Tom's Story

Tom Schwedhelm was born in Oakland in 1960 – the second of three boys for Jim and Lurene Schwedhelm. Not long after Tom’s birth, his family moved from Oakland to the East Bay, settling into the community of Pleasant Hill – where Tom lived until he finished 6th grade.

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Tom's father, Jim, served as a Police Officer for the City of Oakland before joining the Marin County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Task Force. At that time, the Schwedhelm family relocated to Novato, where Tom spent the remainder of his youth. His mother, Lurene, worked for Fireman's Fund and was an active member of the Novato community for many years. After Jim's passing, she joined the Novato Widows Association, finding both community and purpose in helping others heal and renew. Together, Tom's parents instilled in him a deep commitment to service and giving back.

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Tom graduated from Novato High School in 1978 and pursued higher education at San Francisco State University and Indian Valley College in Novato. In the early 1980s, he began studying Administration of Justice at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) in Sonoma County. This educational journey opened doors that led him to the place he's called home for over 40 years now.

While studying Administration of Justice at SRJC, Tom secured an internship at the Sonoma County Jail. After working part-time as an intern, he was hired as a full-time correctional officer and worked in the jail for about a year while continuing his studies.

 

This experience led to his hiring by the Santa Rosa Police Department in early 1983. After completing the police academy, Tom began as a patrol officer, rotating through different neighborhoods monthly and learning the vital balance between safety and community connection.

 

Tom's aptitude quickly distinguished him.  He was selected to become one of the Department’s Use of Force instructors as well as a member of the Special Response Unit (commonly known as SWAT).  During this early portion of his career, he became an adjunct faculty member at the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Public Safety Training Center and taught police recruits defensive tactics.  He was an adjunct faculty member for approximately 17 years. 

 

As a patrol officer, Tom was a first responder to calls for service from the community.  He also launched the Adopt a Cop program at Monroe Elementary School, building monthly rapport with students and teachers—a precursor to today's School Resource Officer model.

 

In his first decade at the Santa Rosa Police Department, Tom was also selected to become a detective on two separate occasions.  In the mid 1980’s he became a Property Crimes Investigator.  This team investigated property related crime (burglary, auto theft, forgery, etc.) in both a proactive and reactive manner.  His second selection to the Investigation’s Bureau was as a Violent Crimes Investigator.  This team investigated crimes of violence (homicide, felony assaults, etc.).

 

In 1996, Police Chief Sal Rosano promoted Tom to Sergeant, where he was assigned to the Patrol Division.  Tom supervised a patrol team responsible for responding to calls for service and proactive actions throughout the City of Santa Rosa.

 

After supervising several patrol teams across a number of different shifts, Tom was selected to become the supervisor of the Sex Crime and Family Violence Section.  This team of detectives and advocates investigated domestic violence incidents, sexual assaults, child abuse cases, and monitored the registered sex offenders living in Santa Rosa.  Tom worked with the Sonoma County Family Justice Center in its early years, where collaborative victim advocacy replaced fragmented efforts.

 

Tom's 2002 promotion to Lieutenant by Chief Michael Dunbaugh expanded his role to overseeing department bureaus in both the Patrol Division and the Special Services Division. Two years later, recently hired Chief of Police Ed Flint selected Tom to became one of the Department’s two Captains.  Chief Flint resigned in August of 2008, and an interim Chief of Police was selected to lead the organization during the selection process for a new permanent chief.  After a brief period, the interim chief stepped down for medical reasons, and Tom was selected to serve as the Interim Police Chief from March to May 2009 before being named the permanent Chief by City Manager Jeff Kolin, the first in-house SRPD Chief in 63 years. Since Tom’s retirement from the Santa Rosa Police Department in December of 2013, every subsequent Chief has also risen from within.

 

As Chief, Tom restored departmental morale and navigated the Great Recession without layoffs by implementing a hiring freeze. He managed a peaceful response to the Occupy Wall Street encampment at City Hall, served as Region 5 Representative of the California Police Chiefs Association, and is a Past President of the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association.

 

Tom retired in December 2013 after 31 years with the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Just two days after retiring as Santa Rosa Police Chief, Tom and his wife were at a Christmas party, when he was approached and asked about the idea of considering a run for City Council. There was an election coming up the following November.

 

Tom went on to run, winning his first campaign in November 2014, along with Chris Coursey and John Sawyer. All three would go on to lead with distinction, including service as the Mayor of Santa Rosa.

 

During his tenure on the City Council, Tom served on the following boards and task forces:

 

• Chair, Sonoma County Continuum of Care (now known as the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition)

• Chair, Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency

• Chair, Santa Rosa Gang Prevention Task Force (now known as the Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership)

• Vice Chair, Renewal Enterprise District

 

In addition to these leadership roles, Tom also served on several committees and sub-committees including:

 

• Water Advisory Committee

• Homelessness Committee

• Ad-Hoc Rent Stabilization Committee

• Public Safety Subcommittee

• Climate Action Subcommittee

• Long Term Financial Policy and Audit Subcommittee

 

After serving as Vice Mayor in 2015 and getting re-elected in Santa Rosa’s first district-based election in 2018, Tom was unanimously selected by his Council colleagues to serve as Mayor of Santa Rosa from December 2018 to December 2020. His tenure as Mayor was bookended by fire recovery and resilience efforts in the aftermath of the devastating Tubbs Fire in 2017; Tom’s tenure as Mayor came after most lots had been cleared, but rebuilding had hardly begun. By his last year as Mayor, Tom led Santa Rosa at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the major disruption to livelihoods, schools, and businesses in the pandemic’s first year. These challenges proved daunting, but taught Tom the importance of inclusive, collaborative leadership to deliver results and provide a coordinated approach to issues that don’t affect just one individual governmental body, but the entire region.

 

In this vein and during his Mayoral tenure, Tom continued to take a strong interest in housing and homelessness issues. In his first year on Council, he started the Santa Rosa Homeless Coalition with a fellow Councilmember and an executive with Social Advocates for Youth (S.A.Y.), a now-defunct nonprofit that served homeless youth. He also helped form Project HOPE, a homeless coordination initiative utilizing a by-names list, and after his two-year term as Mayor was complete, he was one of the early supporters of the formation of Santa Rosa’s inResponse team, who respond to calls for service with a mental heal-first approach.  The team is comprised of a licensed mental health clinician, a paramedic, a homeless outreach specialist, and supported by wrap-around support services providers.  Tom’s work on the issues of homelessness is unparalleled – and reflect his desire to bring local governments and service providers together to craft a regional response to this vexing, yet critical issue to Sonoma County’s quality of life, given homelessness has taken hold in communities large and small.

 

After serving as Mayor, Tom finished out the remainder of his Council term to advocate for housing, homeless, fire recovery and other important issues, before retiring at the end of 2022. He hopes and looks forward to returning to a life of service as our next 4th District Sonoma County Supervisor.

Tom has been incredibly grateful to have his wife, Jackie, by his side. They met in 1985 and got married in 1987, before welcoming the birth of their two children – Nicole in 1989, and Troy in 1991. They are proud that their two now-adult children are both living happy, productive lives – and after almost 40 years of marriage, Tom and Jackie are now proud grandparents, too.

 

Tom earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Santa Rosa Junior College, a bachelor’s degree in business management from St. Mary’s College, and a master’s degree in psychology (focused on Organizational Development) from Sonoma State University.

 

Tom is an avid cyclist and catch-and-release fly fisherman. He also enjoyed abalone diving in its heyday and misses trips and dives along the coast. True to his Oakland roots, Tom is proud to support the A’s and the Raiders, teams that have moved on from Oakland, but will always retain a special place in the hearts of Tom and his family.