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Two new council members were sworn into office at East Palo Alto City Hall on Tuesday, but procedural irregularities were evident at the ceremony.
The reorganization of City Council following the November general election was delayed with outgoing councillors voting on issues beyond their term end date and moving unrelated items off the consent calendar.
“The concern I had with the inauguration was that they did a full agenda with the expired council,” newly elected Councilman Mark Dinan said in an interview Wednesday. “They were sworn in on Dec. 8, 2020, and their terms expired in four years by law. They shouldn’t have voted on anything substantial yesterday. It should have been purely ministerial, which is passing the torch.”
In the November election, Carlos Romero, Dinan and Webster Lincoln prevailed over their opponents in a crowded race for City Council with three vacant seats. Romero regained his seat, while former Mayor Antonio Lopez and Councilwoman Lisa Gauthier left office.
It is unclear whether outgoing councillors can continue to vote on resolutions despite more than four years having passed since they took office.
East Palo Alto’s municipal code mirrors state law, which states that the terms of elected city officials “shall be in accordance with state law for a period of four years beginning on the Tuesday following their election and until their successors are elected and qualified.”
City Manager Melvin Gaines wrote in a statement that until the old council certifies the election results and the new council members are sworn in, the old council “continues to have the right, under state law, to meet and transact business.”
Among those matters, the former council decided to adopt a final plan for the future Ravenswood Business District, or RBD.
“They voted on some very, very big issues and that included the RBD that was part of the consent package,” Dinan said. “They didn’t discuss it, but it was voted on and approved. This is a billion-dollar development plan for East Palo Alto. It’s a very big deal.”
Dinan believes his and Lincoln's oaths were delayed until the end of the meeting because the previous council did not want either of them to influence the approval of the RBD's final plan.
“They didn’t want to do the oath at first for us, because then Webster and I would have voted on the RBD,” Dinan said. “When you do that, you’re doing it with two council members whose terms have already expired.”
But Gaines said the former council voted on the RBD plan Tuesday because it was originally supposed to be addressed at an earlier meeting that ended up being canceled.
“The agenda items from the 12/17/24 meeting that the outgoing councilmembers voted on were on the consent calendar,” Gaines wrote in her 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, anxiously waiting to be sworn in and recognized for their victory.
However, hours passed as council members heard public comments on unrelated matters and issued a proclamation to the city's Little League team for winning its district's Fall Baseball championship.
“I would question a city reorganization meeting where they spent more time honoring a worthy Little League team than actually reorganizing,” Dinan said. “It’s great what they’ve accomplished, but yesterday was not the time or place to do it, any more than it would be the place to make a proclamation before a wedding.”
The meeting was unusual compared to previous East Palo Alto City Council reorganization ceremonies. In the past, swearing-in rituals after elections have always focused solely on recognizing outgoing members, ushering in new candidates and naming a new mayor and vice mayor.
Dinan and Lincoln were finally sworn in after Lopez and Gauthier were honored. They cast their first official votes as new councilors in the election for mayor and vice mayor.
The new council unanimously promoted Councilwoman Martha Barragán as mayor. Barragán has served two years on the council.
They were split on who should be vice mayor. Romero was in favor of appointing Councilman Ruben Abrica. However, the two newly sworn-in councilmen and Barragan chose Dinan to take on the role in a 3-2 vote.
During the vote for vice mayor, Romero said he thought seniority should come first in the decision. Abrica is a three-time mayor and was one of East Palo Alto's first council members when the area was incorporated in 1983.
“I think it should be someone with a little more experience than Mr. Dinan,” Romero said. “I will have to vote ‘no.’”
Although Barragán voted in favor of Dinan being deputy mayor, he reiterated that Dinan and Lincoln should initially give up their position to councilors with more experience behind them.
“I think we will also rely on the most experienced members of our staff, our board, and also taking into account what the voters want from us,” Barragán said.
Even though Dinan's time at City Hall started on a sour note, he is excited to get to work as the new deputy mayor.
“I am deeply honored to join the City Council and doubly honored to be selected to serve as Deputy Mayor under my friend, Mayor Martha Barragán,” Dinan said. “I look forward to working with everyone at City Hall to address community concerns – housing, parking, economic development, parks and all the issues raised in the campaign.”
Ravneel Chaudhary, who ran unsuccessfully for a council seat, closed the meeting by calling on members to put their potential differences behind them in order to get things done and move East Palo Alto forward.
“I recognize that members of this council do not always align politically and that each of you brings different visions for the future of East Palo Alto, and that is perfectly fine,” Chaudhary said during public comment after the reorganization ceremony had been completed.
“I am hopeful that this new council will build on the accomplishments of its predecessors, putting aside personal egos to collaborate and address the critical issues facing our city,” he said.
With information from Bay City News.
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