Steve Toben named Portola Valley mayor Steve Toben named Portola Valley mayor (December 28, 2005)

The mayor's gavel in Portola Valley passed to Councilman Steve Toben at the Town Council meeting Wednesday, December 14, with a 4-0 vote of the five-member council.

Councilman Richard Merk, re-elected to the council last month, was absent.

Mr. Toben is starting his third year on the council; this is his first term as mayor. The mayor's job is largely ceremonial and includes setting the agenda and chairing council meetings.

Mr. Toben is president of the Menlo Park-based Flora Family Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the philanthropic activities of the descendants of Bill Hewlett, co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Co.

Councilman Ted Driscoll, also just re-elected to the council and now in his fourth term, was elected vice mayor. The vice mayor steps in when the mayor is absent.

Newly elected Councilwoman Maryann Moise Derwin was sworn into office for her first term after retiring councilman George Comstock stepped down.

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