|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
On Dec. 10, Woodside Mayor Jenn Wall handed the baton to Council member Brian Dombkowski, who was voted in as the town’s new mayor for 2025. Council member Paul Goeld was voted in as the mayor pro tem.
Dombkowski was elected on the council in 2018 and previously served as mayor in 2021.
U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo called into the meeting from Washington, D.C. to recognize the leadership and service of the council, its departing members Ned Fluet and Chris Shaw and its new council member Hassan Aburish.
“You all know that I’m retiring at the end of this year, and I wanted to be with you to thank you for your partnership over 32 years,” said Eshoo. “I thank you for your service to the community. It’s really been the honor of my life to represent Woodside.”
Eshoo reflected on many of her milestones with the town including an $800,000 fund for bicycle and pedestrian safety near Woodside High School and securing $1.2 million on behalf of Woodside to replace Mountain Home Road Bridge.
“I really view the seeds of democracy being planted locally. When we have strong communities, we have a stronger country. I thank you for your work to keep building a stronger and better community,” she added.
Outgoing council members Fluet and Shaw were presented with a resolution from State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park and Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto.
The resolution recognized Shaw for his “admirable record of civic leadership and dedication to enhancing the lives of the people of Woodside.” The town of Woodside recognized Shaw with a proclamation commending his nine years of service and participation in 174 council meetings consisting of 368 hours and 59 minutes.
“Chris brings a joie de vivre to all of his endeavors and that spirit is contagious among his colleagues and residents of the town,” read Dombkowski.
Shaw was also honored for his status as the second write-in-candiate in Woodside history to be elected into office.
“You were a spear point of significant change in this body and in the town of Woodside,” Dombkowski added. “That loss of leadership is a significant one that we’re all now going to have to fill. … We look forward to your continued engagement as a private citizen, whatever that might look like in the years ahead.”
Fluet was recognized for his “hard work and commitment to the town of Woodside,” over his six years of service. During his time as mayor in 2020, Fluet served the community in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the CZU Lightning Complex fires.
“If there was ever an instance where the gavel found the right mayor at the right time, it was you, your leadership during the pandemic and the CZU Fire was extraordinary,” said Dombkowski as he presented Fluet with the town’s proclamation.
Outgoing Mayor Jenn Wall was also recognized with a town proclamation read by Dombkowski, commending her work in reviewing the housing element, installation of solar panels on Town Hall, updates to town sign regulations and review of the application for permanent outdoor dining at Cañada Corners.
“I watched this year, as you both intensely advocated for what you believe in, and as you ran very tight meetings with a commanding presence from the center of the dais, and you did it in an inclusive way, and you did it with grace under pressure, and it was impressive to watch,” said Dombkowski to Wall.
During her time as mayor, Wall also advocated for public safety and brought forth improvements to automatic license plate readers and crosswalk enhancements, he said.
“It was a real honor to get the opportunity to serve as mayor this past year. It’s truly an opportunity and a blessing to be able to have that experience but also to really enjoy the experience,” Wall said. “I feel a lot of gratitude for the whole year and everybody that I served with, I really feel like we did accomplish a lot together.”
Wall thanked her fellow council members and expressed joy in looking forward to working with Aburish, Goeld, Council member Dick Brown and was “pleased to hand the reins over to [Dombkowski].”
“We all have some big shoes to fill but I will also say that this is an incredibly strong group that is highly engaged with the citizens and the storyline of the town and with a lot of tenure in the ranks,” said Dombkowski. “I thank each of you for everything you bring to the dais as we move forward from here.”
