Three-time Colma, California Fil-Am mayor suddenly retires for health reasons

Three-time Colma Mayor Diana Colvin disclosed that she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and has started the first of several rounds of treatment. CONTRIBUTED

COLMA, California – Three-time Mayor Diana Colvin officially retired unexpectedly, ending 14 years on the Colma City Council with over a year left to her term.

The Filipino American town executive’s sudden retirement was announced on the town website in an Oct. 17 post, stating she “had submitted her notice of retirement, (as) she would like to focus on her health.” The post did not elaborate.

“Unfortunately, I can no longer give 100 percent to the City Council and community, and it is with a heavy heart that I step down from my position,” Colvin said in the announcement. “I have greatly enjoyed my time serving the Town and have strived to do my best to make Colma a great place to live, work and visit.”

In a brief interview Nov. 14 with INQUIRER.net, however, Colvin disclosed that she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and has started the first of several rounds of treatment.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor Helen Fisicaro expressed support in accepting the resignation.

“We support Diana’s decision and are thankful for her many years of service and dedication to the Town. It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve alongside her and we just want her to focus on her health and recovery,” said the town’s longest serving elected official.

“Diana had a passion for her community and was committed to making the Town of Colma a better place to live, work and visit,” City Manager Brian Dossey told Inquirer.net. “We will all miss her leadership and dedication to serving Colma.”

Community service

Colvin joined the City Council in 2008 to become the second Filipina American to govern Colma along with Joanne del Rosario, who was elected in 2006.

“What struck me about Diana was her reputation for service in the community,” Del Rosario said of her then-new colleague.  “The seniors just loved her because she volunteered in so many community activities and was an active member of the Historical Association Tea.  She loved to work in the background silently doing her thing.  Even just a week or two before retiring, she was helping out at the Veteran’s Village and the yearly Tea Party.”

While Colvin served 14 years as Council member, her service to the larger community began much earlier indeed.

Besides volunteering with the Colma Historical Association, she also had been supporting Daly City’s now-shuttered North Peninsula Emergency Food Pantry when she decided to take her public service to a new level.

Opportunity came in 2008 with the resignation of Larry Formalejo, the first Filipino American elected to the Colma City Council.  With 7 months left in Formalejo’s term, the City Council sought to appoint a successor well-versed in town and area history, its needs and priorities.

Colvin’s credentials and responses at the application interview impressed the Council.

“Given the same questions to be answered by the panel her answers were always on point because she attended Council meetings and knew much about the history of the town,” Del Rosario observed.  “She was an interested and caring member of the community.”

Colvin knew the town like the back of her hand as a resident for almost 50 years since settling down there with her family from Hawaii, where she was born.  The young Diana attended Colma Elementary & Intermediate School before moving to Jefferson High School next door in Daly City.

By day Colma’s newest Council member handled rental and operations of Cow Palace Area & Event Center, the 81-year-old landmark known to Baby Boomers as the site of the Beatles’ debut concert in North America.  Seating over 16,000, the venue hosts the Grand National Rodeo, the Great Dickens Christmas Fair and many other large public and private events.  The position required Colvin’s business savvy and honed her diplomacy and understanding of the surrounding communities.

Focus on healing

The City Council first voted Colvin as Mayor in 2010 and then in 2015.  She rose to the occasion again in 2021 at a precipitous time around the world.

Dossey admires how she powered through the pandemic with positive energy.

“She was instrumental in planning our Economic Development Strategy while serving on the Town’s Economic Development Ad-Hoc committee.  Highlights of her term included re-engagement with the Colma/Daly City Chamber of Commerce, restarting of the Mayor/Chamber Business walks, and commitment to filling retail vacancies in Town,” Dossey noted.

Like her peers in larger cities, Colvin prioritized stabilizing the town economy by “strengthening our fiscal health, continued support and assistance to our business community at-large and ensuring that the needs of our residents continue to be met.”

She had cause for optimism with the earliest rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines that she had hoped would “live up to our expectations in battling the virus and bringing this pandemic to an end.”

The country also had elected a new president, kindling her enthusiasm for “critical changes needed for America to heal, restoring the fundamental values and principles of democracy, renewing our faith in humanity and the human spirit, and suppression of the mounting division that has taken place across our nation.”

Some saw the worldwide calamity as a punishment, but not Colvin, who viewed it as opportunity to “reflect and redefine my role as a civil servant with an even stronger sense of compassion, humility and commitment to those I serve.”

Colvin said the lockdown drew her closer to her loved ones “knowing our time for reuniting and celebration will come again and will be all the more cherished” after physical separation.”

The City Council will consider a motion to appoint a candidate to serve the remainder of the term through 2024. Colvin’s departure marks the second time in 3 months that Colma has had to appoint a new member to complete the town council.

In July, then-Vice Mayor Rae Gonzalez gave notice she would retire in September due to ovarian cancer preventing her from fulfilling her responsibilities. She passed away on August 2.  Ken Gonzalez, her widower, was appointed to serve the rest of her term till 2024.