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Danville Vice Mayor Lisa Blackwell has confirmed that she will not seek re-election this year, stepping away after serving one term and ensuring that at least one seat on the Town Council will change hands on Nov. 3.
First appointed to the Town Council in 2016, Blackwell told DanvilleSanRamon.com that she will be stepping away from the council in an effort to spend more time with her family and to travel given the opportunity.
“After eight years serving the town of Danville and the previous 20 years volunteering with local schools, I have decided to step back and spend more time with my family, including our three young grandchildren,” Blackwell said.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time serving our town,” she added. “I’ll be staying involved with our community in one way or another.”
Blackwell ascended to the Town Council in the fall 2016, when three candidates — herself and two incumbents — were the only people to file nomination paperwork to appear on the ballot. The council appointed the trio directly to the dais rather than hold an election with only three candidates on the ballot for three available seats.
Prior to joining the council, Blackwell served on the town’s Parks and Leisure Services Commission and served for more than 20 years in various volunteer positions in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, including several leadership positions at the school-site level.
Looking back on her four years serving the town as a council member, including this year as vice mayor, Blackwell said one of her proudest achievements came from her advocacy for the town’s parks that helped see the addition of bocce ball courts, renovations to Osage and Hap Magee Park, plans for the inclusion of a future skate park and upgrades to the Town Green in the Parks, Recreation and Arts Strategic Plan.
As a member of the council who lived near downtown, Blackwell also became known as the “eyes and ears of the town,” developing close relationships with business owners and restaurateurs in the downtown district.
She said she was also proud to oversee an increase of permanent open space in the town — Magee Preserve project being one recent example — while also advocating for affordable and moderately-priced housing developments.
Further taking the time to recognize Danville’s status as being named the safest community in California for the past three years, Blackwell praised the community and council’s close relationship with the Danville Police Department.
Always a passionate advocate for issues involving youth and education, Blackwell served as liaison to the school district and as a member of the Street Smarts Advisory Committee during her council tenure.
Touching on the ongoing pandemic that has ravaged the country, Blackwell recognized the efforts of her fellow town leaders for tackling the crisis head-on and their efforts to balance the health of its citizens with the health of its businesses.
“While we are still in the middle of this pandemic, I am proud of the way the town of Danville has pulled together to address the complex issues we are facing,” she said.
Blackwell did not publicly announce her decision to not run for re-election until Friday, telling DanvilleSanRamon.com that she still had people who deserved to hear the news directly from her first.
Friday was also the main deadline day for filing candidacy paperwork, but because Blackwell was an incumbent and did not register to run, that deadline has been extended for an additional five days to Wednesday (Aug. 12) at 5 p.m.
Good decision. We need some new people who challenge the establishment that has represented us in recent years. I know it is difficult to push back against Sacramento’s high density housing, etc but we need more voices on the Town Council who support Danville as a Town rather than another urban setting.