At the City Council meeting on the evening of Monday, December 9, re-elected Council Members Yasmine-Imani McMorrin and Albert Vera were sworn in for another term, while new Council Member Bryan “Bubba” Fish was also sworn in. Member Goran Eriksson vacated his seat after serving eight years.
The final election count saw Vera receive 10,941 votes, McMorrin got 9,468, and Fish got 8,821. Below them, Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin received 8,391 votes, Denice Renteria got 7,835, Nancy Barba got 7,411, and Adrian Gross got 1,281. The City Clerk pointed out that over 80 percent of the votes were sent by mail.
Action Item 1 saw the election certified, while A2 saw comments about outgoing member Eriksson.
“When I first took office, I did so with a commitment to be a voice for the middle of the road, common sense, silent majority,” Eriksson said, during his exit speech, while listing his accomplishments including transitional housing for those affected by homelessness.
Action Item 3 saw McMorrin, Vera and Fish take the Oath of Office. Following that, Vera nominated Council Member Dan O’Brien to be the new Mayor, seconded by Council Member Freddy Puza. That motion passed unanimously.
Finally, now-Mayor O’Brien nominated Puza to be Vice Mayor, seconded by Vera. That also passed unanimously, making Puza the first openly gay Vice Mayor in the city’s history.
With all of that done, Mayor O’Brien took the meeting and spoke about “disagreeing without being disagreeable.” All of the council then spoke to thank their supporters, family and friends, as they looked ahead to 2025.
