Sebastopol Councilman Michael Kyes dies at 65

Sebastopol Councilman Michael Kyes died early Sunday after collapsing at home the evening before.

Kyes, 65, suffered an aortic aneurysm in 2011, and died of similar causes, said his wife, Una Glass, who was traveling north from Los Angeles on Sunday.

Kyes, who was elected to the council in 2010, was discovered at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday by a friend who was staying at the couple's home.

"He'd been out kind of puttering in the garden, and he came in the house and fell down," she said. The 25-year Sebastopol resident died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital about 5 a.m. Sunday.

Saturday was the couple's 34th wedding anniversary. They had celebrated early because Glass had to go to Los Angeles on business for Coastwalk California, a conservation group that she heads.

Sebastopol city staff and council members were with her husband at the hospital, Glass said. "That means a lot to me," she said

Kyes cut his political teeth walking precincts for the longtime Oakland-area politician Ron Dellums. He was a retired energy efficiency consultant whose house is entirely solar-powered (but for the gas stove). He co-wrote the ordinance that requires solar power on all new housing and commercial construction in Sebastopol. He also was on the board of directors of Sonoma Clean Power.

"He was dedicated to supporting and growing local solar power," said Cotati Councilman Mark Landman, vice chairman of the agency's board. "He just constantly worked to remind us, to push us toward that," Landman said. "He was truly the voice at Sonoma Clean Power for local, distributed solar power."

Kyes' tenure on the council included some furious political battles over PG&E Smart Meters (he supported efforts to restrict them), fluoridation of the water supply (he was against it), and a proposal for a downtown CVS store, which he opposed.

"Michael was a very cerebral, intelligent individual," said Guy Wilson, a former mayor who was on the other side of the CVS debate. "He was able sometimes to call to the attention of others matters that maybe they had overlooked. He put the time in and was very much the public servant." Kyes was the city's mayor from 2012 to 2013.

"He thought that if people were citizens they should participate," Glass said. "He also liked solving puzzles, figuring things out, and he thought that some of his skills could be used for the benefit of the community."

Services are pending.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 521-5212 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com.