Jerry Thorne to be sworn in as Pleasanton’s new mayor tonight

Councilman Jerry Thorne will be sworn in tonight as Pleasanton’s new mayor along with two newly-elected members of the City Council, Karla Brown and Jerry Pentin.

The proceedings will take place shortly after the start of the regularly-scheduled council meeting at 7 p.m. in the Pleasanton Civic Center, 200 Old Bernal Ave.

A reception honoring the new mayor and City Council members will be held in the Pleasanton public library from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Also to be honored will be outgoing Mayor Jennifer Hosterman and council members Cindy McGovern and Matt Sullivan, all of whom have completed serving the allowable eight years in office.

Hosterman, McGovern and Sullivan will have an opportunity to make final remarks as office holders at the start of tonight’s council meeting, and then the oath of office will be given to those newly elected and they will take their seats on the council dais.

Also serving on the new council will be Councilwoman Cheryl Cook-Kallio, who was defeated in her bid for the mayor’s post in the Nov. 6 municipal election. She has two years left to serve as a councilwoman.

Early on tonight’s agenda the new council will consider a resolution calling for a special election in May or June to fill the council seat being vacated by Thorne, and whether that election will be by mail or with polling place for voters. The cost of a special election by mail is estimated at $250,000 and about $100,000 more if voters have the option of actually casting their ballots in polling places.

By law established by a previous City Council, replacements for empty seats on the Pleasanton City Council must be filled in special elections, not appointed by the council as used to be allowed and is still the practice in many other California cities, including Dublin

Tonight, the council also will select a new vice mayor for the coming year and will confirm appointments of the four on the council, including Thorne, to various council subcommittees as well as local and regional boards and commissions.

The council meeting is scheduled to be broadcast live on TV Channel 29 by Tri-Valley Community Television.

Thorne was elected mayor Nov. 6, receiving 11,980, or 54.6%, of the votes cast in the mayor’s race, compared to 9,740, or 44.7%, for Cook-Kallio.

Until Thorne’s council seat is filled next spring, the council will function with just four members.

Thorne was first elected to the City Council in a special election June 7, 2005, and then re-elected by wide margins in November 2006 and again in 2010. A retired executive from Hewlett Packard, he has lived in Pleasanton for more than 30 years with his wife Sandi, and where they raised their daughter Keri.

During his HP career, Thorne held top management positions, with responsibility for a $200 million annual budget and a $40 million payroll. As manager of global procurement and facilities design, he often worked directly with the city of San Jose, including its mayor, and helped streamline services to make the city more business-friendly.

Before seeking his council seat, he served 10 years on the Pleasanton Parks and Recreation Commission. He chaired the Bernal Community Parks task force and co-authored the Save Our Community Park initiative that has resulted in the construction of three baseball fields on the Bernal property, the first part of a major new sports complex planned there.

As president of the Pleasanton Seahawks swim team, he also led the effort to build the 50-meter swimming pool that is now part of the Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center.

Karla Brown and Jerry Pentin won election to the City Council handily Nov. 6, with Brown garnering 12,460 votes, 37%, and Pentin winning with 10,624 votes, 31.6%. A third candidate for the two available council seats, Erlene DeMarcus, received 6,099 votes, 18.14%.

Pentin served four years on the city Planning Commission and most recently was its chairman. He also has been vice chairman of the city’s Bicycle Pedestrian Trails Committee and was a member of the Downtown Hospitality Guidelines task force. He owns Spring Street Studios, a video production company that produces corporate videos.

Brown is a real estate broker associate with Prudential California Realty in Pleasanton and a 20-year Pleasanton resident. She and her husband Tim Belcher have been involved in the community as they raised their three daughters, coached RAGE soccer and volunteered in their schools. She currently is a member of the East Side Strategic Plan Task Force although it’s not clear if now, as a councilwoman, she can continue in the role.