Goodbye and Hello: New council members take their seats on the council
Goodbye and Hello: New council members take their seats on the council
The new council unanimously voted for Neysa Hinton as Sebastopol’s new mayor and Diana Rich as the new vice mayor
The Sebastopol City Council was a lovefest on Tuesday night. Seventy people showed up to say farewell and thanks to departing Mayor Patrick Slayter and Councilmembers Una Glass and Sarah Gurney – and to welcome new Councilmembers Sandra Maurer, Jill McLewis and Stephen Zollman.
The evening began with a unanimous vote to approve items on the consent calendar—including an anti-surveillance ordinance and an approval of the state building code (both extensively discussed at earlier meetings).
Then came the farewell speeches.
Note of Conflict of Interest: In addition to being the co-publisher of the Sebastopol Times, the author of this piece is also a part-time, temporary contractor for the city of Sebastopol. The news reported in this article, and any opinions reflected therein, are not dictated by or reflective of the opinions of the city council or staff of the city of Sebastopol.
Thanks for the memories
The three departing council people acknowledged and thanked their families, fellow council members and city staff, as well as political mentors they’d found along the way.
Council member Sarah Glass Gurney grew teary-eyed as she recited a long list of local politicians and political activists who she said had helped and inspired her in her nearly 20-year career on the city council.
In her speech, Una Glass mentioned some of the things in her long political career that she was most of proud of—like transforming the downtown from a parking lot to pretty plaza with a gazebo, and most recently, shepherding the Black Lives Matter mural by mentoring its young creators in how to work within the system to get things done.
Patrick Slayter mentioned by first-name-only the long list of Sebastopol department heads he’d worked with the years, finishing with this lovely paean to Mary Gourley and Larry McLaughlin.
“The employees the Council works closest with are the city clerk and the city manager. Larry and Mary, you two are simply the best. Without your knowledge, empathy, patience, humor, superhuman work ethic and friendship, the job of a city council member would be nigh on impossible.”
During public comment, many citizens expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the departing council members, but perhaps the greatest compliment came from Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who dipped in after a 10-hours-long supervisors meeting to say her thanks and farewell.
“Having the opportunity to serve with all of you and to work with you has truly been a privilege and an honor because you are not only some of the best and favorite elected officials that I know but some of the best human beings that I know working in the county,” she said. “You truly are not politicians. You are public servants, and for you, it has always been service first and community first always.”
Heed my words
Departing council members had lots of advice for the newly elected council members.
Una Glass told the new council people, “What we do when we elect people is we are looking for people that reflect our values and have experience and expertise to do the job. So that's what everyone's looking for from you.”
“One of the tough things about being an elected is that everybody can Monday morning quarterback you, and everybody's gonna think they know better than you do,” she said. “Everybody's going to have a different opinion, but your job is to figure things out as best you can, using your values, experience and expertise.”
Patrick Slayter waxed folksy and philosophical: “Do your best and maybe people will agree. Maybe you'll be in the majority and maybe you won't. Do your best. Be honest. Carefully consider your position and what is best for our community and our planet. Take some time to sit with things and do nothing. Then go on to the next thing and do a decent job. Don't be afraid to say you don't know something. Don't fight with people down in the ditch; invite them to meet you up on the road. Pace yourself. Remember what you learned as a child and say please and thank you. Also the golden rule isn't a bad thing to lean on.”
“This is not a competition,” Slayter continued. “There will always be council members better at some things and council members with more time to devote to the job. Remember, you bring your strengths to the table, and it is highly likely you're actually not particularly aware of what those strengths are right now. Study the issues, learn everything you can about them, but keep an open mind and don't take a firm position until an item is discussed in the public process. You will learn new things and hear different ideas from community members and colleagues that you would have never thought of by yourself.”
“Approach this work with a light heart and a sense of discovery,” he said in closing. “There are many solutions to every problem, and you should never be satisfied with the first one; consider them all. Then find the one with particular merit in terms of simplicity, elegance, cost, refinement, and long-term viability and then move that idea forward.”
Sarah Gurney’s advice was so extensive—and she wrote it up so nicely afterward—that we are publishing it as a separate article.
New faces—and a new mayor and vice mayor
City Clerk Mary Gourley swore in the new councilmembers, and then the council got down to the business of voting on which of them would be the mayor and vice mayor this year. Diana Rich nominated Neysa Hinton and council voted unanimously in favor of this choice. (Hear our podcast with Neysa Hinton.) Hinton then nominated Diana Rich as vice mayor. She was also unanimously approved.
Instead of launching into the traditional mayor’s speech, Hinton offered her new colleagues a chance to say something to their new constituents.
They were brief in their remarks. They thanked their family members, their supporters and the voters, and expressed the hope that they would earn the trust of those who had not voted for them. Jill McLewis thanked all the people who had kindly opened their doors and talked to her about their concerns as she canvassed the neighborhoods.
About the new councilmembers, Neysa Hinton said, “They may be new elected officials, but these members of our community have served this community in so many ways. They've shown their commitment through other service in the town of Sebastopol over years and years, so they're not “newcomers” by any means. So I don't want to keep calling them that. They’re newly elected officials but have been part of our community and have a lot to offer.”
And a lot to learn. In his report, City Manager and City Attorney Larry McLaughlin said he and Mary Gourley will be doing multiple orientations for the new council members throughout December and January.
You can watch the Dec. 6 council meeting in full here.
The next city council meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 6 pm.