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The town of Woodside is breaking tradition with its mayoral rotation as Brian Dombkowski takes on his second consecutive term as mayor with Mayor Pro Tempore Paul Goeld at his side. During a Dec. 9 Town Council meeting, Goeld, who was expected to be the town’s next mayor, re-nominated Dombkowski to serve for the next year. Dombkowski also served as mayor in 2021, marking 2026 as his third term.
As the town continues to navigate through its Town Center Area Plan and upcoming housing element review, Goeld shared his beliefs that Dombkowski is “more qualified at this moment than anybody else in the room to continue this.
“I think that rather than automatically handing the gavel off to the person sitting on the right, it should be a thoughtful process,” said Goeld. “We should think about who’s most qualified, who’s got the time, the energy and who wants to do it.”
According to the town, no council member has served a two-year mayoral term in the last 10 years. Historically, Woodside has abided by the rotation of council members in the mayor seat, with an expectation that the mayor pro tem would move up to become mayor the following term.
Council member Jenn Wall questioned Goeld on his decision to stray from tradition.
“I wanted to pause on the tradition point, which is something I take really seriously because I think it goes to the expectations of the voters in Woodside (that) when (they) vote to elect a council member, they’re doing that with the expectation that the tradition that has been followed for years would continue to be followed,” said Wall.
Despite her opposition to breaking from town customs, the council unanimously voted to elect Dombkowski as mayor for the next term.
To continue the thread of renomination, Dombkowski nominated Goeld to serve another term as mayor pro tempore.
“Paul is an extraordinary asset to the community. He is highly informed on the issues, he is logical in his approach and I think he’s probably the best orator the council’s ever had, at least in my time,” said Dombkowski.
Wall returned to her concerns about the deviation from traditions. She explained that taking away the vice mayor experience from other council members would prevent more junior members from gaining the training that comes from the position.
Council member Dick Brown, who would have been the next mayor pro temp, shared he did not intend on serving on the council beyond November 2026, when his term ends. Council member Hassan Aburish said he would prefer to wait one more year before serving as mayor pro tem.
Ultimately, the council voted unanimously to elect Goeld as mayor pro tempore.
After the finalization of the council reorganization, Dombkowski received a proclamation from the town for his challenging year working through approval of the housing element, Cañada Corners parking lot expansion, launch of Town Center Area Plan update, the retirement of long tenured Town Manager Kevin Bryant and the selection of new Town Manager Jason Ledbetter.
San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller also presented Dombkowski with a commendation on behalf of the Board of Supervisors highlighting his work over the past year and the town’s support for the county through its turbulent time with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and the removal of former Sheriff Christina Corpus.
A representative from state Assemblymember Marc Berman also shared a statement commending Dombkowski’s work as mayor and that the office is looking forward to working with him in the new year.
