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Livermore District 3 Councilmember Brittni Kiick has confirmed she will not seek a second term, meaning the second regular City Council position on the ballot this fall will also be wide open without the incumbent in the race.
Kiick — who took pride in standing as an example for under-represented voices in office including as a young mother, a renter and a queer, Latina woman — cited family and professional commitments among her reasons for stepping aside, as well as the level of in-person requirements of her post compared to after she was first elected during the pandemic in November 2020.
“I plan to lean into hyper local community involvement, like working at my kids’ school garden and volunteering with their extracurricular activities. My kids need me right now, which was the main driver in my decision to step down,” Kiick told Livermore Vine on Monday.
“I also start a new position at Vagaro soon, a member of Innovation Tri-Valley,” she said. “I am excited to join a company that is crucial to economic development in the region, providing good jobs for local families. Their mission is to support small business with technology, and I am thrilled to be a part of that.”
Kiick added, “When it comes to council decisions moving forward, I’m really looking forward to speaking on the other side of dais. I know how important it is for there to be multiple voices of support on projects that keep Livermore moving forward, like the approval of our General Plan and prioritizing affordable housing.”
As the incumbent bows out, three residents have pulled papers to pursue candidacy for the District 3 seat representing the southeast part of the city, although none had filed and qualified as of Tuesday morning, according to the city clerk’s office. Those prospective candidates are David Farley, Jeffrey Kaskey and Steven Dunbar — the latter of whom Kiick is throwing her support behind.
Both regular seats on the City Council are now guaranteed to change hands in the Nov. 5 election, as Vice Mayor Bob Carling is termed out of City Council District 4 on the southwest side of town. (Mayor John Marchand is unchallenged in his reelection bid so far.)
Kiick herself represented change when voters selected her four years ago to become the first openly queer person to serve on the council and the youngest elected councilmember on record in city history at 30 years old.
She pointed to the digital flexibility afforded to local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic as among the key factors that helped her to feel comfortable running for council as a young mother — allowances that have by and large waned in 2024.
“Because of the pandemic, the state lifted Brown Act Restrictions, increasing digital access and allowing leaders to vote via Zoom rather than require us all to be under the same roof. That access allowed me the opportunity to run for office — something I had never considered due to the ages of my young children,” Kiick said in a press release last week announcing her decision not to seek reelection.
“I truly believed that we could learn from this period and leverage technology for the benefit of all. Unfortunately, the state did not make the inclusionary policies of digital governance a permanent reality,” she added.
While being proud of what she helped the city accomplish during her lone term, Kiick acknowledged that work remains to be done on her goals for creating a more inclusive Livermore, particularly in her priority areas of housing for all, diverse representation in local government and community engagement.
“I learned the value of patience and teamwork in government,” Kiick told Livermore Vine. “The reality is four years into my term, there’s a whole lot unfinished that I’d hoped to achieve. Eden Housing still isn’t built, and it looks like the General Plan will not be approved in my tenure.”
“This realization has further instilled the importance of viewing public service as a team sport,” Kiick added. “I took a turn and I’m happy to pass the torch along to Steven to continue to fight for the things that matter to our community, like affordable housing, climate action and maintaining a fiscally stable city.”
