Sue Zwahlen takes office as Modesto mayor, pledging goodwill, cooperation, openness
The Modesto City Council said goodbye Tuesday to outgoing Mayor Ted Brandvold and welcomed Sue Zwahlen as the city’s next mayor.
Brandvold thanked the city’s employees and officials as well as the community for the honor of serving as the city’s top elected official for the last five years.
Zwahlen thanked the city’s residents for giving her and her six City Council colleagues the opportunity to represent them and pledged to work with everyone. She said Modesto faces challenges, but they can be met by city officials acting with goodwill, cooperation, openness and trust.
The City Council faced one of those challenges Tuesday as about a dozen people repeated their demands that Modesto fire and the Stanislaus County district attorney’s office prosecute officer Joseph Lamantia, who fatally shot 29-year-old Trevor Seever, who was unarmed, on Dec. 29.
Lamantia was among the Modesto officers responding to call from Seever’s family for help. The speakers included Seever’s mother, Darlene Ruiz, and other family members.
Seever’s sister, Allison, spoke of the devastating loss to her family and that city officials “won’t open up your eyes until MPD kills one of your kids.”
This is Lamantia’s fourth fatal officer-involved shooting since 2010. Prosecutors determined the previous ones were justified, and police officials determined they were within department policy. He remains on paid leave while authorities investigate this shooting. He has not responded to several requests for comment for previous stories.
Councilman Tony Madrigal told speakers that there was little council members could say while the matter was under investigation, but that did not placate the speakers. Council members also expressed their sympathy to Seever’s family and said they understood their concerns.
Seever’s family as well as friends and community members have spoken during public comment at several City Council meetings demanding Lamantia be fired and expressed frustration that it has taken so long for the Police Department to conclude its investigation.
Calls for civilian review board for police
Interim Police Chief Brandon Gillespie has said this matter is a top priority and the department is working toward a resolution as quickly as it can. Shooting investigations typically can take many months, but Gillespie has said he expects a resolution much sooner than that.
Speakers also criticized the city for how police officers arrested Alonso Nunez-Villalobos on Feb. 10 on suspicion of violating a restraining order. Cell phone video of an officer punching Nunez-Villalobos circulated on social media have prompted claims of excessive force. Police have released body-camera footage of the arrest and have said the matter is under review.
And speakers renewed their calls for Modesto to establish a civilian review board for the Police Department. Councilman Chris Ricci told speakers he supports the proposal and said it does not undercut the police but adds another perspective to how officers do their work.
He also thanked the speakers saying, “your voices do make a difference. We do hear you.”
One speaker also complained that City Council meetings are not translated into Spanish. Council members unanimously supported Madrigal’s motion that city staff bring a report back council members on this request at the next council meeting.
The ceremonies to mark the transition from one mayor to another usually are packed with family, friends and well-wishers. But that was not the case Tuesday. City Council meetings are being held over Zoom during the pandemic, with public participation taking place over the videoconferencing platform.
There were just a handful of family members at Tuesday’s meeting to mark the end of Brandvold’s tenure and the start of Zwahlen’s.
Prevailed in runoff election
Zwahlen — a retired emergency room nurse and former Modesto City Schools board member — defeated former Councilman and retired police Sgt. Doug Ridenour in the Feb. 2 runoff to become mayor, with 58 percent of the vote.
She received the most and Ridenour the second most votes in the November election among eight candidates for mayor. The race went to a runoff because no candidate received more than half of the vote. Brandvold, who was seeking his second term, finished fifth.
He served as mayor for five years because he and other council members received or are receiving an extra year in office as Modesto moves from odd to even year elections. November was the city’s first even year election since voters approved the change in 2018.
Brandvold presided over a divided City Council, whose meetings could be punctuated by bickering, infighting and distrust among council members.
Including Zwahlen, the seven-member council has four new members with Ricci, David Wright and Rosa Escutia-Braaton being elected to the council in November. The four join Madrigal, Jenny Kenoyer and Bill Zoslocki, whose terms expire in November 2022.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 1:35 PM.
