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Trish Munro will find herself a council member without a district in two years after deciding not to seek re-election midterm this fall to address an oddity that arose with the city of Livermore’s first election under district-based voting.
Munro, who is in the middle of her first four-year term on the Livermore City Council, was elected as an at-large council member in November 2018. That was the city’s final ballot before converting to district-based elections for City Council seats starting with the upcoming 2020 general election.
However, Munro lives in a part of the city that falls within the boundaries of the newly created District 3 — as does Councilman Bob Coomber, whose regular term is up this year and whose position on the council was effectively assigned to District 3 for election Nov. 3 for scheduling purposes.
As a result, to continue serving in a regular council position beyond 2022, Munro would have had to run for District 3 this year — or move into another part of the city in the next two years, either District 1 or District 2, since a council member must reside within their district.
Munro told the Weekly that she “thought long and hard” about running for the District 3 seat on the Nov. 3 ballot, but said she ultimately opted against a campaign this fall for multiple reasons.
“I have no doubt that I can find a way to help this community that I love and make it better (after 2022),” Munro said this week.
One factor for Munro was that Vice Mayor Bob Woerner is running for mayor this year. So if Woerner were to win the mayor election and Munro were to claim the District 3 seat on Nov. 3, that would create two vacancies on the City Council — because Woerner’s existing four-year council term began in 2018, plus Munro would be vacating her current at-large council seat to accept the District 3 seat.
Munro, who has endorsed Woerner for mayor, said she didn’t like the possibility of two fresh council vacancies so soon after the general election that would need to be filled by appointment or special election in early 2021, leaving the council with only three members in the interim.
She said she also waited to gauge how the District 3 candidacy landscape would play out, since Coomber isn’t seeking re-election, to see if a newcomer would come forward that she could support. Munro said she heartened when Brittni Kiick, a local photography business owner and community advocate, declared her intent to run for City Council District 3.
“I’m what passes for diversity (on the council), and that’s a problem,” Munro said. “I am excited to have Brittni running. Having another woman, and a young woman with young kids. Awesome.”
Munro also discounted the possibility of moving within Livermore to District 1 or District 2 to allow her to seek one of those positions after her current at-large term expires in 2022 — she joked that they’re “going to have to drag me out of this house feet first.”
She did not rule out a possible run for mayor or another elected position in 2022, but indicated she’s taking a wait-and-see approach.
The deadline for prospective candidates to qualify for the ballot for District 3, District 4 or mayor is this Friday (Aug. 7) at 5 p.m.
There will be no extension to Aug. 12 for any of the three city races, which would normally occur when an eligible incumbent chooses not to run, according to city clerk Marie Weber. Because Coomber was originally elected at-large, he is not considered an incumbent under the district-based election format. In the mayor’s case, John Marchand is termed out instead of choosing not to run.
Councilman Robert Carling, who was elected at-large in 2016, has qualified for the ballot for District 4.
