LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In its final regular meeting of the year, the Clearlake City Council voted to keep the council leadership in place for another year.
Following a discussion near the end of its two-hour meeting, the council voted unanimously to keep Dirk Slooten as mayor and Russell Perdock as vice mayor.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton praised Slooten for his work, noting the Clearlake Promise Program, which the council approved earlier in the meeting, which Slooten pursued with Woodland Community College to help local students.
She said Perdock also had done a good job and she would like to keep them in place for another year.
Councilman Russ Cremer also said they’d both done a good job, but argued for the more common annual rotation, which he said is necessary to give all council members a chance to be mayor.
Cremer — who acknowledged that he had served back-to-back mayoral terms — said he wanted to see Perdock move up to the mayor’s spot and the council’s newest member, David Claffey, become vice mayor for the new year.
Overton, who noted they’ve had people serve in the mayor’s post for more than one year at a time, said she felt Slooten was the most experienced in handling development.
Claffey said the council is fortunate in having four members who have served as mayor. Looking at the challenges in 2022, and with the city having made a significant investment in land, Claffey said he was exceptionally confident with Slooten being in meetings with commercial developers. He also praised Perdock for his work in advocating for the Hope Center and the Blue Zones projects.
Claffey said he liked the continuity of having the two men remain in their positions for the coming year. “I think you’ve done a fantastic job.”
Cremer said he was not castigating Slooten or Perdock on their specialties. “What I’ve learned this year is there is life after being mayor.”
Claffey moved to appoint Slooten as mayor and Perdock as vice mayor, with Overton seconding.
Before the vote, Supervisor Bruno Sabatier weighed in, noting the mayor's job is just a post and amazing things happen when the seat is switched. He also wanted to see Claffey as vice mayor, and while they can have reasons for not changing, “I think it’s good to see that change.”
Planning Commissioner Erin McCarrick supported the move to keep the leadership in place for another year, noting she thinks it’s helpful for new residents to have consistency.
Overton said she didn’t agree with Sabatier. She said it helps to have someone like Slooten with experience in negotiation and knowledge of development in the mayor’s position.
The vote that followed was 5-0.
“Thank you. I’m humbled. I hope to do my best,” said Slooten, noting that there are numerous projects in the works that have the possibility of transforming the city. He said he would do his utmost to have those projects come to a successful conclusion in 2022.
Also on Thursday, the council approved the Clearlake Promise Program, an agreement with Woodland Community College spearheaded by Slooten that will devote $55,000 over the coming two academic years to help local students pay for college.
The council also visited with one of the city shelter’s adoptable dogs, reviewed the annual photo contest winners, received an update on the first anniversary of the Hope Center’s opening and heard from staff about the Cache fire cleanup, which is now nearly complete.
Cremer asked to pull from the consent agenda approval of the Cannabis Equity Program, raising concerns over language regarding criminal convictions for participants, with the council ultimately tabling the item.
In other business, the council continued to Jan. 6 a public hearing to consider a development agreement with Ogulin Canyon Holdings LLC to allow a cannabis operation located at 2185 Ogulin Canyon Road — a property formerly owned by the city — in order to give staff the chance to process an appeal filed against the project.
Before the public portion of the council meeting, the council held a closed session. City Attorney Ryan Jones announced action from the closed session, which included unanimous votes on three separate items.
The council authorized Jones to engage in a national opioid settlement with Janssen and state drug distributors, voted to initiate litigation against McKinsey and Co. over opioids and directed the risk authority to negotiate a settlement with Melinda Wymer over her claim against the city.
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Clearlake City Council votes to keep Slooten as mayor
- Elizabeth Larson
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