It seems that San Mateo will not have one or a mayor anytime soon. Discontent over the lack of someone to fill the position in the city has been growing, largely due to the refusal of Councilmembers Lisa Diaz Nash and Rob Newsom to accept that Councilmember Amourence Lee take office as the new mayor despite the fact that It corresponds to it by rotation.
The actions of Diaz Nash and Newsom have generated reactions from residents and officials from the county and surrounding cities in the midst of a city that is becoming more divided every day.
This Wednesday night at the regular meeting of the San Mateo City Council, the issue was central, a catwalk of residents went to the central building to offer their support to Councilor Lee and express their sorrow, annoyance and frustration at what is happening .
In the meeting, Diaz Nash seconded by Newsom ?second cousin of the governor of California? He said sticking to the fundamentals, waiting for a fifth councilor to exist in order to vote for a new mayor, because, he said, it would not be correct for the missing councilor not to issue his opinion on who should take office.
In a long session that reached the early hours of this Thursday, despite the four councilors disagreeing, it was unanimously decided that on Monday, December 12, it will be decided who of the nine current candidates will occupy the available seat in the Council, to later vote for a new or new mayoress.
As the hearings progress and the days go by, the polarization and division between residents has become increasingly evident through social networks, some in support of Diaz Nash and Newsom and others with Lee and Adam Loraine, councilman for the district. 5 of San Mateo.
Doubts, repetitive comments, awkward silences, breaks, and dozens of residents giving their points of view marked the night that seemed to go nowhere.
The meeting this Wednesday has undoubtedly been a reflection of how San Mateo is at the moment, completely divided.
According to Aldo Toledo, a reporter for the outlet The Mercury NewsCouncilman Adam Loraine said after the session that he felt "embarrassed for the city."
“We were just sitting there doing nothing and yet, we know, I know, we have a lot of work to do in our city,” Loraine noted. «It is excessive. We are wasting time when we have no time to waste. We're basically being held hostage right now because two council members aren't willing to let Amourence Lee become mayor."
The chessboard is set, on one side Lee and Loraine, and on the other Diaz Nash and Newsom, the first against the city of San Mateo growing in terms of housing, the second in favor of controlled growth for the next years.
Undoubtedly the lack of affordable and decent housing is a crucial issue throughout San Mateo County, the city of San Mateo is no exception, but there are those who simply see more traffic and chaos, and not sustainable employment development- housing-quality of life necessary for growth.
It seems that there is a movement that seeks to keep everything the same, that foresees a deterioration in the advance without first contemplating the possibilities of substantial advances for the benefit of all.
San Mateo plans to build 7,000 new homes over the next few years, the issue is in check.
Nash and Newsom play the "everyone must be represented" piece to pick whoever takes the reins of city council. The one who has put the voice of the duo has been Diaz, time and again that he wants to "bring together a full complement of council members to make that decision."
Newsom said: “It has never happened before that we have four council members to elect a mayor, and there are people who will not be represented? If we allow one person to have two votes, that's not the intention the way it's been laid out."
The game is not easy. Lee denounced having received private offers to side with a particular candidate for the fifth position on the Council, which would propel her to reach the position of mayor.
«The fact that we have not elected mayor? is having a very egregious and toxic influence on the selection of the fifth council member," Lee said.
It should be noted that the Council has until January 3 to elect a fifth element, however, it is possible that the date will be reached and neither a councilor nor mayor.
after which the mayor would have the ability to appoint a member. With no mayor or deputy mayor, the deadlock could create another unprecedented situation for the city.
"Nothing we've experienced Monday night or tonight fills me with optimism that we're suddenly going to come to a consensus. This worries me," Loraine said in this regard.
We will have to wait for the following plays from both sides over the next few days, where, without a doubt, there will be a display of strategy.
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