cuts" and objected to trimming economic development: "We can't cut economic development, but then try to say we're growing economic development." In May 2026 she, Mike Wall and Sam Salmon said a Costco could help the town recover lost revenue as the council asked staff to explore an exemption from its ban on new gas stations. Woody Hastings, founder of the Coalition Opposing New Gas Stations, urged the council to take no further action on an exemption, the Press Democrat reported.

On the ballot

Mayor Reynoza did not file for re-election, leaving the two-year mayor's seat open. Potter faces Rick Massell, 85, a retired educator and first-time candidate who declined an interview with the Press Democrat. Potter told the paper that housing growth has not been too fast and that public safety and water and wastewater systems must keep pace with it. The Press Democrat editorial board endorsed her on October 13, citing her knowledge of the town's struggles and goals and her plans for economic development and finishing the town's wastewater facility. Meredith Rennie is the only candidate for her District 4 seat.