Two new councilmembers were sworn in to the East Palo Alto City Council last week, but procedural irregularities marred the ceremony.
The reorganization of the City Council following the November general election was delayed with outgoing councilmembers voting on items past their term end date and pulling unrelated items on the consent calendar.
“The concern that I had with the swearing-in was they did a full agenda with expired city council,” said newly elected Councilmember Mark Dinan in an interview Wednesday. “They were sworn on Dec. 8, 2020, and their terms expired in four years by law. They should not have been voting on anything of substance yesterday. It should have been purely ministerial, which is handing off the torch.”
The November election saw incumbent Carlos Romero, Dinan and Webster Lincoln edge out their opponents in a crowded City Council race with three open spots. Romero reclaimed his seat while former mayor Antonio Lopez and councilmember Lisa Gauthier exited their positions.
It is murky whether outgoing councilmembers can continue to vote on resolutions despite more than four years having passed since taking office.
East Palo Alto’s municipal code mirrors state law, which states that the terms of elected city officers “shall be in accordance with state law for a term of four years from Tuesday succeeding their election and until their successors are elected and qualified.”
New councilmembers are considered “qualified” once they take their oaths.
City Manager Melvin Gaines wrote in a statement that until the old council certifies the election results and new councilmembers are sworn in, the prior council is “still within their rights under state law to meet and conduct business.”
Such business the old council decided on included adopting a final plan for the future Ravenswood Business District, or RBD.
“They voted on some very, very big issues and that included the RBD which was part of the consent package,” Dinan said. “They didn’t discuss it, but it was voted on and just approved. And that’s a billion-dollar development plan for East Palo Alto. It’s a very big deal. Old, exited city council had no business voting on it.”
Dinan thinks that he and Lincoln’s swearing-in was delayed to the end of the meeting because the prior council did not want the two to influence the passage of the final RBD plan.
“They didn’t want to do the swearing-in at the beginning for us, because then myself and Webster would have voted on the RBD,” Dinan said. “When you do that, you’re doing it with two city council members whose terms have already expired.”
But Gaines said that the old council voted on the RBD plan on Tuesday because it was originally supposed to be addressed at a prior meeting that ended up getting canceled.
“The items on the 12/17/24 meeting agenda that the outgoing councilmembers voted on were on the consent calendar,” Gaines wrote in his statement. “Many of these items were holdovers from a previous meeting that had been cancelled due to unexpected absences.”
Lincoln and Dinan sat patiently in the audience, eagerly waiting to be sworn in and recognized for their win.
However, hours went by as councilmembers heard public comment on unrelated matters and issued a proclamation for the city’s Little League team for winning their district’s Fall Ball championship.
“I would question a city reorganization meeting where they would spend more time on honoring a worthy Little League group team than on the actual reorganization itself,” Dinan said. “It’s great what they achieved but yesterday was not the time or place to do that any more than it would be to do a proclamation before a wedding.”
The meeting was abnormal compared to previous reorganization ceremonies of the East Palo Alto City Council. Post-election swearing-in rituals in the city’s past have always solely focused on recognizing outgoing members, entering in the new candidates, and appointing a new mayor and vice mayor.
Dinan and Lincoln finally took their oaths of office after Lopez and Gauthier were honored. They made their first official votes as new councilmembers in the choosing of a mayor and vice mayor.
The new council unanimously promoted Councilmember Martha Barragan to be mayor. Barragan has served two years on the council.
They were split on deciding who should be vice mayor. Romero was in favor of appointing Councilmember Ruben Abrica. However, the two freshly sworn-in councilmembers and Barragan selected Dinan to assume the role in a 3-2 vote.
During the vote for vice mayor, Romero commented that he thought seniority should take precedent in the decision. Abrica has served as mayor three times and was one of East Palo Alto’s first councilmembers when the area was incorporated in 1983.
“I think it should be somebody who is a little more seasoned than Mr. Dinan,” Romero said. “I will have to vote ‘no.’”
Although Barragan voted for Dinan to be vice mayor, she reiterated that Dinan and Lincoln should initially defer to the councilmembers with more time under their belts.
“I believe that we will also be leaning into the most experienced in our staff, in our council, and also keeping in mind what the constituents want from us,” Barragan said.
Despite Dinan’s time on council beginning on a sour note, he is excited to get to work as the new vice mayor.
“I am deeply honored to be joining City Council and doubly honored to be selected to serve as vice mayor under my friend, Mayor Martha Barragan,” Dinan said. “I look forward to working with everyone on City Council to address the concerns of the community: housing, parking, economic development, parks, and all the issues brought up in the campaign.”
“I am hopeful that this new council will build on the accomplishments of his predecessors, setting aside personal egos to collaborate and address the critical issues facing our city.”
Ravneel Chaudhary, East Palo Alto City Council candidate
Ravneel Chaudhary, who ran unsuccessfully in the race for a council seat, closed out the meeting by calling on the members to move past their potential differences in order to get things done and move East Palo Alto forward.
“I recognize that members of this council may not always align politically and that each of you bring distinct visions for the future of East Palo Alto, and that is perfectly OK,” Chaudhary said during public comment after the reorganization ceremony was complete.
“I am hopeful that this new council will build on the accomplishments of his predecessors, setting aside personal egos to collaborate and address the critical issues facing our city,” he said.
