The Menlo Park City Council has a new member. Maria Doerr was appointed to represent District 5 at a special Jan. 9 meeting, filling a vacancy left by Ray Mueller who was elected to the county Board of Supervisors.

The vote was 3-0, with Council member Drew Combs abstaining, saying that he believed the candidate should be elected and not appointed. Doerr was picked from a pool of six remaining candidates, down from the more than one dozen who applied.

Mueller resigned last month to take his seat on the board of supervisors, leaving two years remaining on his term representing the district, which encompasses Sharon Heights, Sandhill and parts of West Menlo Park.

Doerr is a strategy and management consultant for nonprofits, foundations and government agencies. She graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering in 2017.

Two residents spoke at the City Council meeting to voice their support for Doerr. No one spoke in favor of a different applicant.

"She will bring the voice of a younger generation that is not always represented on the City Council," resident John McKenna said. "When it comes to climate and housing, two of the most important issues facing Menlo Park, her generation's voice is one that deserves representation."

In her application for the post, Doerr said her immediate priorities on the council are housing, building electrification and engaging a younger generation in civic life. Her long-term priorities are traffic mitigation and transit access, infrastructure improvements and land use changes to better prepare for disasters such as flooding and fire, and creating space for "community connection" in Menlo Park.

"I see the City Council thinking about the climate action plan, and how that comes through — especially with the building electrification and the work with BlocPower and the $4.5 million grant that we have to support building electrification and retrofits — especially in our low-income communities of color, is really exciting to me," Doerr said during her interview with the City Council at a special meeting Dec. 21.

Doerr was at the Woodside Bakery at 325 Sharon Park Drive on Wednesday, Jan. 10, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. to meet residents and talk about what District 5 residents want for their community.

Besides Doerr, the other applicants who were still contending for the seat were former Council member Catherine Carlton, Robin Glass, Thom Phan, Paul Studemeister and Noria Zasslow.