On Tuesday, voters reelected Clearlake City Council incumbents Judy Thein, Joyce Overton and Curt Giambruno, and Lakeport City Council incumbents Bob Rumfelt and Roy Parmentier.
Lakeport voters also elected a new council member, Suzanne Lyons, who will take the seat currently held by Mayor Willis “Buzz” Bruns, who is retiring from the council at year's end.
Thein said she felt her campaign went very well, and that people were receptive to her efforts.
“I am really very honored and very appreciative for the support of the community,” she said. “My plans are just to work hard for the community and do the best job I can do.”
Mayor Curt Giambruno had been brought up from the Clearlake Planning Commission and appointed to the council to fill a vacancy a few years ago, so Tuesday was his first actual election for his seat.
He watched the results come in at City Hall Tuesday night with his family. Afterward, he went through town at around 1 a.m. to put up thank you messages on his election signs so that city residents would see them first thing Wednesday.
Giambruno said he wants to help keep the city moving in its current positive direction. “We've got some good things happening.”
He said he's looking forward to seeing the city's airport property be developed so it can bring needed sales tax into the community.
Giambruno also has a wish list, including reestablishing a playground for toddlers at Redbud Park and building a dirt BMX bike track at the end of Haverty Field. He'll need to find some money for the projects but, in the case of the BMX track, he's spoken to contractors willing to lend a hand.
He's also looking at ways to make the senior center more energy efficient, including adding solar energy and making adjustments to the building like lowering the dining room ceiling. Giambruno said Supervisor Jeff Smith has helped appropriate money to establish vegetable gardens at the center.
However, the top item on his list is getting two K-9 units for the Clearlake Police Department. They've raised money for half of the first one, which Giambruno wants to help get established before starting on the second.
“That kind of thing is kind of exciting to me,” he said. “It's all positive.”
Overton said she was gratified by the community's show of support at the ballot box.
“It makes me feel good that the people feel we did a good job and they reelected all the council members who have been there,” she said, thanking people for their votes.
Overton said her to do list includes working on addressing growing homeless rates in Clearlake.
“I think it's a big problem,” she said, noting that she's seeing the numbers of homeless people who come to church-sponsored dinners at the park on Friday grow.
She said that, when she was walking the city during the campaign, she met many people who told her that, because of the economy and being out of work, they were facing becoming homeless themselves.
Overton said the city's young people will continue to be a focus for her. She's worked to support the city's youth center and said she wants to combine forces with Thein to bring Team DUI and Friday Night Live activities to the center's youth.
She's now a member of the League of California Cities' state board and is vice president of the group's Redwood Empire division. Overton said in those capacities she wants to help fight to keep the state out of city coffers while also keeping fellow council members and staff apprised of what is going on at the state government level.
Suzanne Lyons topped the field of six seeking the three vacancies on the Lakeport City Council.
“I'm really gratified that people voted for me,” said Lyons, who said she ran as a candidate for change.
She plans to start off by working to build relationships with fellow council members so they can work together for positive outcomes. “I don't think it's going to be easy but I think it can be done.”
Lyons is particularly interested in government openness, both in having the city and its council be more available to residents and also encouraging more people to take part in making the city a better place.
While campaigning, Lyons said she met many people who had good and important suggestions about improving the city's quality of life. Many of those were small things that don't cost much money, like adding a crosswalk in a specific location or marking parking spaces in a particular way.
“There's a lot of things that people talked about that would be really easy,” she said.
Lyons said she believes the city has had a very narrow outlook, and she hopes to be able to open up the scope a bit.
Rumfelt, who is looking forward to his fourth term on the council, had open heart surgery Sept. 23 and is feeling energized both thanks to his renewed health and the positive election results. He finished No. 2 in overall votes.
He thanked everyone for their support. “It's nice to be able to finish the projects that we have in the works.”
Those projects include the new firehouse for the Lakeport Fire Protection District and a new Mendocino College Lake Center.
“They're trying to get some land and build a new campus in Lakeport, so that's one I certainly want to see through,” he said.
Downtown revitalization also is a priority, said Rumfelt. The recently completed Third Street project looks great and, he believes, it will help businesses.
“Instead of being just a nice place to go, it will be a beautiful place to go,” he said.
He's also pleased to see the South Main Street drainage improvement project go forward. On Tuesday night, the council approved awarding the contract for the project, which the city has been working on for two years.
One of the project's benefits, said Rumfelt, is it will add curbs, gutters and sidewalks to a portion of South Main, which will make that part of the city more walkable.
Lakeport Councilman Roy Parmentier could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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