During the Dec. 8 city council meeting, outgoing Mayor Susan Candell was showered with praise by staff of Sen. Tim Grayson and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, as well as Supervisor Candace Andersen who underscored Candell’s tenacity, her love of the city of Lafayette, and her desire to find common ground. Before handing the gavel to newly selected Mayor Carl Anduri and Vice Mayor John McCormick, Candell thanked the city staff and talented volunteers and outlined all that had been accomplished during her second term as mayor of Lafayette, including the Measure H win, balancing the budget, finalizing the Housing Element, working on housing projects and downtown enhancements such as the new Aqueduct Pathway Project, as well as working with Lafayette Little League and LMYA on changes at Buckeye Fields. 

    In addition to lots of enthusiastic mentions of the cake that would be served after that portion of the meeting concluded, Anduri thanked Candell for taking on the role of mayor, and applauded “the way you’ve reached out to try to bring people together and try to get them to reach common ground on issues before they get to the council.” 

    Anduri expressed his desire to make a difference in Lafayette with the help of McCormick through special projects and three main city initiatives: “preparing for and mitigating wildfire risk, implementing our Housing Element, and continuing to plan for fiscal responsibility.” The council will do a mid-course review of these priorities at the next meeting in January. 

    On behalf of the city, Anduri presented Candell with a pen for her service – and then they adjourned for cake.