Myrna de Vera and John
Delgado were elected as Council members and assumed office in December
2010. After Mayor Ed Balico resigned in January 2011 and Vice-Mayor
Joanne Ward took over the vacant position, de Vera was appointed as
the city’s new vice-mayor. The June 7, 2011 Special Elections resulted
in a successful recall of Mayor Ward and Council member Donald Kuehne.
Three members of the grassroots recall movement were sworn into office
as the newest council members on June 21: Dan Romero, William Wilkins,
and Gerard Boulanger. After the ceremony, Myrna de Vera was appointed
as Mayor and John Delgado as Vice-Mayor.
It has been less than
a month since a new council has been in place, all freshmen council
members, with Mayor Myrna de Vera as the oldest “rookie.” De Vera
seems to take everything in stride. According to Mayor Myrna, good
governance practices are critical to the city’s success in its
financial recovery.
Tom Lochner of Contra
Costa Times best explained in his article, “Hercules Councilman-Elect,
despite resume padding, plans to accept seat,” dated June 11, 2011,
how the recall drive started.
“The recall occurred
at a time of public anger over the city’s financial crisis and over
its business relationship with a company that Nelson Oliva founded and
that he said he transferred to two daughters shortly before he became
city manager in April 2007; that company, NEO Consulting
Inc./Affordable Housing Solutions Group, had $3 million in city
contracts over a three-year period, approved by the City Council. But
the pivotal event that triggered the recall drive was the council’s
firing in December of interim City Manager Charlie Long, who had
publicly disclosed the gravity of the financial crisis, and its
reinstatement of Oliva from medical leave, if only temporarily. Oliva
resigned in January under an agreement that gave him a year’s salary
and benefits.”
Mayor Myrna de Vera,
during her first address at the City Council meeting, immediately
assessed the developments of the first half of 2011 and articulated
the direction of her administration for the remainder of the calendar
year.
“The past six months
have been filled with tough decisions and painful cuts. Projects
shelved, contracts cancelled, and the most sobering of all, the laying
off of 40 percent of our city staff. City morale is at its all time
low.
But many recent
changes have been positive. We started engaging the community through
citizen ad hoc committees, achieved transparency through a more open
city hall culture. We also laid the groundwork for the next stages of
change.
We have a long way to
go. The council’s priorities are to restore the people’s trust in our
city government, build strong city leadership, put our finances in
order, and develop new sources of revenue.”
After de Vera stated
the kind of workload that was expected of the city council and staff,
she added:
“During my oath-taking
speech last December, I talked about the journey we are embarking
along a steep and rough terrain. Today, we are continuing on this road
to recovery, driving our car balanced with the four wheels of
community, family, finances, and faith.
What is our
destination? We are driving toward achieving our vision of the City of
Hercules, free of corruption and fiscally-sound, a city with a
transparent council, responsive to the will of the people. Together,
we are heading to our vision of a Hercules that – once again – shines,
a city we can be once again proud of.”
Myrna de Vera is
originally from Cebu City, Philippines. She was selected as “Woman of
the Year” by the Hercules City Council, and given a Special
Recognition Award by the Hercules Chamber of Commerce in 2010. Myrna
de Vera was awarded as one of 2009’s 100 Most Influential Filipina
Women in the U.S. under the “Policymakers and Visionaries” category by
the Filipina Women’s Network.
De Vera owns and
manages an insurance agency in
San Francisco. Her husband, Manuel, and she have been residing in
Hercules with their three sons, Mark, Christian, and Emmanuel since
1991.
For the Asian American
community in Hercules, Mayor Myrna de Vera symbolizes the relevance of
diversity, reflecting the city’s population, in political empowerment.
She is the sixth American of Filipino ancestry to sit in office.
Vice-Mayor John Delgado is also one-quarter Filipino. The former
Filipino American mayors were Goni Solidum, Andy Paras, Ed Manuel,
Frank Batara, and Ed Balico. Myrna de Vera is also the first Filipina
woman mayor of Hercules,
California.
For more information about the City of Hercules, go to http://www.ci.hercules.ca.us/.
You can reach Mayor de Vera by email at citizensformyrnadevera@gmail.com.
