Concord City Council certifies election results

Concord, California – The Concord City Council on Tuesday voted to certify the results of the Nov. 5, 2020 general election. Councilmember Carlyn Obringer won re-election to her seat as a Councilmember representing the City’s District 2, and Councilmember Edi Birsan won re-election to his seat as a Councilmember representing the City’s District 4. This was the first election in which both Obringer and Birsan were elected by district. The other three Councilmembers were elected by district in the 2018 general election.

During the annual transition meeting, the Council typically rotates the Vice Mayor into the Mayor’s role and selects a new Vice Mayor. This year, instead of rotating these roles, the Council approved Vice Mayor Dominic Aliano’s motion to retain Tim McGallian as Mayor for the year ahead. His reasons were well stated in his motion:

“These have been unprecedented times and we have unpredictable times ahead of us. The City of Concord has done a good job of responding to COVID,” said Vice Mayor Aliano. “We know that COVID will be with us in 2021, and we will definitely still be in the shelter-in-place going into next year. I think it is important for the City of Concord to maintain its consistency and its leadership.”

The City Council also voted to retain Aliano as Vice Mayor for the year ahead.

The City Council also certified the results of its ballot measure, Measure V, which extends and increases the City’s existing local use and transaction tax (sales tax) from a half-cent to a full cent, effective April 1, 2021. Measure V is a general tax and required a simple majority to
pass.

While the funds are not set aside for specific projects, the City has indicated that the funds are intended to be used for community priorities, including:

• Expanded pothole repair & street maintenance
• Major repair of community streets
• 911 emergency response times
• Emergency response and recovery for natural disasters
• Homelessness response
• Mental health crisis response
• Community-based policing
• Parks & open space
• Senior center and programs

“Thank you to Concord voters for approving Measure V,” said Mayor McGallian. “We look forward to continuing to work with the community to maintain the vital services that residents clearly value, in particular amid the ongoing pandemic and local recovery efforts moving forward.”