City leaders given warm send-off at last meeting of the year

Two Petaluma City Council members and the city’s longtime mayor received a roomful of applause Monday night during their last meeting on the council – and the council’s last meeting of the year – before new members are seated in 2023.

The Dec. 19 meeting kicked off with statements of appreciation as council members D’Lynda Fischer, Dave King and Mayor Teresa Barrett, as well as Kevin McDonnell – who will be shifting roles from council member to mayor – all received certificates of recognition from Congressman Jared Huffman, State Sen. Bill Dodd and Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt.

“The level of dedication and engagement has always been something that I just really benefit from as your representative in Washington, and the members who are leaving the council were just great to work with,” Huffman said.

“It’s not easy to step up and serve in local government, let alone to do it in a once-in-a-century global pandemic that crashed our economy and challenged us in all sorts of ways,” he added.

Mayor Barrett returned the appreciation.

“We all know that (leadership) takes partnerships,” Barrett said. “And we all know that we don’t do it by ourselves, and we have had terrific partners at every level.”

The new faces on the council will be seated in January following the city’s first district-based election, in which voters in Petaluma’s three east side-focused districts selected Janice Cader Thompson, John Shribbs and Karen Nau to serve in the upcoming four-year term. They will lead alongside Brian Barnacle, Mike Healy and Dennis Pocekay, as well as incoming Mayor Kevin McDonnell.

“It’s a tremendous privilege and I very much appreciate being a part of such a strong team,” McDonnell said. “It’s been an exhausting pace over these last four years, but so many achievements.”

Council member D’Lynda Fischer, who served for four years, noted that one of her favorite accomplishments included the hiring of current city manager Peggy Flynn. Council member King, who served for eight years on the City Council, shared that some of the city achievements he is most proud of include efforts toward curbing climate change, the city’s human rights ordinance and efforts in public safety stabilization.

“We accomplished quite a bit,” King said in a Monday afternoon phone interview.

The first Petaluma City Council meeting of 2023 is set to take place at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9.

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.