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Danville has a new mayor and vice mayor in office following the town’s annual Mayor Installation and Community Awards ceremony, in which Renee Morgan was selected to lead the town for her third turn in the mayor’s seat and Newell Arnerich was appointed vice mayor.
The event was rescheduled for Wednesday (Dec. 4) from its previously planned Tuesday time slot following a timing issue with certified election results from the county, with formal recognition of the final results being a key component of the ceremony.
In Danville, the five-member council takes turns in the mayor’s seat, which rotates annually on the first week in December. The council voted unanimously to select Morgan and Arnerich for their positions.
Morgan took the reins from Karen Stepper, who is remaining on the council following the conclusion of her fifth time in the mayor’s seat.Â
In her final remarks before passing the torch to Morgan at the ceremony, Stepper pointed to the town’s accomplishments over the course of her most recent tenure with the gavel, including ongoing work on the Downtown Master Plan Catalyst Project and popular holiday programing in partnership with the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.Â
She also pointed to ongoing challenges facing the town, including additional housing required by new state laws in effect during the town’s most recent Housing Element process.Â
“It’s really hard to maintain the character of Danville, and that’s the thing we hear as councilmembers most – bring the character of Danville, don’t change – well things change,” Stepper said. “It’s not because we’re growing, it’s because the state’s passing laws that we talked about earlier. And what we do is we make sure we work with developers who understand Danville and we show you what’s going on on the Town Talks page.”
Morgan and Arnerich were also sworn in for their fourth and eighth council terms, respectively, having succeeded in their bids for reelection in last month’s election.
The council is also being joined by a fresh face in the form of Mark Belotz, who was sworn in for his first term on the council amid the departure of former councilmember David Fong, who opted not to run for reelection to a second term in the seat.
“As my term serving on the council comes to an end, I want to thank my wife Louise, my family, and the Danville community for their support and encouragement, allowing me to represent you for the past four years,” Fong said. “It’s been my greatest honor serving on the Town Council as a councilmember and vice mayor.”
Belotz thanked the voters of Danville for his success in the four-candidate race for three at-large seats on the council in November’s election.
“I really appreciate your support and confidence in allowing me to help govern this town for the next four years,” Belotz said. “I’m also very excited to be working with the other members of the council, along with the town staff in continuing to make sure that Danville is the best place ever to live.”
