In The News
Alejo sworn into the Watsonville City Council
Thursday December 04, 2008
The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, December 5, 2008
Rivas named mayor in 4-3 voteModified: Friday, Dec 5th, 2008
In a 4-3 vote that seemed to foreshadow future possible split votes on the City Council, Antonio Rivas was named mayor of Watsonville Thursday night at a special City Council meeting.
The meeting was scheduled because the Santa Cruz County vote was not certified until Dec. 2 and new members could not be sworn in at the last meeting. Without the new members, the council delayed naming a new mayor until Thursday.
From the very start of the meeting, there was support for keeping Kimberly Peterson in place as mayor. Watsonville resident Ann Jenkins opened the meeting by reading a letter of appreciation to Petersen for her service in the past year.
“I hope they consider giving you more time as mayor, and serving one more time,” she said, finishing her comment.
After new councilmembers Luis Alejo (District 1) and Emilio Martinez (District 6) were sworn in, four hands shot up when City Clerk Beatriz Vazquez Flores asked for nominations for mayor.
Councilmembers Manuel Bersámin and Luis Alejo both nominated Peterson. Greg Caput nominated Dale Skillicorn, and Skillicorn nominated Antonio Rivas.
After that, more community members came forward to speak in favor of Petersen. After several had spoken, resident Rhea DeHart stood up.
“I would just like to say amen,” she said. “I say let’s give her another term as mayor of Watsonville.”
“Hey, this is a no-brainer,” said Watsonville resident Elias Alonzo.
Councilmembers then weighed in on the nomination. Bersámin began the debate.
“This year I’m going to be angry. I’m going to be a fighter. We need someone who brings people together,” he said.
But other members had a different plan.
“I think we have to keep it fair,” Martinez said. “Pro tem Rivas is next. It’s his turn.”
In recent history, the council has made the mayor pro tempore the next mayor and the titles were generally rotated. But Rivas did serve as mayor in 2006.
The voting process started with Greg Caput nominating Skillicorn, but that motion failed without a second. Alejo then nominated Petersen, and Bersámin seconded the motion, but Peterson was the only other councilmember to vote for herself.
Skillicorn then nominated Rivas. Martinez quickly voted yes, and Caput pondered the idea and scratched his head for a few seconds before giving his support. Rivas then voted and made himself mayor.
Other than that of the immediate family members of a couple of councilmembers, there was little to no applause in the audience.
After the mayor was selected, Dale Skillicorn and Luis Alejo were nominated for mayor pro tempore. After numerous community members came forward to speak in favor of Alejo, many in the audience began to sense Alejo would not be picked. A few made a plea to Rivas. One called his impending vote “a betrayal to District 3.”
Some audience members held their breath as Rivas began to speak, but as he rambled on for nearly 10 minutes about Alejo, education and the injustices he sees in the world, the air slowly seeped out, many people left the meeting.
“This young man impresses me so much, he reminds me of myself when I was a young man,” Rivas said of Alejo. “So for me, everyone on the council is a leader.”
Caput summed up his reasoning quickly. “Dale Skillicorn has earned his chance,” he said. “He’s served six years on the council. His time has come.”
When Petersen spoke, she made it clear that she supported Alejo, but would vote for Skillicorn in the name of unity. With that, Skillicorn was approved as vice mayor on a 5-2 vote, with Alejo and Bersámin voting against.
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Two goodbyes
Edward Din and Oscar Rios both spoke before vacating their seats. Din thanked his fellow councilmembers, city staff and his supporters in District 6. From the tone of his speech, one might expect him to throw his hat into the ring four years from now.
“I look forward to working on your behalf in the future,” Din said.
Rios wrapped up 15 years of service on the City Council. Known for his long dialogues during meetings, Rios delivered another.
“Things are changing in this country. There is hope. … and we’re part of that. For a long time they’ve been saying the problem is immigrants, but we’ve figured it out, it’s Wall Street that’s the problem. …We are a diverse community that has come together,” he said. “I never thought I would stay this long in Watsonville, but I love Watsonville. There is nothing like Watsonville.”
Rios’ long speech brought a standing ovation from the crowd.
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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula*
(Published in 12/5/08)