Dublin's New Mayor And Two Councilmembers Sworn In

Mayor Melissa Hernandez was sworn into office in a virtual ceremony on Tuesday along with new Councilmembers Sherry Hu and Michael McCorriston. Dublin also has a new Vice Mayor, Shawn Kumagai who was unanimously voted in by the Council.

The Council certified the results of the November 3 2020 election from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters for the Office of Mayor and two City Councilmembers before the Oath of Office was administered.

When the official count was still in progress and it became clear that Hernandez would be the Mayor-elect she thanked the community in this Facebook post " Thank you to every Dublin voter who cast a ballot in this historic election!... I am truly humbled and grateful that the current results show I have been chosen by you to be your next Mayor. I pledge to continue to put your interests first, and to empower the community in working together to address the challenges ahead. I look forward to collaborating with you on Dublin’s future."

Plaques were presented to outgoing Mayor, David Haubert and outgoing Vice Mayor Arun Goel at the ceremony held on December 15.

The ceremony was live-streamed due to the current statewide surge in coronavirus cases. In her role as legislative aide to Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty, Hernandez was involved in COVID response and support services for Dublin, Livermore and Fremont by expanding access to food banks for hundreds of seniors, families, and children in need; providing free COVID testing in Dublin; and assisting in distributing thousands of masks to local businesses.

Mayor Hernandez was first elected to the City Council in November 2016, and is a former Vice Mayor with over two decades of experience as a small business manager in the dental and health sector. Hernandez has worked on the staff of Alameda County District 1 Supervisor Scott Haggerty, as an assistant in charge of health care and human services.

Mayor Hernandez posted this comment after the ceremony "It was an honor to have Supervisor Haggerty swear me in as Mayor last night. I look forward to serving the Dublin community as your next Mayor."

Remarks made by new Vice Mayor Shawn Kumagai after the meeting:

"At tonight's meeting I was truly honored to be nominated by Mayor Melissa Hernandez and have the unanimous support of my colleagues, Councilmembers Jean Ingalls Josey, Sherry Xin Hu, and Michael McCorriston to be appointed as the 2021 Vice Mayor for the City of Dublin.

I want to congratulate Councilmembers Hu and McCorriston on their swearing in to be our new Councilmembers and thank them both for going down this path to serve our community. Also, a big thank you goes out to out-going Mayor David Haubert and out-going Vice Mayor Arun Goel for your many years of service to our City."

And a HUGE congratulations goes out to Mayor Melissa Hernandez. Under her leadership I know that Dublin will continue to move forward and we will come together to confront the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. I am so excited that Dublin has its first Latina Mayor and that she will be leading a majority-women Council. I'm very proud of that and I think that's something all of Dublin can be proud of."

Other elected officials sworn in earlier this week are serving the Dublin Unified School District.
During the regularly scheduled Board meeting on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees swore-in three recently elected board members, Gabi Blackman, Catherine Kuo, and Kristin Pelham. All three will be representing the community on the board through 2024.

During the DUSD board meeting, a video tribute to Amy Miller, created by DHS students and staff, was played as part of recognizing Miller's ten years of service to the Dublin community. A second video by DUSD celebrated her ten years of service, and featured community members, elected officials, current and former staff, as well as Amy's family, thanking her for her dedication to the Dublin Unified School District.