City Council Page 1 of 21 May 27, 2025
City of Lafayette
City Council Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall May 27, 2025 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 7:00 p.m.
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City Council Page 2 of 21 May 27, 2025
1. CALL TO ORDER – 7:00 P.M.
Mayor Candell called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Mayor Candell; Vice Mayor Anduri; Councilmembers Cervantes, Dawson, and McCormick
Present: Design Review Commission: Chair Cass, Vice Chair Stanton, and Commissioner Gray
Present: Planning Commission: Vice Chair Deming, Commissioners Di Giorgio and Mason
Present: Youth Commission: Commissioners Annabelle Trebotich and Levand Koopah Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Administrative Services Director; Greg Wolff, Planning and Building Director; Nicole Zittel, Assistant Planner; Dana Poplin, Human Resources Analyst; Francine Kuykendall, Public Works Services Manager; Kira Tannlund, Assistant Recreation Coordinator; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
3. Disclosure and/or Take Action on Remote Participation due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances Pursuant to AB 2449 (Gov. Code section 54953(f).)
4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Mayor Candell said she is pulling Item 9.B from the Consent Calendar which will be brought back at a future meeting in June. She also will move Item 14.B to be heard before Item 14.A.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Dawson) to adopt the agenda, as modified. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, Dawson, and McCormick; Noes: None).
5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – 7:00 p.m. - Youth Commissioners led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For Items not on the Agenda)
STEVE POLING, Lafayette DEIB Committee, said since last speaking, growing numbers of community members are rising to this historically politically challenging moment by speaking up and organizing around their shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Their guiding stars for engaging the community are connection, communication, and creativity. Recently, the committee has joined and connected with the Lafayette Library Foundation, PFAG Lamorinda, Lamorinda Muslim Community, San Ramon Valley Diversity Coalition, and St. Anselms Episcopal Church. He also met with education leaders from AUHSD and Lafayette School District, as well as Acalanes High School, and the committee looks forward to collaborating with all groups and organizations interested in increasing awareness and confronting racial and economic injustice.
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Last Friday, the committee hosted a screening of the film, A Song in Movement, at the Town Hall Theater.
The film was followed by a conversation with the feature of the film, dancer, singer, and community activist Nobuko Miyamoto. Her husband, storyteller/director Tarabu Kirkland was also there, and this event was a tremendous success. The theater was nearly full with a lovely inter-generational audience from all over the Bay Area and, by the end of the evening, the crowd led by Ms. Miyamoto was dancing in the aisles. Given the cloud that hovers over this country, those in the theater took away several important messages from guests. First and foremost, their silence will not protect us. Now is not the time to turn away from cruelty, injustice, or hide quietly behind privilege. Instead, we need to remember our history, learn from our past experiences that unfortunately include systemic scapegoating, fear mongering and racism. We need to tell our stories and practice crossing boundaries of our own guilt and shame, and we need to create safe spaces where our community and stories can share and celebrate who we are. These are the ways they help hearts heal and join together which are the principles of their committee.
He recognized Liz Curtis and Tricia Kelly of the Town Hall Theater for being generous with their cooperation and to Sharon Sobota, a local teacher, journalist, writer and Lafayette mom for her collaborative energy, and said on Saturday afternoon, June 14th, St. Anselms Episcopal Church will be hosting a queer faith festival, free for all ages, and is the beginning of an on-going effort to build more compassion in a connected community. The other event is in Pleasant Hill. Their Diversity Commission is hosting a Juneteenth celebration the committee will also be attending.
LISA DISBROW thanked Mayor Candell for a nice conversation today at the protest that she counterprotested. She also thanked the Council for the decision at the last meeting. She enjoys her free speech and has had great conversations. She froze last Friday and wanted to acknowledge the excellent work Ron; the crossing guard does. She reported holding conversations with kids, parents, and community members in the morning, some young families that have already decided they are not going to attend public schooling in Lafayette due to the indoctrination. They are choosing private or home-schooling. She has had middle school kids engage her in conversations. They like her sign that says, “No One is Born in the Wrong Body.” Several girls saw her signs and said very boldly, “We’re Christians and we know God made us girls.” She agrees.
She stressed how concerned she is with the health concerns of youth. They have growing diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, heart issues, and family distress. Parents are being cut out and isolated, and files are being created that hold valuable information separate from the knowledge of parents. There are books that support confusion and social transition in students. Today was the first day that the sexual (Pride) flag was raised, which she disagrees with being flown at an elementary or middle school. Some people were very upset and do not understand why this is in their schools when they have heard the Council say they are a destination district and community with these beautiful streets and lovely homes with a semi-rural approach to life. They are looking for that too, but one mom told her that she came here thinking it was safe and did not know what really was happening in Lafayette.
7. CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE
City Manager Srivatsa gave the following update:
From the Public Works Department:
• There are extra crews pruning weeds on medians and throughout the City. The City has hired extra maintenance in addition to the Terra Care crew.
• The City’s paving project is underway, and the City will be working on St. Mary’s Road this week.
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From the Public Art Committee:
• Don’t miss the opportunity to exhibit art in the Town Hall Theater Lobby this fall. The Public Art Committee is accepting applications from artists through June 15th.
City Manager Srivatsa gave a shout-out to the Town of Moraga, stating that for the second year in a row, the Town has agreed to contribute $20,000 towards the operations of the Lamorinda Spirit Van and this amount will be included in their budget.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
NICOLA PLOWMAN said she is very concerned about the weed abatement. She has heard over 60 chainsaws when she moved in with her aunt this past fall. She likes birds and found over 40 deceased, with 20 partially hatched bird nests and asked that whoever is in charge is going too far. She has been in the City six months and thinks something is off and would like the City to protect its wildlife from destruction.
Mayor Candell stated the City has a website link under Public Works where residents can submit comments on these concerns.
8. PRESENTATIONS
A. Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director
Introduction of Dana Poplin, Human Resources Analyst
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson welcomed Dana Poplin to the City who started last Monday as the City’s first HR Analyst. Ms. Poplin will be responsible for recruiting, onboarding, benefits administration, as well as planning fun and engaging activities, and trainings for the City. Ms. Poplin is a proud Bay Area native. She began her HR journey in the non-profit sector and now she is shifting her focus from serving the community to supporting those who do the work of supporting the community. She is an HSRM Certified Professional with an emphasis in Learning and Development and People Operations.
She also has a degree in Sociology and states her HR passion comes alive when creating meaningful experiences across the employee life cycle. Outside of work, she is a musician, a creative writer, and a former athlete turned sports enthusiast.
Dana Poplin said she is very excited to be with the City of Lafayette, looks forward to lending her passions to a community as vibrant as Lafayette, and thanked the City Council.
B. Recognizing Graduating Youth Commissioners Zoe Braunstein, Piper Duff, Levand Koopah, Maya Shinaman, Ava Skidgel and Annabelle Trebotich
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Assistant Recreation Coordinator Kiera Tannlund introduced and recognized graduating Youth Commissioners and congratulated them who will be moving on. She said two of the six commissioners were able to attend tonight and she spoke of their accomplishments, future plans, and service on the Commission.
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Annabelle Trebotich, Youth Commissioner, said she just graduate from Berean High School in Walnut Creek and next year she plans to go to UC Santa Barbara and major in mechanical engineering.
Levand Koopah, Youth Commissioner, said she is a senior graduating from Acalanes High School in Lafayette. She has been on the commission for one year and will attend UC Berkeley in the fall with an undecided major as of right now.
A round of applause followed, and photos were then taken.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
ROB LAVOIE congratulated Annabelle Trebotich stating she is a National Merit Scholar as well as many other accomplishments.
C. Annual Update and Workplans for the Design Review and Planning Commissions Recommendation: Receive and file.
Design Review Commission Chair Glenn Cass provided a presentation of the DRC’s Annual Report and Work Plan and discussed the role of the DRC, guiding policies and documents, meeting statistics, looking back at what they have done, and looking forward at what the Commission will be doing. He introduced Vice Chair Richard Stanton and Commissioner Kauzer who are present.
Mayor Candell thanked the DRC for their work, and noticed the down trend of meetings and applications coming in. They were on schedule to start new objective standards this year, but they have had other issues come up with the City’s Housing Element. She asked if there is a tentative schedule.
Director of Planning and Building Services Greg Wolff said with respect to objective design standards, phase 1 has been in existence for several years now. Phase 2 is for the downtown and multi-family which are a City Council priority during the 25-26. Staff has already engaged a consultant who is working on it, and a study session will be held within the next month or so with Commissions. Their schedule has it being completed by the end of the 2025 calendar year.
Councilmember McCormick said he serves as a liaison for the DRC. Unfortunately, meetings overlaps with City Council meetings, so he cannot attend. However, he looks at the recordings, reads the minutes, and the skills brought to the table from Commissioners is tremendous. Questions are thoughtful and it is clear they have the best intentions for the City.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Candell and Councilmembers thanked the DRC for their accomplishments and work and members departed for their own DRC meeting. She then called upon the Planning Commission for their presentation.
Mr. Wolff said he has been asked to convey regrets to the Commissioners not able to be present this evening, as some are traveling abroad. Given it is not a regular meeting night, it can be challenging with graduations and other events during this time of year.
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Planning Commission Vice Chair Roger Deming said he is presenting the PC’s annual update and introduced Commissioners Di Giorgio and Mason who were able to attend tonight. He presented guiding policies and documents, meeting statistics, looking back at what they have done, and looking forward at what they will be doing.
Councilmember Cervantes asked if there was just one SB 9 project in 2024, and Mr. Wolff said the SB 9 applications are ministerial by design of the statute. The homes the PC did see were ridgeline homes which were the resultant homes on an SB 9 lot split. The lot split was ministerial. Because the homes did not fully comply with the objective standards the Council outlined in the SB 9 local statute, they chose to go through the Hillside Development Permit process, which then brought it to be heard by the PC. Staff has received roughly 20-25 applications in the last year, and those are ministerial.
Councilmember Cervantes referred to the trend line in the reduced number of applications and asked if this is reflective of the market, costs for labor, or construction costs.
Vice Chair Deming stated it is the general market with trends with investors and investment into real estate, with single-family housing not very popular right now. So, they are seeing a loan or application but a per capacity measurement would be more accurate for what is coming.
Mr. Wolff agreed and said what staff has heard from builders and real estate professionals is that it is largely a function of the economic conditions. There is a desire and need to build housing, but it is expensive to build. So, it is safe to say the City has done its part with adopting the 6th cycle Housing Element, have streamlined reviews which are limited in time and number of meetings, and scope. They have seen an uptick in some preliminary applications under SB 330 and if those continue forward, the Council will see more applications for multi-family in the downtown. They also noticed an uptick in 2019/20 but then it cooled because of interest rates and development not penciling or being financially feasible to undertake a project. Developers that have submitted recently in the last six months are trying to anticipate changes in the economic environment where, if they get entitled in 2025, this would allow them to move forward with a project thereafter if conditions change.
Vice Mayor Anduri asked how the City is doing in terms of staffing the Planning Department to support the PC and things that are coming along next year.
Mr. Wolff said this is good but not great and referred to the Work Plans coming forward for all departments, stating he could provide more information at that time.
Mayor Candell asked if the objective standards will be reviewed by the DRC and PC ad-hoc type committee or a consultant. Mr. Wolff explained staff had not scoped or envisioned having a separate ad-hoc committee to serve on that but to solicit initial guidance on the objective standards from the commissions and from Council as a three-way joint session. If this is the direction from the Council, they can re-scope and put together a committee; however, it would affect the cost and timeline.
Mayor Candell asked if the City is getting help on objective standards from their housing consultant that came in at the end and got them over the finish line on their Housing Element. Mr. Wolff said staff will engage Veronica Tam and Associates on the objective standards.
Councilmember McCormick said at the last Council meeting, they found out they received an award of money to do some ADU pre-built plans and asked if that would go through the PC and then to the Council.
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Mr. Wolff said they have not flushed out that program yet. What is raised is almost $100,000 from Senator Glazer’s Office and the State budget geared towards accelerating the construction of ADUs in the shortterm. There are two prongs to that money. Roughly half is targeted for cash subsidies to build units in the next 12-18 months and there is an inverse relationship. The smaller the unit, the more you get in total and on a per square foot basis. Other communities have begun this, and the City will structure its similarly, but it is not finalized at this time. The application is being developed in the next two weeks. Staff plans to roll it out in 2-4 weeks.
The second prong is earmarked for production and preparation of ADU plans which are permit-ready. Any member of the public of the City could find those on the City’s website and choose to use those and would not need to go through any additional vetting or processing because they have been pre-vetted.
Regarding whether plans would be presented to the PC, he believes they will be once the program is flushed out.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Candell and Councilmembers thanked the Planning Commission for their presentation.
9. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Candell stated Item B was removed from the Consent Calendar earlier, and she asked and confirmed there were no Councilmembers or the public wishing to speak or remove remaining items.
A. Minutes
1. May 7, 2025
Recommendation: Approve.
2. May 12, 2025
Recommendation: Approve.
B. Quarterly Financial Report – 3
rd Quarter, Fiscal Year 24/25
Recommendation: Receive and file.
C. Review and Certify Lafayette’s Measure J Growth Management Program Checklist for Calendar Years 2022 and 2023 for Submittal to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) Recommendation: 1) Review the completed Measure J Checklist for Calendar Years 2022 and 2023.
2) Find that Lafayette’s policies and programs, as reported in the Checklist, conform to the requirements of the CCTA’s Growth Management Program and authorize staff to forward the Checklist to CCTA.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Dawson) to adopt the Consent Calendar Items A.1, A.2 and C. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Cervantes, Dawson, and McCormick; Noes: None).
10. OLD BUSINESS – None.
11. STAFF REPORTS – None.
12. PUBLIC HEARINGS
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A. Francine Kuykendall, Public Works Services Manager
1. Core Area Landscape and Lighting District 1979-1 Assessments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Recommendation: Conduct public hearing and adopt Resolution 2025-27 Confirming the Engineer’s Report, Diagram and Assessments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Core Area Landscape and Lighting District 1979-1.
2. Residential Lighting District 1979-2 Assessments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Recommendation: Conduct public hearing and adopt Resolution 2025-28 Confirming the Engineer’s Report, Diagram and Assessments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Residential Lighting District 1979-2.
Mayor Candell opened the public hearing for both Items 1 and 2.
Public Works Services Manager Francine Kuykendall gave the staff report and overview of the request of the Council to approve the FY 25-26 property tax assessments for both the Core Area Landscape and Lighting District 1979-1 and the Residential Lighting District 1979-2. The Districts have not increased their amounts since 1996 so even though the City is not proposing any changes at this time, the annual process requires staff come to the Council for annual approval before assessments can be collected.
Councilmember Cervantes said it would be helpful for him to understand the budget item chart where there is a breakout for revenues adjustments, particularly revenue from property tax and General Fund contributions. He understands they are frozen because of Prop 218, and it is too much to go through to adjust the levy. So, the City is subsidizing this by putting funds in, and he asked staff to walk through this for the first District.
Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson said the amount collected on the levies stays the same and the General Fund is subsidizing what is left over between what they collect and what it costs. When the City had ARPA funds, the City put money into both the Stormwater Pollution and the Downtown Core Area District to assist fund those until the City could find additional sources of revenue. The way it works now is they still have some of the ARPA fund balance. The way they fill the gap between what revenues come into the District and what it costs is they take half from the existing fund balance and transfer half from the General Fund. For particular details of funds coming into the District, staff can talk offline about that where she can get into more detail.
Councilmember Cervantes asked if the City has thought about going through a Prop 218 process to increase the levy or put an escalator in it. Ms. Robinson said they attempted this around 2008 and were unsuccessful. This is not to say they could not try again, but there were objections. As you know, the property owners are the ones who vote and not residents as a whole. She thinks they ran into issues where property owners do not live in town so they may or may not have voted. Different property owners actually get different numbers of votes as well, and it depends on what the frontage of their property is.
So, staff tried to do an overlay, but it was unsuccessful.
Vice Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed that a failure to vote is a “no” vote.
Ms. Kuykendall then gave the staff report for Item 2, stating the same applies for the Residential Lighting District 1979-2. Assessments are for lighting only and amounts have not been increased since 1996 and she asked for approval by the Council.
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Councilmember Cervantes asked if it would be possible to annex new development into this District so they could pay costs for lighting, such as the Terraces or larger projects.
Ms. Robinson said she was not sure if staff has a definitive answer. The way this was organized tells her they would have to get additional votes. She was not sure the City could annex into this, and it could be an overlay, or they could have more than one District for lighting, so if the Council wished to do this, staff could follow-up.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period for both Items 1 and 2, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Dawson) to adopt Resolution 2025-27 Confirming the Engineer’s Report, Diagram and Assessments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Core Area Landscape and Lighting District 1979-1; and adopt Resolution 2025-28 Confirming the Engineer’s Report, Diagram and Assessments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Residential Lighting District 1979-2. Roll Call Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Cervantes, Dawson, McCormick, and Candell; Noes: None).
13. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT – None.
14. COUNCIL / COMMISSION REPORTS
B. Councilmember Cervantes
Resolution 2025-32 Declaring That the Actions of the President of the United States Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Thereby Necessitating All Branches of the Federal Government to Act to Preserve the Constitution, and Calling Upon Citizens to Petition the President and Their Representatives to Fulfill Their Oaths of Office
Recommendation: Discuss and consider action.
Councilmember Cervantes said this item is intended for discussion. He will not ask for a vote tonight and would like the Council to talk through a couple of issues he will get to, but he put together the draft Resolution out of an increasing concern as he tries to honor their Oath of Office, and that calls on the Council to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California. As outlined in the Resolution, he believes the Trump Administration is creating a Constitutional crisis by its actions.
He knows that as Councilmembers their focus is local, and he ran for the City Council to ensure Lafayette’s long-term financial sustainability, to enhance wildfire safety, and improve roads. He also advocated for public safety and support of police, yet the Constitution has come into play in several recent meetings.
With regards to their Oath of Office, if one believes as he does that the Trump Administration is creating a Constitutional crisis by its actions, he asked what is their appropriate response as local elected officials.
The Resolution is one response where they call on federal officials, including Congress, to follow their own Oaths of Office and call on citizens to actively exercise their right to petition. He wanted to make clear that the Resolution speaks to issues that he believes cross the line with respect to the Constitution and the rule of law. They have all had differences with various Presidents over the years on policies like changes to the tax code, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, healthcare, and other issues. Those are policy issues that are worked out by a President with Congress, and he feels strongly that local governance should not weigh into those kinds of debates.
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But regarding the draft Resolution, he has spoken with different people and have responses ranging from full support to full opposition and support for the viewpoint that adopting a Resolution like this is beyond the scope of a local City Council. He respects all of those perspectives. This is a challenging topic but he feels the Council should take it on so they can say in full faith and allegiance to the Constitution that they thoughtfully considered their role in a time of challenge to the country that they love. So, in the end, this is an important enough issue that he feels the Council needs to have a unified consensus of the City Council. If they do not have that, he will not bring up this item for a vote at a later meeting unless there is a change of sentiment. But, if there is a unified consensus to act, he is open to changes to the Resolution for later action or have a subcommittee work further on it. But the key is that they have consensus to make this kind of action.
For those listening, because the Council carefully follows California’s open meeting law, which is the Brown Act, he could only discuss this matter with one other Councilmember, which was the Mayor and, as much as he would have loved to talk to other Councilmembers on this topic, he could not and did not.
So, he has no idea as to how the whole Council views this topic.
As a final note, Lafayette is a remarkable caring community and their slogan after all is, “Love Lafayette.” He believes they all share a deep love for their country which has given them so much and so much to their forebearers, and this feeling of caring and love for their country is the reason he brings up this topic for discussion tonight. He turned the item over to Mayor Candell.
Mayor Candell thanked Councilmember Cervantes and said they have been talking about this, and she has been clear that this has nothing to do with policy or politics. It is the Oath of Office they take and anything they believe is in violation of that at the federal level that is going on. And, if they stick to that, they can consider it and will find out what fellow Councilmembers and the public think here tonight, but they will not vote on it tonight. It will come back if that is the will of the Council and, if they ever do take action on this, they will make sure it is unanimous.
Councilmember McCormick asked if Councilmember Cervantes is aware of any other cities in the Bay Area or California that have taken this approach.
Councilmember Cervantes said it was Palo Alto that considered something like this, but they did not act.
He did not see the text Palo Alto considered. They held discussion but could not get to a consensus and did not act.
Vice Mayor Anduri said Councilmember Cervantes mentioned that he wanted to discuss several issues tonight and asked if he could break down the issues.
Councilmember Cervantes said he would say the key issue initially is whether the Council is comfortable in taking an action like this. In other words, speaking out on a topic relating to national issues. In this case, he defines that as the concern that the Trump Administration has created a Constitutional crisis, and he outlined some of the aspects he considered in that. But there is a threshold question which is, is that something we do? There are other national topics he would not support any kind of a Council action on as he mentioned. So, that is number one. Depending on the answer to that question, the Council may or may not get to number two, which is, if there is a consensus of the Council to act, he is open to thoughts, observations, or amendments to the Resolution. He has no pride in authorship of that. There may be items to add, delete, but that would be after the Council decides it wants to pursue this.
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A variant on the second one is that if it is too much in the weeds, maybe it would be appropriate to have a subcommittee do the wordsmithing and get it right after taking observations by the Council. But all of that follows the first one which is, is this our “game to play” so to speak? Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
LISA DISBROW thinks it is quite interesting she cannot talk and protest the treatment and indoctrination of their children, health concerns, thoughts, ideas being transmitted to children 4-12 years of age, and the Council now wants to take on a national issue that dominated the 2024 election where 7 of all swing states agreed they want the Trump agenda. This is in conflict with what the Council is tasked as individuals to do. She thinks the Council is die-hard Democrats, broken and frustrated that Trump is doing what he promised to do. As evidence, the Mayor spoke out at the DeSaulnier Town Hall and has been protesting and defending an illegal MS13 who did have due process as an illegal and is now in his home country.
People want the border closed. Clinton had a huge number of deportations as did Bush and Obama had more he encouraged to just self-deport. Those people cost the benefits to be going to them, and this is one of the issues Congress is working on right now—should illegals be eligible for certain services.
She said Mayor Candell misrepresented her exposure with the First Amendment in the previous meeting.
They have been dealing with First Amendment since 2020 when they first jumped on the overpass for Trump. They were harassed by ANTIFA, BLM, and the City. They had public testimony from Caltrans, CHP, and former Police Chief Ben Alldritt and the Council was dissatisfied with their testimony that they did not interrupt on-going rallies, so the Council went and passed a resolution up to Sacramento that came back with the same information. This year, in 2023/24, the Council took it off-line, and they could not have public meetings. So, she did not think the Council has a great track record.
SARAH LIND said she is here in opposition to this resolution which falsely claims President Trump’s actions create a Constitutional crisis. This resolution is outside the Council’s purview, spews propaganda, and ignores real governance failures like those of Governor Gavin Newsom and the prior federal administration. Councilmember Cervantes’ resolution accuses President Trump of overreach with Executive Orders and a supposed Qatar gift which actually was an arrangement that preceded Trump’s return to the White House. These unsubstantiated claims fuel division rather than facts, using your position to grandstand personal opinion is not your role as a representative of a body as a whole.
She asked to focus on Lafayette’s roads, safety, and services. Considering these efforts, it is worth asking, ‘Where was this Council’s outrage during the last Administration? Where were you when President Biden’s cognitive decline was evident, undermining public trust? Where were you during the mass influx of illegal immigration, overwhelming border resources? Where were you when inflation skyrocketed with prices up 20% from 2021 to 2023 hitting Lafayette families and used to justify a measure to increase the sales tax? Where were you when COVID vaccine mandates of an experimental injection stripped bodily autonomy despite questionable efficacy? Where were you when studies like those in 2021 showed masks were ineffective? Where were you when media covered these issues pushing lies about COVID and more? Where were you during the October 7, 2023, massacres in Israel, killing 1,200 innocent people? Or, when cities were burned to the ground during 2020 riots with $2 billion in damages? You were happily being spoon-fed mainstream media’s processed food version of reality like an innocent little Gerber baby.
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Adding insult to injury are Newsom’s failures impacting us directly. A $68 billion budget deficit in 2024, $300 billion in unfunded pensions, a $100 billion high speed rail with no tracks, $24 billion in unaccounted homeless spending, $12 billion to fund illegal immigrant healthcare, a drug crisis with 66% more overdose deaths since 2019, an insurance crisis driving up premiums, no new water storage despite voters passing a ballot initiative to pay for it, $5.29 per gallon gas, the nation’s highest, and how about the lack of funding for Prop 36 where 70% of California voters voted to make crime illegal again? These betray his oath to serve Californians, yet this Council ignores them to attack Trump.
This resolution is partisan overreach. Your Trump derangement syndrome has clouded your vision. She reminded the Council that their job is local governance, not national finger-pointing under the guise of Constitutional duties. She asked to reject this resolution and address State failures affecting Lafayette.
She asked to focus on the community and non-divisive propaganda.
JEAN FOLLMER said she is glad the Council is all here to uphold your Oaths of Office to this non-partisan position of the Lafayette City Council. As elected representatives, the Council is charged with ensuring the critical non-partisan issues within their purview for all citizens, regardless of their political party. They include maintaining a balanced budget, safety of citizens, and infrastructure needs. This resolution is clearly political in nature, and it falls well outside the scope of the Council’s duties What will be your standard going forward? What will the Council deem to be a threat to their Constitution going forward? Will it be the next COVID pandemic when people will be forced to stay home to stay safe, wear useless masks and accept experimental vaccines, to eat indoors with the clean people during winter? Many Lafayette residents were similarly sickened by the actions of the Biden Administration, but they did not ask their local elected officials to use staff time to help draft and place a performative agenda item.
Instead, they worked hard to remove the party in charge, and they did so successfully.
President Trump won the electoral college and the popular vote. She asked the Council to please remember that they are a member of an elected, non-partisan body. During her 8 years on the Lafayette School Board, she conducted herself in a non-partisan fashion and she was not engaged with any political party. She actually thinks that is appropriate. That partisanship for non-partisan positions has become normalized in Lafayette is really sad and disappointing to her. It is just okay here. We do not have to pretend that we are non-partisan in a non-partisan position, and she thinks it is wrong, and she hopes each Councilmember take a little bit of time tonight and in the future to re-consider being so involved with their party during time as a non-partisan elected representative of the entire community.
She appreciates everything Councilmember Cervantes has done for safety in this community, and she looks forward to working with him on Firewise. It was nice to meet in their recent meeting, and she respectfully asked him to please pull this item. They had a similar item come before the Council a few years ago and it was also something that was against President Trump at the time, and that Councilmember ended up pulling it which was appreciated and an appropriate thing to do.
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JENIFER PAUL said she is here tonight to strongly oppose this resolution, as a non-partisan body, the City Council’s role is to address local issues like infrastructure, public safety, and community services, not to weigh in on national politics or declare a “Constitutional crisis.” This resolution oversteps your authority and risks dividing the community by taking a partisan stance on federal matters outside the Council’s purview. Their oath to defend the Constitution does not grant your jurisdiction over the President’s actions or federal policy. The resolution’s claims about Executive Orders and investigations are speculative and they belong in a federal court or Congress, but not in this City Council Chamber. By adopting this, the Council would be engaging in political theater, not governance. The Council will be alienating residents with differing views and undermining the non-partisan mandate that you should uphold. She urged the Council to please reject this resolution and focus on Lafayette’s pressing needs of which there are many, including traffic and wildfire. Let’s keep the local government local and preserve our community’s unity.
PHILIP LEE said he is strongly opposed to this resolution 2025-32. He has been a resident of this City since 1977, which is almost 50 years ago, and he is deeply offended by this resolution. The five Councilmembers, including the Mayor and Councilmember Cervantes ran for public office as non-partisans and these are non-partisan seats. The resolution and unanimous vote for this blatantly partisan manifesto against the President of our country is, at best, disturbing and at worst, illegal. He is a minority and also a legal immigrant and he is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He is deeply offended by the lack of respect the Council has shown for the Office of the President of the United States; a President who was duly elected by almost 80 million American voters. It seems the Council is shirking their duties to this community in favor of promoting their own partisan political agenda and ambitions.
This resolution does not benefit the City of Lafayette or its residents in any way. It appears more to be therapy to sooth their obvious Trump derangement syndrome. In fact, not only would this resolution not help Lafayette, it likely will harm Lafayette and its residents. If the Council is shown to be using City resources to fund partisan activities, they will be inviting lawsuits. They will also be violating civil rights and free speech rights of those residents who do not agree with the one-sided, partisan resolution. The Council’s time and the City’s resources would be much better spent on improving Lafayette’s citizens’ lives by improving security, reducing crimes like burglaries, robberies, home invasions, shoplifting, by improving traffic in the city, by improving parks and community spaces. If the Council will not help residents, they should all consider resigning from their positions or risk being recalled and worse yet, sued.
JOHN HELMS said he is a 32-year resident of Lafayette, and he voted for Donald Trump. He urged the Council to not go forward with this resolution. It sounds very nice and fair, but it is high virtue-signaling, essentially to cover up basically what the last Administration did. The Biden Administration was the most corrupt in his lifetime. USAID stole trillions of dollars from our government. $76 billion alone disappeared between when Trump was elected and he took office. There is 4500 estimated pardons that were signed by auto pen and hopefully the Council will not be signing this with auto pen and hopefully not signing it, but it was done by a President who had late-stage dementia and had Stage 4 cancer, so he was not in a position to make 4500 pardons. We have non-transparent elections no matter what you think of who won and who lost. You cannot go back and recount the ballots. They had several assassination attempts on the President, and they learned a month ago that JFK was shot twice in the front of the head. This is his earliest memory of JFK being assassinated.
What people do not want is a cover-up. What this looks like is a very partisan attempt to distract and basically divide the populous and he urged the Council not to sign it because it will make us all look very partisan and like fools to outsiders.
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GORDON LAKE said he appreciates all comments that occurred, but he strongly disagrees with them. He strongly supports the resolution; thinks this is how the Council fulfills its obligation to protect the Constitution, and he does think there is a Constitutional crisis. While there is an argument against that, he does think it exists. The Council has limited ways in which to fulfill that obligation they signed onto when they took office, and this is absolutely appropriate to discuss and to support.
ELIOT HUDSON said he does not have a lot of political friends these days. His liberal friend are horrified if he says he agrees with any of the objectives of the Administration’s policies on borders, manufacturing in the U.S., on some trade issues, and others. His conservative friends close their ears if he says anything critical of the Administration and how they are proceeding. He passionately loves this country and always have, and he thinks he started learning it in Cub Scouts and in Boy Scouts where they presented the flag, and it was not just words but real—"On my honor, I will do my best for God and my country.” That sank into him very deeply. He is not a Scout leader now. He was for many years, but he put this on to make a point. This country should be special. It has always been special, and it is not today.
We have a President who 4 years ago tried to seize the Presidency of this country. He violated his Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution when he did that. He has lied continually about a stolen election. He has pardoned criminals who tried to storm the Capitol and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. He does not believe in the rule of law. We have a President who lies almost every time he opens his mouth. If you look at the historical precedent of this country, the only President who ever came close was Andrew Jackson and he pales by comparison.
So, his question and part of the reason he put on the Scout uniform is what do we tell our children? What are we teaching our children about what this country is? He has proudly flown the flag every national holiday for as long as he can remember. He left it in his closet yesterday and was broken-hearted to do it.
It was disrespectful to those who died defending this country, but this is not the U.S. he ever knew or ever grew up in. If we do not stand up, you cannot county on the Republicans to do it. They are cowed and are in line. You cannot count on the Democrats to do it because they do not have a rutter and not even any sails at this point. The people of this country need to demand the return to the rule of law. We need to reclaim what this country is because if they do not, what reason does it have to exist? LYNN MACMICHAEL said it is almost hard to believe we are in this position and she is so grateful to Councilmember Cervantes and to Mayor Candell for the courage to put this forward because yes, you are the City Councilmembers of a City, but we are part of the greater United States which needs housing, rules about environment and climate change, help for the incredible disparity between the rich and the poor, which is gaining everyday under this Administration, and we need a vision that they can look up to and follow more than anything right now.
She thanked Councilmember Cervantes for writing this resolution and for the courage that she wished they could look to Congress for, and we are seeing it in come of the courts to save this marvelous country we live in and to save our democracy because we are on the line right now and it can get even worse than it has now. Protecting the lives and rights of all of us is what is very important, and that is what the Constitution is about. She thanked the Council for giving her the opportunity to comment and thanked Councilmembers for taking this resolution up and sharing it with the community because if we do not stand up we cannot expect anybody else to.
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LIBBY HENRY said in listening to the previous speakers before Mr. Hudson was really depressing to her. It seems that if it does not fit their agenda, make it up. She has already written the Council a letter supporting this resolution. She thinks the unconstitutionality of our President and his actions are way beyond politics. This is not Republican. This is not Democrat. He is acting as if he is above the Constitution and that is something every person in this country should be concerned about and should be upset about.
We are Americans and nobody is above the law. Making rhetoric, which is entirely made up, does not cut it, so every person who opposed this is making up facts that are not in evidence and should be disregarded.
She is a person who is out every Tuesday because she is afraid for our country, as well as others because of one entity that is abusing his office, his powers, and he thinks he is above the law and above the Constitution, and it needs to stop, or he will destroy this country completely. She thanked Councilmember Cervantes and the entire Council and hopes the resolution goes forward because we need to speak up.
ROBERT LAVOIE said he appreciates Mr. Hudson’s comments and his Scout service. He happens to disagree on some of his points, but they have had long discussions about some of those things. He thinks the Council needs to avoid this resolution focused on national political issues that the City has no control over and no influence. He would say you can see from the comments that the polar opposites of people’s views, very smart people all who have spoken but who have completely different viewpoints not only on how things are being done but what is being done. Trump is very unconventional, very controversial, but you can see he has done things that the Biden Administration said could not be done. In three months, he has closed the border, so he thinks people have to look at what he is doing and not make assumptions that he is violating the Constitution because people of goodwill on both sides have different views on these things.
He thinks it is more important for the City to focus on things like our Governor Newsom. Sarah pointed out all the problems that Newsom has had and all the failures in California, and what he is trying to do to Lafayette with these housing laws he keeps signing by Scott Wiener. The City has very limited infrastructure and they are forcing the City to over-zone areas, not provide adequate parking, and this will just frustrate residents. Lafayette has a single road through the downtown and there will be continual restriction on that and lack of proper parking. He said Mark Lonergan wrote a great 3-page letter and he did not see it in the comments, but he explained how the City needs to stay non-partisan and that the purview of these items are not relevant for the City Council. He thinks the Council needs to maintain the City and focus on things that are important to residents. Immigrants are granted unlimited services, schools, medicine, welfare, and that is part of the cause of the California budget, so focus should be on improving the City. Even though there is very low crime here, shoplifting is so high it is not reported.
CHRISTINE LEE said she wanted to make a comment about the previous speaker, Libby Henry casting aspersions on other speakers. She thinks this should have been stopped by the Mayor as soon as it started.
It is disrespectful. She has the last word, and the previous speakers cannot come back and refute anything she said. She is speaking tonight about how disappointed she is in the City Council. She does not know where the idea of Resolution 2025-32 came from, but it will hurt the City and each Councilmember. All Councilmembers ran for the Council as non-partisan candidates. By issuing this resolution, you have become hyper-partisan. You cannot go back to being non-partisan again and, in fact, there may be legal repercussions arising from that change. In her opinion, the Council is violating the public trust, and their oath have certainly violated the City’s mission statement. In 2021, Councilmembers Anduri and Cervantes and she worked to choose the right words for the updated mission statement. The first principle is “value everyone.” She does not see that happening in this City.
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There are many of us listening tonight who do not feel valued. This resolution contains an extreme response to the 2024 election. Five City Councilmembers do not speak for everyone in Lafayette, and it is offensive to them that they think they do. It does not help Lafayette at all and in fact, it might hurt by drawing unwanted attention that results in problems with funding federal projects, potential lawsuits for violation of freedom of speech, misuse of City funds for partisan purposes, and a possible recall of the City Council for violating its non-partisan status. She asked to please not approve this resolution. It is just another way to cause division, and the Council will be responsible for that.
DAVID BERTI said he has heard a lot tonight about the end being nae and he thinks it is not that serious.
He reminds everyone that impeachment and removal is always available if things get dead serious, but he has done some analysis of voting in Lamorinda. He was able to find the voting for Republican Trump versus Democrat Harris in the last election which is usually a popular event, and he discovered that the ratio of Democrats to Republicans in Lamorinda is 3.7 Democrats to 1 Republican which he thinks is an amazing number. He wrote that down with Orinda being 4.0, Lafayette being 3.6, and Moraga being 3.5. We are seeing the culture war here and he wants to keep in mind that the Council are on the 3 ½ and 4 to 1 and you listen to each other. He admits they tend to do the same thing. He tried to calm down a bit and did not think the end is nigh. He thinks we still have some time.
Mayor Candell clarified that no staff time was spent on this at all. This was Councilmember Cervantes who drafted the resolution, and staff was not involved at all.
Councilmember Dawson said the nature of the way the agenda works is if a Councilmember wants to bring an item, they will ask the Mayor and cannot talk to another Councilmember about it per the Brown Act. So, this is new to the agenda and new to this discussion tonight.
Councilmember Cervantes echoed the Mayor’s comments regarding no staff time involved. This came out of his concerns with reconciling the oath the Council took with his sense of what is going on at the national level.
Mayor Candell called for Council deliberation.
Councilmember McCormick said he wants to start and say he knows Councilmember Cervantes is deeply troubled by the current situation, and he appreciates the thoughtfulness he put into this. He has been doing a lot of thinking about this since Wednesday when they saw the agenda. His personal belief is that the book he wrote talks about the forgotten contributions of Chinese immigrants. It is antithetical to the Trump Administration’s position right now and the value of immigrants and what they bring to our country, so he does not personally support the current Administration. That said, he is concerned just because he really believes the Council’s job is local and not federal. His responsibility as a Councilmember is to our community, issues, and making it the best place it can be. He does believe residents expect the Council to stay focused on local issues, fiscal responsibility, community well-being, fire safety, and so on.
It does not mean they do not care and are not affected by national issues, but he thinks they respond best by staying grounded with their values and he is committed to serving the entire community. He thinks there are people he does not agree with on almost anything and his goal is to be sure they represent them.
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He thinks it is important that they do not run with party affiliations. He thinks Councilmember Cervantes crafted this resolution with the best of intentions, but he questioned if it is worth the division as it is currently crafted. He is pleased that he feels federal and state representatives are on board, pushing back in their Constitutional ways against the current Administration. Senator DeSaulnier is doing amazing work and doing it properly, and he feels residents have that channel to express their direct opposition to some of the actions happening with the Trump Administration.
So, he believes the Council’s best view is to model civility, cooperation, and grounded leadership, and their values for respect for all civic responsibility is what makes Lafayette special, and this is what he values. He appreciates the effort, but as written, especially talking about the things that have been done that he does not agree with, he can see some points where people think that is kind of the prerogative of the Presidency. In addition to expressing their values, it is pointed in some of the areas he thinks divide us more than it should. But he thanked Councilmember Cervantes for what he has done.
Vice Mayor Anduri said in following Councilmember Cervantes and Mayor Candell’s disclosure on the Brown Act, he will disclose that he and Councilmember McCormick had discussions on this and he has been in close proximity with Councilmember Cervantes, and they have not discussed it, as well as not with the Mayor as well. He supports what Councilmember McCormick is saying and wanted to embroider on a few points that he made. It is absolutely clear. We hold non-partisan positions on the Council, and they should not be representing parties or grouped as parties when they carry out their activities on the Council.
When he served on the Council from 2002 to 2012, he really did not know the party affiliation of any other Councilmember, and it did not matter. They just carried out the business of the City. He does know the party affiliation of every member on the Council now because it is on the voter registration, but it makes no difference to how they carry out their activities. It is no different now than it was between 2002 and 2012. It does not impact what they do representing the citizens of Lafayette. If residents think they are doing things because they are members of a political party, that is just not accurate.
He thinks they are carrying on their activities in a way that shows they are representing all members of the community of Lafayette. They are not singling anyone out for different treatment, not pursing grievances because of any party, and not doing things that have anything to do with anybody else’s political affiliation including theirs. So, to him that is not an issue.
He said Councilmember Cervantes asked the question—if the Council is comfortable in taking action on a national issue. They have not directly engaged on that topic, but his preference would be not to because they have so much to do at the local level, but he can see there are times when things are happening on a national level impact residents. At that point, he thinks they need to speak up and take action. It is a very difficult question when things are occurring on a national level rise to the level that the Council should engage and take action.
At this point, he agrees with Councilmember McCormick’s observation that the City is well represented at the federal level, by California representatives, their Congressional representative in terms of making their views known within Lafayette. They have opportunities of making their views known including Tuesday afternoons from 5-6 p.m., so he is not sure at this point that he would want to go down the road of being involved with a resolution. He can see they may reach that point because he does hold the view that denial of due process rights to anyone is a potential denial of any of our rights. So, he is holding it open, and the Council may want to come back and discuss this, but at this time, he is not ready to do that.
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Councilmember Dawson thanked Councilmember Cervantes for bringing this forward and for this discussion. She whole-heartedly agrees that there is the highest appreciation for this Council and their non-partisan approach to matters. She would say this is a very American value no matter what party one is affiliated with to respect the rule of law and the Constitution. She made an oath not in a vacuum. The Constitution does not exist in a vacuum. The City’s laws and ordinances locally are within the context of State and federal laws, so she would think this does affect the City when the highest office in the land does not necessarily comply with that. But she also understands there are different perspectives on that which clouds a cut and dry perspective of pushing this forward or not which makes it controversial.
What is not controversial to her is upholding and expecting those who take that oath uphold that oath.
So, she appreciates this discussion to be able to say that. As far as actions the Administration is taking now affecting local politics, it does. If it is affecting anyone, it is affecting the City, as the City is already under threat of some funds from some of the grants they have been approved to receive. This affects the City’s infrastructure, and these are issues that touch the City now. She agrees perhaps there would be amendments, but she thinks it is an easy call to action to ask all Councilmembers to remember that oath and comply with it.
Mayor Candell said she completely understands comments, and this is why they have such an amazing Council. They respect each other and respect the rule of law. There is a legal term for whether to decide if there is a Constitutional crisis or not, and this is where people are drawing this line. What is unfortunately happening is that this Administration is not admitting to defying court orders but has relied on a term called “legalistic non-compliance.” It is a term of how they are deploying special legal arguments to conceal what is actually pervasive defiance of judicial oversight. It is how they are hiding behind the legal words when they are not following the Judge’s orders. They are doing this in such a way that it has not risen to an official level.
She unfortunately happens to fall into the group who thinks this is a Constitutional crisis that we are feeling right now. She was hoping that people could understand that this resolution is not about the President’s policies. In the recently passed budget bill, there are many policies in there that are implemented by choosing to fund certain items or not. These are policy decisions that are completely within Congress’s and the President’s authority, but one would hope that people would be able to understand how some of the things he is doing are intentionally and by design violating our U.S.
Constitution. This is why she was hoping they could somehow come to some sort of agreement that this is a line the Council feels would harm all of us and all residents. She was not sure they will ever get there, but she thinks they should bring this back if they do end up in a real Constitutional crisis. She hopes the Council would entertain that if, in fact, they find themselves where a lot of folks are saying we really should be acting now as leaders in our communities. So, she thinks they had discussion, and she thinks they are probably failing on Item 1, but she deferred to Councilmember Cervantes.
Councilmember Cervantes said as he noted at the preface of this whole discussion he has been thinking about this for quite some time because the Oath of Office taken in December has very serious and powerful words. It is very much akin to the oath the President and members of Congress took. Some words vary, but the heart of it is the same. And, again, he will not belabor this, but his concerns are that the direction the current administration is going with respect to observance of the Constitution, he is very worried. In thinking through this issue, he considered waiting until there is something like a case where the Supreme Court makes a decision, the President says “no” or do something before getting to that point, and he decided to do that.
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He really wanted to thank everyone who is here and those participating virtually for their thoughts and considerations. He has taken a lot of notes of the discussion . This is what he has learned to expect from citizens of Lafayette wherein people have a lot of thoughtful and careful considered comments. He does not agree with them all, but they are all thoughtful and considered and he thinks they all come from a place of mutual respect and that is important in the ethic of this community. The Council also mirrors that as well. He has always been struck even before he ran for this office how this group operated where you have a collegial and thoughtful group of people. In his 34 years working for different cities in California, he saw that doesn’t always happen.
So, he greatly appreciates the observations of his colleagues. It is very clear to him that this item stops here, so he will let this lie. They will see what the future brings, but for the time being, the conversation is concluded. He noted that he was initially concerned about putting everybody through this big discussion, but the Constitution matters a lot and as citizens and as elected officials, we need to honor it, respect it, and uphold it, and he thinks they have done that tonight. There is not a consensus here so with that, he pulls this item, and he appreciates everybody’s different thoughts and observations. He knows they are from the heart but also well thought-out and he recommended moving on, which will likely be the budget next month.
Mayor Candell thanked everybody and said there may be a time when the Council brings this back.
Councilmember Dawson said if they did go to a vote, she would have voted to support this.
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Councilmember Cervantes recognized Con Fire and said in his Firewise community, he put in an application for their evacuation zone brush clearing project. Their crews showed up and cleared out some of the overhanging brush on Spring Hill Road which is the only way out for those in the neighborhood. It is a great program, and they got done work very quickly.
Councilmember McCormick called attention to an incident last week where they had five young people get in a significant car accident on St. Mary’s Road. This was on the night of the St. Mary’s graduation. His in-laws live near the court, and they were the ones that called in the accident. It is somewhat of an annual tradition unfortunately with accidents there because it is after the graduation, they are coming home late at night, driving too fast, and he thinks the next graduation he suggested doing something to slow them down because it is an unnecessary tragedy.
He reported that he and the Mayor attended Taste of Lafayette which is a Chamber event where 500+ people gather in the middle of town and visit 30 different restaurants. It was a phenomenal event and showcased the diversity of dining options in town.
He also said he has followed Councilmember Cervantes’ lead with Central Sanitary Academy which is to learn how wastewater treatment is done. He is the 8th class that has gone through and thinks Councilmember Cervantes was the first or second, and they still talk about him. So, he was trying to keep up with his lead.
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Vice Mayor Anduri reported that on the 15th they had the Bike to Anywhere Day with a stand set up at the Plaza. Cyclists came by to get drinks and snacks on their way to work or wherever they were going. On the 15th, the Police Department and Crime Prevention Commission put on an excellent Public Safety Forum. The PowerPoint presentation was excellent, but unfortunately there were not as many people there as they would have wished. He would encourage the Police Department, together with the Crime Prevention Commission to seek out other venues because it is great information for people to have.
On Friday, May 16th, he participated in the Woodbury Highlands BMR Lottery for three housing units which worked out well. On Sunday, May 18th, the Happy Valley Improvement Association held a public forum at the Happy Valley Elementary School and had a great turnout. There were many people from different governmental agencies and commissions including the Police Department, Police Chief, Andy Comly, Stephanie from Emergency Preparedness Commission. He thanked those responsible for putting that together.
The Taste of Lafayette was great once again thanks to the Chamber and 30 participating restaurants. He asked what other town in Lafayette has the Mayor pouring drinks in the Plaza! Mayor Candell reported that in anticipation of the upcoming Pride Month, the first year they had the Pride Flag raised during Community Day, but this year Community Day was early and so instead, they will do this flag raising in a small ceremony before their next Council meeting on June 9th. Another fun event last Friday was KTVU’s zip tours, which was an end of a two-year effort to get onto their Zip Tour. They go to different cities and highlight the City. They have been in Lafayette a couple of weeks doing drone shots and all sorts of staging to get ready for the Zip Tours. Go to www.KTVU/ziptrips and pick Lafayette. There were many presenters highlighting the Crosses, a special on Millie’s Kitchen, the Taste of Lafayette, the Reservoir and the Park Theater, and they go to be the first one this year.
Vice Mayor Anduri said their center for doing that was the Public House. If you are watching the Public House through the entire program, you might identify someone in the background as our City Manager.
Councilmember Dawson said she read a statement into the record, stating that due to family medical matters that she wants to give her full presence and individual attention to, she will be stepping down from City Council effective June 1st. This decision was at once an easy one to make because family will always come first for her, but also a hard decision, it has been a great privilege and experience to have served the residents of Lafayette since first elected in 2020. She is very grateful and honored to have worked with this Council, our dedicated City staff, the many passionate and considerate volunteers for the City, our wonderful business and school communities, and other organizations and individuals who work to make and continually improve upon, the quality of life and community that Lafayette enjoys.
She will greatly miss working alongside all Councilmembers and residents, but she is not going anywhere.
She looks forward to seeing people around town and on the trails and to what is next. She has the utmost confidence that this incredibly capable and accomplished Council and City staff will continue their outstanding work for the benefit of us all. She thanked Lafayette.
Mayor Candell thanked Councilmember Dawson for her service for the City. She has been an outstanding Councilmember on so many levels providing service and expertise in areas where they struggled and she excelled, as well as doing a great job as Mayor. The community loves Councilmember Dawson and said she will miss her deeply.
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Vice Mayor Anduri echoed comments and said he certainly understands the decision, but it has been a real privilege to be able to work with Councilmember Dawson over the last 4 ½ years. She has exemplified a non-partisan approach, a problem-solving approach to being a City Councilmember, and the Council will miss her.
Councilmember McCormick said Councilmember Dawson was his first Mayor and he will always remember that and for helping him as a rookie Councilmember last year. He is finding the joy that this job can be which is tremendous and thanked her, stating he will miss Councilmember Dawson personally and professionally. She is not going anywhere, and he will definitely stay in touch. He applauded her decision which is the right decision but will miss her.
Councilmember Cervantes said he has been on the Council just a few months, but he really appreciates Councilmember Dawson’s steady influence, the voice of reasonableness, and agrees she has put the City’s interest first in a straight-forward way which has been very helpful. He understands the reason for leaving, which seems like the right call and the Council remains present to back and support her in all ways possible. He thanked Councilmember Dawson for being a part of this Council.
Councilmember Dawson said she will miss all Councilmembers, staff and the community in serving as Councilmember.
15. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS – None.
16. ADJOURNMENT – 9:03 p.m., with thanks to our Veterans and to Gina Dawson for her service on the Lafayette City Council.
APPROVED:
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Susan Candell, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Joanne Robbins, City Clerk