Jennifer West’s one year term as Mayor ended on December 4th. Via her blog, she announced a personal career change that will bite into here public service availability. The City Emeryville does not have a directly elected Mayor. Every year, the five City Council members select a Mayor and Vice-Mayor from among themselves for a one year term. This year, Kurt Brinkman has been selected to fill this role that consists of the additional powers of running the council meetings and making political appointments. More can be read about this process on this Emeryville Tattler Opinion post. Council member Jac Asher was selected as the new Vice Mayor.
In Addition, Patrick O’Keeffe will step down after serving as Emeryville’s City Manager since 2006. Replacing him in the interim will be current Economic Director Helen Bean. Emeryville’s City Manager is appointed by the City Council and serves as the administrative head of the city government and as the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Agency. The City Manager is responsible for policy implementation and management of all city operations. The City Manager advises and makes recommendations to the City Council concerning any conditions or situations which require Council direction or policy determination and prepares the recommended budget for consideration and approval by the City Council.