Morgan Hill’s new mayor, Mark Turner, and District D Councilmember Marilyn Librers were sworn in and welcomed to the dais at the Dec. 14 meeting at City Hall meeting chambers.
Also sworn in was Morgan Hill District B Councilmember Yvonne Martinez Beltran, who was reelected to a second term in office in the Nov. 8 election. Turner and Librers also won their seats in the Nov. 8 balloting, upending incumbents Rich Constantine and John McKay, respectively.
More than 200 people attended the swearing in ceremonies at the Dec. 14 meeting, where city officials thanked their outgoing colleagues and welcomed the newest elected members of the city’s five-member governing body.
City Manager Christina Turner thanked Constantine and McKay for their service on the council. Constantine was on the dais for 12 years—starting in 2010 with two terms as a council member followed by a pair of two-year terms as mayor. McKay just completed his first four-year term as a council member.
Turner praised Constantine and McKay for their support for city staff as they have met a slew of challenges over the past four-plus years, including Covid-19, wildfires, evacuations and political protests.
“Over the past few years we’ve gone through so much together and I couldn’t imagine doing it with anybody (other than) the two of you and the rest of the council,” Turner said. She added that the two outgoing officials have helped city staff be able to “do our jobs efficiently and effectively.”
McKay said it has been an “incredible honor to serve this community” on the council. He praised city staff for all the work they have done to improve Morgan Hill over the years, and implored the incoming council members to “appreciate what that means.”
“I’ve done everything I could to get us to where we are, and I have to hand it off now and I feel pretty good about who I’m handing it off to,” McKay said.
Constantine on Dec. 14 also gave high marks to City Hall staff, who he and his colleagues often refer to as “teammates.”
“It truly is like a team and we have always worked together,” Constantine said. “I want to thank my teammates for what you’ve done for this city.”
City Hall further thanked Constantine and McKay with gift baskets and custom street signs depicting their names.
Turner and Librers were sworn in at the meeting by City Clerk Michelle Bigelow. Martinez Beltran was sworn in by San Jose City Councilmember Sylvia Arenas, who was elected to the Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor’s seat in the Nov. 8 election.
Bigelow gave each of the newly elected council members a certificate confirming the results of their election to office.
Following the oaths of office, Constantine and McKay left the dais while Turner and Librers took their seats on the council.
Librers briefly thanked her supporters and those who voted for her. Librers previously served two consecutive terms on the Morgan Hill City Council, starting in 2008.
Turner, a 30-year resident of Morgan Hill, has been the President/CEO of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce for the past nine years. He announced earlier this year that he will be resigning from that post at the end of 2022.
Before adjourning the Dec. 14 meeting to a reception with cake and refreshments and in honor of Constantine and McKay, Turner said, “I look forward to working with my colleagues in this town to bring Morgan Hill together, to move Morgan Hill forward and to make Morgan Hill the best it can be.”
According to official results from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office, Turner won the Nov. 8 election for mayor with 6,672 ballots or 42.78% of the vote. Constantine received 32.91% of the vote; and former Morgan Hill City Councilmember Larry Carr received 24.31%.
In the election for Council District B, Martinez Beltran received 60.48% or 2,222 ballots; and challenger Bryan Sutherland received 39.52%.
For Council District D, Librers won with 56.45% or 2,411 votes; and McKay received 43.55% of the ballots, according to the registrar’s site.
