|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Newly elected and reelected members of the Livermore City Council officially have taken their seats on the dais after being sworn in to their positions.
Mayor John Marchand, who ran for reelection unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election, reclaimed his seat at the helm while new council members, District 3 representative Steven Dunbar and Kristie Wang of District 4, joined the council for the first time at the Dec. 9 meeting.
While the two fresh faces are new to city government, they are no strangers to public service in Livermore — with Wang previously serving on the Board of Education and Dunbar as a city planning commissioner.
According to the official results certified by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office, Dunbar made out with 41.42% of the vote (4,255 votes), beating out his two opponents Jeff Kaskey, who ended up with 30.86% (3,170 votes), and David Farley who landed at 27.72% (2,847 votes).
Wang won her seat by a large margin, garnering 61.43% of the vote (6,671 votes) while her opponent Tom Soules trailed with 38.57% (4,189 votes).
The welcoming of the new council also marked the departure of former council members Brittni Kiick and Bob Carling. Kiick chose not to seek reelection after serving one term on the council and Carling passed the torch after reaching his term limit.
“This is kind of a sad time for me because I’ve really enjoyed working with this council – I mean, I came back to work with this council just because they are doing great things here,” Marchand said before presenting proclamations to Carling and Kiick. “But it’s also kind of fun because we get to reflect upon a lot of the things that we were able to accomplish during that time,” he added.
Both Carling and Kiick shared brief remarks reflecting on their respective tenures on City Council and expressing gratitude to their colleagues, the community and their own families.
After completing their last orders of business as council members, Carling and Kiick stepped down from the dais as Dunbar and Wang stepped up to take the oath of office along with Marchand.
Rejoining the meeting as an audience member, Kiick spoke during public comment to offer words of encouragement to the new council members.
“You are going to have so much fun and you will have lots of ideas. And when they’re a little bit out there, staff will ask you very kind, calm, pointed questions to bring you back down to reality and will still allow you to push but it turns out they are the experts and they do know what they’re talking about,” she said. “You will get yelled at from people standing right here – kind of a lot – but there are more people who are thankful and grateful for your work than there are people who have nothing better to do on a Monday night than yell at you,” she added.
She continued sharing insights from her time on the council before concluding her remarks by saying, “I am just honored that you two – and John, but you were already here – will continue a legacy of compassionate, data-informed and community-focused leadership here in Livermore.”
Following the new council’s installation, Marchand appointed Evan Branning the city’s new vice mayor.
Pleasanton school board set to vote on canceling certain employee layoff noticesApril 16, 2026 7:42 am
