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The city of Dublin has a new councilmember, as of this week, following a weeks-long vacancy spurred by the departure of former mayor Melissa Hernandez for the BART Board of Directors.
The City Council voted 3-1 at a regular meeting Tuesday to appoint former councilmember Janine Thalblum to the regular council seat previously held by interim Mayor Michael McCorriston before he was selected to fill the mayoral seat vacated by Hernandez earlier this month.
“Having 25 years as a resident and active participant of both service and leadership in Dublin, it will be an honor to once again represent the city on the council level,” Thalblum said in her application for the seat. “My immediate past/current service on the parks/community service, city council and planning commission has me in a very in-depth and complete immersion in the current activities before the council, as well as the ability to immediately step into the position prepared to serve.”
Thalblum was selected from a pool of 17 applicants seeking the position, coming out as the council’s top choice to fill the seat after a round of interviews with the applicants Tuesday evening in which she and fellow planning commissioner Steve Wright, a retired journalist, both made strong impressions to the council. The other applicants were Seema Badar, Lucrecia Deleon, Lynna Do, Sameer Hakim, Regis Harvey, Jerry Molnar, John Morada, Samir Qureshi, Ramya Ramakrishnan, Wahida Rashid, Andrea Renzulli, Ravindra Sharma, Sierra John Slatinsky, Antonio Ticsay and Horatiu Ulescu.
After agreeing on the two applicants being their top choices, the council proceeded to rank their preferences, leading to a tie.
“I do like Steve a lot, but I feel like Janine has already been a councilmember,” Vice Mayor Sherry Hu said during council deliberations.
Councilmember Kashef Qaadri made a motion to appoint Wright, with Jean Josey making a substitute motion to appoint Thalblum. The council voted 3-1 on Josey’s motion, with Qaadri casting the one dissenting vote, and proceeded to swear-in Thalblum to the vacant seat.
The council’s decision Tuesday echoes the one they made the last time the city was faced with a vacant seat, after the death of then-vice mayor Don Biddle in 2018. The council at the time selected Thalblum from a pool of 10 applicants to fill the seat for the remainder of Biddle’s term, and she followed through on her promise not to run for election to a full term that November.
“I believe I can contribute to the policy issues facing the city by continuing the work I have done as a former councilmember and current planning commissioner, which is being thorough and fully prepared, working collaboratively, and respecting all input,” Thalblum said in her application. “My decision-making comes from an open and unbiased public servant position, not a political one.”
Thalblum’s interim term is set to expire in December, after which the seat is set to be held by the winner of the upcoming November election.
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