Modesto’s new mayor takes his seat

The Modesto City Council gave a heartfelt goodbye Tuesday evening to outgoing Mayor Garrad Marsh, thanking him for his 22 years of public service, before incoming Mayor Ted Brandvold took the oath of office and his seat on the seven-member panel.

Council members praised Marsh for his devotion to the city, his institutional knowledge and ability to work with others.

“I had the privilege of working with the mayor and learning so much,” Councilwoman Jenny Kenoyer said. “He helped you through any difficulties. You can turn to him. We did not always agree. ... But as a council, we always left as friends. ... We are losing so much knowledge and so much history.”

Council members also presented Marsh with a plaque.

“This is from the city and all of us here from the City Council,” Councilman Bill Zoslocki said, “in recognition and appreciation of your service to the city.”

Brandvold defeated Marsh in the Feb. 2 mayoral runoff election, garnering 58 percent of the vote to Marsh’s 42 percent. The two were the top vote-getters in the Nov. 3 election among five candidates. A runoff was held because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.

Marsh was seeking his second and final four-year term as mayor. Before that, he had been a councilman for eight years and had spent 10 years on the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment and Planning Commission.

Brandvold was brief in his first remarks as mayor. He thanked Marsh and the voters and vowed to work with everyone to make Modesto “a great city, even greater.”

He declined on having the city hold a reception for him at the McHenry Museum after Tuesday’s meeting. In an interview before the meeting, he cited the cost and that the city had already held a reception in November for the council’s three newest members and the council members they replaced.

Brandvold said he was told his reception could cost $2,000 to $3,000. Marsh also declined to have a reception.

The basement chamber of Tenth Street Place was packed with family, friends and well-wishers, many of them Brandvold supporters. But Marsh received a standing ovation from the council and the audience.

Marsh spoke for about 10 minutes in his final remarks as mayor.

He thanked all of the city’s employees for their service and was proud of what the city has accomplished despite low staffing levels and limited budgets. He said during his tenure, Modesto had assembled a superior executive team, led by City Manager Jim Holgersson.

Marsh said he had high hopes that initiatives started under his watch would bear fruit in the coming years. Those efforts included restoring funding to the forestry division after years of budget cuts and neglect to city trees, a new commercial center on Crows Landing Road in south Modesto and a full network of bicycle lanes throughout the city.

But he said the city still faces challenges, including not having enough money to provide Modesto with the level of public safety services it deserves, and a growing, vexing problem with homelessness.

He ended his remarks by focusing on what he called a game changer for Modesto: bringing an Altamont Corridor Express train station to downtown.

“I encourage our new mayor, our council, our city staff, with the entire community to do everything possible to secure the ACE train’s extension to our town,” Marsh said. “It will connect our city to Silicon Valley and result in a more diversified economy. It will redefine Modesto for the better.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Modesto’s new mayor takes his seat."