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The San Ramon City Council on Wednesday appointed retired U.S. Army colonel and former Federal Emergency Management Agency manager Mark Armstrong to fill the vacant council seat and represent District 2 on the dais.
Elected unanimously by the council — albeit with initial pushback from Mayor Dave Hudson, who preferred former councilman Harry Sachs for the post — during a special online meeting, Armstrong beat out four other candidates who interviewed for the position, with council members saying they were impressed by his leadership experience, public service record and priorities for the city.
“I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to serving others, and I feel that those years that I’ve had in public service have led me to this point now where I’m able to give back to my local community, which has done so much for me and my family,” Armstrong said prior to his selection.
“I think we all agree San Ramon is a great place to work, to live, to play, to run a business and raise a family. We’re fortunate that we don’t have a lot of big problems to fix like some of the other cities, but we do have opportunities to make San Ramon an even better place to live,” he added.
Armstrong will finish the remainder of the term vacated upon Hudson’s ascension to mayor after the Nov. 3 election. Hudson was in the middle of an at-large term running through 2022 when he was elected mayor last fall, and the resulting council vacancy was subsequently assigned to District 2, which covers southwestern San Ramon.
A 16-year resident of San Ramon, Armstrong served a 30-year career as an infantry officer in the Army working in a variety of multi-service, interagency, command and staff assignments throughout the world, before retiring after reaching the rank of colonel.
He is also a retired certified emergency manager who, according to his application submitted for the council’s review, served in senior leadership positions with FEMA in support of numerous states, territories and tribes. In that capacity he worked extensively on wildfire, flood, mud flow, earthquake and tsunami responses throughout the country.
Five qualified candidates interviewed to serve District 2 on the San Ramon City Council, retired Army Col. Mark Armstrong ultimately winning the position.
A 1981 graduate of U.S Military Academy at West Point with a degree in civil engineering, Armstrong cited an extensive amount of leadership experience through his time in the Army and FEMA. He has not previously served on a city commission or advisory board in San Ramon, but he stated that he stays informed on City Council and Planning Commission meetings.
He previously completed the San Ramon Government 101 course and has roots in the community as a volunteer at Forest Home Farms. He has also received training from the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District as a community emergency response team search volunteer.
“Now that I am retired, I have the bandwidth to dedicate my time to City Council commitments, to study the important issues facing the city, to develop the important relationships to build consensus and to listen to our citizens and ask the right questions and to make informed decisions consistent with the vision of the city,” Armstrong said.
Listing a set of priorities geared toward maintaining and increasing where possible San Ramon’s high quality of life, Armstrong said as a council member he will seek to enforce public safety, maintain financial stability and to protect the city’s vibrant open space and neighborhoods.
Citing public safety as the first item on his priority list, Armstrong endorsed a “fully funded police department,” highlighting San Ramon’s reputation as a recognizable safe community.
“Nationally, we’re recognized as one of the safest cities in the country but I’m still concerned about petty crime,” he added. “So I support initiatives like the FALK camera system and Citizens’ View where shared cameras can help residents and businesses catch the bad guys.”
He also endorsed street safety programs such as Street Smarts as well as the planned pedestrian overpass bridge on Bollinger Canyon Road to maintain safe streets.
Addressing the Bay Area’s ongoing housing crisis, Armstrong vocalized a strong support for the CityWalk development project, which would place 4,500 housing units on the Bishop Ranch property. He argued that the project would keep homes off San Ramon’s hillsides and open space, and placing them where workers are already located.
“We know we are going to get housing numbers pushed on us from the state,” he said. “I think we need to be smart about protecting our neighborhoods, our retail partners and our open space that people enjoy so much. That’s why I look forward to the CityWalk project in the city’s core area.”
Armstrong also praised the city’s current budgetary trends, saying “budget-wise I think we’re in good shape in San Ramon. We’ve got a balanced budget, we’ve got strong reserves and a AAA credit rating and we need to keep it that way.”
“I have experience planning and budgeting within the department of defense and with FEMA, and I’m committed to making sure that whatever we spend our money on is consistent with our general plan and the specific objectives that are important to our city and our vision,” he added.
In winning the seat, Armstrong beat out four other finalists, each with their own backgrounds in civic governance.
In addition to Sachs, a teacher and former City Council member from 2013-18, the other finalists were parks and community services volunteer Sarah Lashanlo, Economic Development Advisory Committee member Dwight Pratt and Santa Clara County prosecutor Patrick Vanier.
“We are very fortunate to have such great candidates within our community, thanks to everyone and thanks for our staff. This is amazing; within 30 days we wanted to get all of this wrapped up … this definitely shows the spirit of our community as well as our staff and the city council,” Councilman Sridhar Verose said at Wednesday’s meeting.
“I really appreciate the lifetime of service that Mark Armstrong has demonstrated through West Point,” Councilman Scott Perkins said of the appointment. “30 years in the Army as a colonel and then a dozen or so with FEMA and the community work he has done here in the city … he’ll get my top vote.”
Perkins and Verose both nominated Armstrong for the position and selected him as their top choice to serve out the remainder of Hudson’s term.
Hudson expressed misgivings about the appointment, saying that while he was sure Armstrong would be a quality council member, he preferred Sachs due to his extensive experience in city governance.
To enforce his point, Hudson called a vote to appoint Sachs over Armstrong after Perkins and Verose had already made a motion to select the retired Army colonel and FEMA official.
“I am going to make a substitute motion, I think this is a big mistake. I had Harry Sachs first because he was by far the best candidate. The others will be good candidates but to finish these next two years. What we are asking someone to come in and do, is not just something that I want somebody new at,” Hudson said. “I will make a substitute motion that my replacement be Harry Sachs.”
Hudson’s call was not seconded by any other council member and died on the floor, leading all four council members to unanimously approve Armstrong’s selection.
Armstrong will officially take the oath of office to join the San Ramon City Council at its next regular meeting.
Residents can view the entire meeting, including the interview process, online at the city of San Ramon’s YouTube Channel.