 | | | Renata Sos Photo provided | | | | | | The Moraga Town Council Sept. 26 appointed lawyer and former planning commissioner Renata Sos to fill the vacancy created by the July resignation of Council Member Jeanette Fritzky, who passed away on Sept. 28. The makeup of the council will now include three lawyers: Mayor Dave Trotter, Council Member Kymberleigh Korpus and Sos.
Eleven candidates applied to fill the vacancy but by the time the open session interviews were conducted on Sept. 25 and 26, three applicants dropped out, including two who regularly criticized the town's failed stormwater fee measure on social media. The eight candidates presented a wide swath of work and life experiences, from a financial professional to a candidate with an extensive public policy background to an advocate of a radical (for Moraga) suggestion to populate the town shopping center vacancies with high tech startups. Applicants ranged in age from the low 40s to the mid 70s.
In the end, after very little deliberation, the council members chose Sos, the candidate they knew and no doubt felt the most comfortable with. "To my surprise, there is clearly a superior candidate," Korpus said. "Renata will do Jeanette justice." Council Member Roger Wykle agreed and said that Sos would carry on Fritky's legacy.
Vice Mayor Teresa Onoda focused on the council succession plan. "We need someone with experience in the town," she said. "Next year Dave may not be here. I won't be here. We could have three new people." Trotter is running for re-election, and Onoda said she would not run.
The mayor had asked Sos if the town has the right to reasonably regulate development, and she said that it did. Trotter wrapped up the discussion by stressing that the council needs someone, like Sos, who understands land use and development. "I give the nod to Renata," he said. "We need to hit the ground running."
Sos' appointment was approved unanimously. She will be sworn in at the beginning of the Oct. 10 town council meeting; her term runs until December 2020.
"I feel privileged and flattered to have the opportunity to carry on Jeanette's legacy," Sos said after the meeting. "This town has given me and my family so much, and I look forward to giving back."
The Lamorinda Weekly was saddened to hear that Jeanette Fritzky passed away on Friday, Sept. 28 from lung cancer. The Town of Moraga will fly flags at half mast as a tribute to Jeanette and to support her desire to bring public awareness to the heightened risk of non-small cell lung cancer for non-smoking Asian women. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-small-cell-lung-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/signs-symptoms.html
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA