Walnut Creek, Danville and Concord all received new mayors this week — and not a single ballot was cast by the public in any of the Contra Costa County communities where the ceremonial post rotates each December among the sitting City Council members.
In Concord on Tuesday night, outgoing Mayor Tim McGallian handed his gavel to Vice Mayor Dominic Aliano, who was officially selected by his fellow council members for the yearlong office.
Council member Laura Hoffmeister was selected to serve as the city’s next vice mayor. Hoffmeister has been on the council since 1997, and was mayor in 2001, 2005, 2009, 2011, and 2016-17.
Aliano was first elected to the council in 2018 and was born and raised in the city, attending St. Agnes School and De La Salle High School. He was also on the Concord Planning Commission from 2016 to 2018.
In Walnut Creek, outgoing Mayor Kevin Wilk turned over the top spot to Mayor Pro Tem Matt Francois, who has been on the council since 2018. Francois, a land use attorney, also served on the Walnut Creek Planning Commission from 2007 to 2018.
Cindy Silva; who was mayor in 2010-11, 2012-13, and 2018-19; will serve as Mayor Pro Tem. Silva is also serving as state president for the League of California Cities in 2021-22.
In Danville, Newell Arnerich became mayor for the sixth time in his 26 years on the Town Council Tuesday night, taking over for Renee Morgan. Robert Storer moves up to vice mayor for the coming year.