Medina’s the mayor

“One of the main goals we’re going to need to address is communication, response and being collaborative and cooperative,” he said.

Outgoing Mayor Jim Ruane, who led the city during the 2010 gas pipeline explosion and fire as well as the yearslong aftermath, announced his retirement in August after more than two decades as an elected official and eight years as mayor. Resident Annette Zink generated 12.7 percent support in her quest for the position.

Filling Medina’s position on the council and another void left by Councilman Ken Ibarra’s retirement are Laura Davis, who garnered 41.5 percent support from voters, and Michael Salazar, who garnered 35.7 percent support. Davis and Salazar will join Councilman Marty Medina and Councilwoman Irene O’Connell, both of whom were elected to the City Council in 2015. Marco Durazo, a member of the city’s Traffic, Parking and Safety Committee, fell short of the votes necessary to claim a seat on the council, obtaining 22.8 percent of the vote.

Having served on the City Council for six years beginning in 2009, Salazar said he is looking forward to work once again with Rico Medina as well as finding San Bruno’s next top city executive now that outgoing City Manager Connie Jackson announced her retirement in October. Salazar said spending the last two years serving on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission after he lost his council seat in 2015 has given him fresh perspective and made him realize there was a lot more he wanted to do on the council.

Salazar said one concern that emerged time and again on his campaign were concerns about how new developments would affect parking downtown and the city’s neighborhoods.

“There’s definitely huge, huge opportunities for change,” he said. “We just really want to keep a really close eye on what we start building.”

New to the council but with 12 years of experience on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission and as a parent volunteer at Capuchino High School, Davis is hoping city officials redouble their efforts to solicit input from residents as they consider the many changes set to take place in the city as initiatives like Measure N, which voters approved in 2014 to boost allowable building heights downtown and near The Shops at Tanforan, start to take shape.

“We have a lot of good people in our community,” she said. “We have a lot of talented people … and I’d like to see more input from the community.”

From her experience working with the city and residents on projects benefiting the community, Davis is hoping city officials continue to reach out to the community and employers through efforts like study sessions to better understand what projects make the most sense for the city and how they will be funded.

For Rico Medina, a lifelong San Bruno resident and student body president of his graduating class at Capuchino High School, the focus of his campaign efforts and gratitude on election night have been directed toward the same group: the San Bruno community.

“There’s a spirit and a pride in this community,” he said. “I’m blessed to have this opportunity … and give something back to my community.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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