Daly City Council installs new members, selects mayor, vice mayor

 WATCH: Installation of new members of Daly City Council, selection of mayor and vice mayor.

DALY CITY, California — The City Council of Daly City unanimously chose newly re-elected councilmember Ray Buenaventura and incumbent councilmember Glenn Sylvester to serve as Mayor and Vice Mayor respectively at its reorganization meeting on Dec. 10.

The Mayor and Vice Mayor will serve in their roles for one-year terms. Daly City’s Mayor and Vice Mayor are selected by the City Council at its annual reorganization meeting, usually held in the first or second week of December.

Outgoing Mayor Juslyn Manalo, the first Filipina Mayor of Daly City, graciously stepped down from her role and highlighted the City’s many accomplishments in 2018, such as the passing of three local ballot measures to sustain public services, the strong response of the City Council to unfortunate racial incidences through the “Love Not Hate: Celebrating Diversity Together” event, a successful Make A Difference Day featuring six community cleanups and the planting of native trees, and a continued commitment to providing more affordable housing recently with a new Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Manalo thanked the community, and her family, for the opportunity to serve Daly City as Mayor.

Newly re-elected Daly City Councilmember Ray Buenaventura was selected mayor by the council.

She also presented the Mayor’s Citizen of the Year award to community member Rowena Williams Poti Meafua, the Mayor’s Business of the Year award to TFC – The Filipino Channel, the Mayor’s Commissioner of the Year award to Arts & Culture Commissioner Arlene Daus-Magbual, and the Mayor’s Youths of the Year awards to Nathalie Anunciacion and Vicente Roberts. Manalo will continue to serve on the City Council as a Councilmember in 2019. Her term expires in 2020.

Three City Council seats were up for election in 2018. Ray Buenaventura was re-elected with 17,671 votes; Pamela DiGiovanni was newly elected with 13,626 votes; and Rod Daus-Magbual was newly elected with 12,637 votes. DiGiovanni and Daus-Magbual previously served on the Daly City Planning Commission before being elected to office.

Former Councilmembers Judith Christensen and Michael Guingona opted to not seek another term. Christensen was first elected in 2004 and again in 2014, serving a total of two terms. Guingona was the first Filipino American elected to the City Council in 1992 and served on the City Council for 25 years, with multiple terms as Mayor.

Assemblymember Phil Ting, the office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier and County Supervisor David Canepa presented commendations to outgoing Councilmembers Guingona and Christensen. State Senator Scott Weiner also offered his thanks for their service and his hopes to work with Daly City’s new City Council in the future.

Mayor Buenaventura was sworn in by Joe Cotchett; Vice Mayor Sylvester was sworn in by Willie Brown; Councilmember DiGiovanni was sworn in by Supervisor David Canepa; and Councilmember Daus-Magbual was sworn in by Commissioner Arlene Daus-Magbual.

The City Council Reorganization featured a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner by Janelle Cansino Feraro, a local youth, as well as a special performance for Andra Day’s “Rise Up” by singer Farida Fajardo, with Maximillian Buenaventura, the Mayor’s son, playing the keyboard. Max also performed a solo rendition of “Hey Jude.” The event was lively this year, with many youth and community members filling the City Hall rotunda.

Mayor Buenaventura was first appointed to the City Council in April 2011, to fill the unexpired term of former Councilmember Maggie Gomez. He was subsequently elected to the City Council in November 2011 and re-elected in November 2014. He has previously served Mayor in 2013 and 2015 and Vice Mayor in 2012 and 2018. Buenaventura has practiced law for over 20 years, runs his own practice in Daly City and serves on the Board of Directors for a variety of nonprofits. “I am excited to serve all the people of Daly City as Mayor and City Councilmember. We are united as a people and we can do this job together as a people, to build a better Daly City for everyone,” Buenaventura said.

Vice Mayor Glenn Sylvester retired from the San Francisco Police Department in 2011 and was elected to the City Council in 2016. He served as Mayor in 2017. He also served on the Daly City Planning Commission from 2012-2016 and is currently on the San Francisco Police Credit Union Board of Directors.-CITY NEWS