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Longtime civic leader Bill Clarkson is officially stepping away from public office after more than 22 years, and while many residents will miss the former San Ramon mayor’s steady guiding hand, Clarkson said he feels that he has accomplished just about every goal he set for himself and the city while in office.
“I am content that I have spent my time in public service. I’m content with the things that the City Council has been able to accomplish,” Clarkson told DanvilleSanRamon.com shortly before his final meeting as mayor this month. “The most important stuff we wanted to accomplish, I think we did.”
After serving nine years as San Ramon’s mayor, Clarkson’s tenure as the city’s leader ended on Dec. 8 when he termed out after winning the maximum four terms that the city code allows any resident to serve as mayor.
First elected as the mayor of San Ramon in 2011, Clarkson was re-elected as mayor in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Prior to his time with the city, he also served in elected office as a member of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as your mayor over these last nine years,” Clarkson said in a recent public letter to residents.
“The city of San Ramon has accomplished many things over this time span, and there are many people to both recognize and to thank for their significant contributions to our community. No one can hope to serve as a mayor without an extensive network of advisors and volunteers who are willing to share their advice, encouragement, concerns, and, most importantly, their time,” he added.
During his nearly decade-long tenure as the city’s top elected official, Clarkson oversaw a significant amount of change during his time in office — presiding over a time of significant growth in population, an at times turbulent economy, social unrest and most recently battling the coronavirus pandemic.
Expressing contentment over his impact on his city and the wider San Ramon Valley community, Clarkson said his priorities of promoting community engagement, protecting open space and maintaining his communities overall quality of life have, in one way or another, been achieved during his tenure.
“To the extent that we have control, these past nine years we have really protected our open space, we have protected our neighborhoods, where we’ve had growth we’ve limited it to Bishop Ranch. I think we have residents who feel that they can participate … there aren’t barriers to entry. San Ramon is a very diversified city and we’ve put in place a whole number of stuff to make sure that what we do reflects that diversity,” he said.
Clarkson did add that he “wished (the city) could have purchased more open space,” but that so long as San Ramon’s open space was protected, that’s what is most important.
During his time in office, Clarkson led a council that oversaw the creation of a downtown area with City Center Bishop Ranch, the San Ramon City Hall, several parks and libraries, the new 9-1-1 dispatch center and approved plans for the CityWalk Project — which will result in 4,500 multi-family housing units in Bishop Ranch.
Vocalizing particular pride in the CityWalk Project, Clarkson said zoning housing around Bishop Ranch — where two-thirds of the city’s employers are located — will keep housing developments off of San Ramon’s open space and away from neighborhood communities. He added that placing residents near their jobs will reduce traffic.
“This matched well with other priorities because we always wanted to have, one of our policies was to protect existing neighborhoods, we don’t want development and growth to impact and ruin our existing neighborhoods or encroaching on our open space,” he said.
Succeeding Clarkson in the mayor’s seat is longtime councilman Dave Hudson, who as San Ramon’s longest-tenured council member with more than 20 years of experience on the dais has earned Clarkson’s confidence.
“I think that Dave has all of the skills and knowledge he needs to be a great mayor,” Clarkson said of his replacement. “I’m happy to share my thoughts anytime if he happens to need advice, my door is always open. I (also) gave him a whole list of things that I’ve had to do as mayor over the last nine years, just so he’d have an idea of what might be in front of him.”
Clarkson also expressed confidence in the City Council’s news member, Sridhar Verose, who Clarkson said provided “a great example of resident driven leadership, I think he’ll do a great job. Sridhar is going to be a great council person.”
For future residents interested in serving on a city commission or the council itself, Clarkson said new leaders should take the time to sit back, listen, learn and to stay engaged with the needs of their fellow community members.
“(New leaders) need to spend a lot of time listening and learning about their city because the ironic thing is, even after 22 years in public service and after nine years of being mayor, I feel as if I’m just now getting to the spot where I feel somewhat competent in being a mayor,” Clarkson said with a chuckle.
“So for a young person getting involved, not to have them feel like they need to know everything at first. The most important thing is to just spend time listening,” he added.
With his city’s leadership looking solid, Clarkson said a number of San Ramon’s main challenges in the months and years ahead will come from legislatures in Sacramento, where state officials may not necessarily understand the nuances of maintaining a high quality of life in smaller municipalities like San Ramon.
“Our challenge is … you have leaders in the Assembly and the State Senate who are trying to impose upon cities like San Ramon, that we become like every other city and that we densify and we build more and more housing. And the frustration is that the quality of life at a certain stage becomes diminished,” Clarkson said.
“Now when I first came to San Ramon, there were only 18,000 people here and one restaurant. We didn’t have infrastructure, our schools were portable so there was a lot for us to do to improve the quality of life and we did so with robust retail, we have great parks and schools. We have infrastructure and open space that is really marvelous,” he added.
“(However) there’s a tipping point where you begin to diminish this quality of life and I don’t think the state leaders really appreciate the importance of a city maintaining its quality of life. And it’s not a matter of us trying to pull up the drawbridge, it’s that we want to create a family friendly environment.”
As for Clarkson’s own future, he said while he is still interested in serving the community in some capacity, he has no interest in running for another elected position and that he’s prepared to be a little more “selfish” with his personal time.
“I’m really content with our great leadership in the city from Joe Gorton all the way down through all of the staff … I’m content with the fact that I feel it’s OK now to be a little more selfish and spend a little bit more time doing things with my family and doing some things that may not be related to the city,” he said.
Clarkson added that while he would be willing to help others campaign for office, he is content with spending time with his grandchildren and traveling — he said he has a strong desire to visit England, Boston and the Florida Keys when the coronavirus pandemic is under control.
“While I am leaving public office, I am not leaving public service. I do not intend to stop that. I am looking forward to new opportunities (non-elected) as they present themselves,” Clarkson said. “I will end this by simply saying thank you for the opportunity to serve you, and I look forward to seeing you at my favorite spot in San Ramon in the very near future.”
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Ryan Degan, the reporter who wrote the story, did an excellent job reporting how one person, Bill Clarkson, can make such an important impact on a city. This story can, and should, serve as a blueprint for others to follow.
Once again, an excellent job of reporting.