Janelle Kellman was unanimously elected as mayor by her fellow councilmembers at the meeting of the Sausalito City Council on Tuesday, Jan. 11. Mayor Kellman succeeds outgoing Mayor Jill Hoffman, who served in that position during 2021.
Melissa Blaustein was unanimously elected vice mayor and will succeed Mayor Kellman in that role. Mayor Kellman and Vice Mayor Blaustein both joined the City Council in December 2020.
Prior to the elections, City Manager Chris Zapata praised outgoing Mayor Hoffman for her tireless work over the past year, which included chairing 50 City Council meetings, serving on the Finance Committee and the Homelessness Task Force, working to improve Sausalito’s relationship with Marin City, and being a constant presence at special events like the lighting of the City holiday tree.
Highlights during Mayor Hoffman’s tenure include the approval of a new general plan, the hiring of a city manager, the resumption of city-wide events like Jazz and Blues by the Bay, an overhaul of the City’s Finance Department, and the passage of the fiscal year 2021-22 budget.
Sausalito is a general law city under the California Government Code, and the selection of a mayor and vice mayor is the responsibility of the City Council. By tradition, the five-member Council elects a mayor and vice mayor by majority vote on an annual basis. The mayor and vice mayor have the same voting power as the other members of the Council.
Responsibilities of Sausalito’s mayor include presiding over Council meetings, appointing councilmember representatives to regional and City boards and commissions, acting as a spokesperson for the City, and working with the vice mayor and city manager to set the agendas of forthcoming meetings. The vice mayor assumes the responsibilities of mayor when the mayor is unavailable.
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