Caroline Joachim is the newest member of the Mill Valley City Council, taking a seat that had been vacant for eight months.
The council last week adopted a resolution approving the results of the March 7 special election in which Joachim defeated Susan Gladwin with 63.5 percent of the vote.
A vacancy was created on the council last year after Councilmember and former Mayor Sashi Sabaratnam announced her move to Sonoma County and resigned in August in the middle of her second term.
The special election was held to elect one short-term member to the council for one year.
Joachim was administered her oath of office April 3 and immediately took her seat on the dais, the city said.
According to the city, Joachim is a real estate attorney who has served on the board of the Mill Valley Little League for 10 years, four as president. She also held a board position with the Marin County Bar Association. Joachim has also served as president of the Old Mill Elementary School PTA.
Mayor Jim Wickham welcomed Joachim and expressed gratitude that Mill Valley had actual candidates on the ballot for the position. Previous openings on the council had to be filled by appointments since no one ran for the spots.
“I appreciate the community is starting to get engaged in local government,” he said in a statement released by the city. “We are thrilled that we had two really qualified people to run for office.”
Joachim in the March 7 election faced Gladwin, a businesswoman and self-described “climate leader” and sustainability strategist.
Joachim received 2,209 votes to Gladwin’s 1,269 votes, according to official county results.