Ann Schneider again skipped for vice mayor

The decision Tuesday, Dec. 11, arrived to the dismay of Schneider, who had openly jockeyed since last year to fill the post she was in line for according to protocol awarding the vice mayor’s seat to the second highest vote getter in the last election.

But after a couple tumultuous years exposing deep divisions between councilmembers, Schneider was again penalized by her colleagues for unspecified behavior deemed unbecoming of an elected official. She did not hold back her raw emotions following the vote sealing her fate.

“This council has been unfriendly and frankly terrible to work with,” said Schneider, who suggested the City Council’s inability to rotate in an orderly fashion made Millbrae a laughing stock to other neighboring communities.

The decision to break from protocol and keep Schneider from the vice mayor’s seat was the second time in consecutive years such a vote took place. Earlier this year, the city went months without a vice mayor due to an inability to find an alternate for Schneider.

Gina Papan, who will remain on the City Council after serving as mayor last year, vaguely gestured during the recent meeting to failed bond building efforts among councilmembers in her case to appoint Holober rather than Schneider.

“I was hoping that we could all have a greater discussion about all of this moving forward, but that somehow didn’t happen,” said Papan.

The motion by Councilwoman Anne Oliva to appoint Holober upset members of the audience, a couple of whom had earlier advocated for Schneider, inviting calls of “do what’s right” from those amidst the packed Chetcuti Room adjacent to City Hall.

The initial move for Holober failed, as he and Councilwoman Anne Oliva abstained from voting and Schneider opposed. But when it became clear Schneider did not have the support to fill the post either, Holober relented and accepted the nomination.

Citing the stretch without a vice mayor which he considered distracting for the community, Holober said he would take the vice mayor’s seat — albeit reluctantly.

“A house divided cannot stand,” said Holober, noting that he was not campaigning for the position.

The fractured relationships among councilmembers revealed during the meeting indicated little stability going into the new year though.

Schneider lashed out toward the end of the session, inquiring if she could revoke her vote in favor of Lee’s mayoral appointment with allegations that he had called her a racist in private conversations.

She also committed to pursuing a ballot initiative which would take the rotation decision away from councilmembers and put it in the hands of voters, which aligns with her earlier interest in establishing an independently-elected mayor.

Furthermore, Schneider said she plans to host discussions addressing civil discourse and bullying as she feels she has been continually mistreated by her colleagues on the Millbrae City Council.

Despite the prevailing discontentment, officials tried their best to pledge a commitment to building camaraderie and working together to serve Millbrae residents in the coming year.

Looking ahead, Lee called for greater unity among councilmembers and said he would spend his term as mayor attempting to face head on the variety of transformative issues with which officials must grapple.

Ultimately, he suggested his term will be defined by the productivity of the entire elected body.

“The mayor is only as good as the city council,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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