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The city of Dublin has seen a changing of the guard in the mayor’s office this week, with now-former mayor Melissa Hernandez saying goodbye to her colleagues and the City Council swearing in first-term Councilmember Michael McCorriston to the position for the remainder of her term.
Hernandez resigned as mayor effective 6 p.m. Tuesday, formally announcing the move last week following her appointment to the BART Board of Directors last month. The Dublin City Council began their regular meeting at 7 p.m. that day with a recognition of her years of service as mayor, then ended the meeting by swearing in McCorriston to the position through the end of the year.
“To the residents of Dublin, I am grateful,” Hernandez said in a video message distributed by the city Tuesday. “Your unwavering support, dedication and passion for this city has been the true driving force behind every decision as your mayor.”
Vice Mayor Sherry Hu led the Tuesday night meeting in the brief absence of a sitting mayor ahead of McCorriston’s appointment and swearing-in towards the end of the meeting.
Hu — a candidate for mayor in the upcoming November election — said that she was willing to be considered for the interim position, but agreed with a sentiment heard in some public comments ahead of their discussion that it would not be in the best interest of the city’s democratic process to appoint someone currently running for mayor to carry out the remainder of Hernandez’s term.
“I understand the concerns raised around these elections, and we want to ensure a fair process,” Hu said at Tuesday’s meeting.
With two out of four councilmembers — Hu and Jean Josey — currently in the midst of mayoral campaigns for the November election, that caveat left only two sitting councilmembers who could fill the role.
While Councilmember Kashef Qaadri said he would accept the position if that was the council’s decision, doing so would have required the first-term councilmember elected in 2022 to effectively forfeit the remainder of the term he was elected to, which expires in 2026.
“I’m not advocating for myself by any stretch of the imagination, but if we’re stuck in a position where we can’t make a decision, I’m happy to do that,” Qaadri said.
Josey also said she would comply with the council should they appoint her to the mayor’s seat, but added that she did not think it was in the best interest of the city for either Qaadri or herself — both currently in terms expiring in 2026 — to forfeit the remainder of their terms in order to take the position.
“It just throws further uncertainty into the process,” Josey said.
The council had other options to consider beyond an internal appointment to the mayor’s seat — appointing an eligible resident not currently in office, or choosing to leave the position vacant until the results of the November election are declared. McCorriston voiced his opposition to the former choice and advocated that the council choose to fill the mayor’s seat internally.
“We have our differences of opinions, but we have what it takes,” McCorriston said. “We should be focusing on one of us here, and not so concerned about whether we’re going to lose something or not — put aside our personal agendas and focus on what’s in the best interest of our city.”
McCorriston said he was confident that either Hu or Josey would be elected as mayor in November, and that the city’s future mayor would have his full support, but echoed concerns about either one of them stepping into the position on an interim basis in the midst of their campaigns.
“What I would say is don’t focus on anybody on the outside,” McCorriston said. “Focus on one of us who I believe conveyed neutrality to all of you, and let’s try to get somebody selected tonight, and let’s move forward and get this thing going.”
After reviewing their options, Hu made an initial motion to open applications and consider external candidates for the mayor’s position through November, which was seconded by Josey. Qaadri countered that with a motion to appoint McCorriston as mayor, which was also seconded by Josey and approved unanimously by the council.
With a campaign currently underway for reelection to his council seat, McCorriston committed to not running for mayor in the coming election and to handing the torch to the winning candidate at the end of the term in December.
“I think one of you will be very good mayors, and I’d like to see it that way,” McCorriston said.
McCorriston was subsequently sworn-in as mayor at approximately 10:40 p.m. Tuesday evening, but the move is not the end of the road for reshuffling on the council, with McCorriston’s seat now vacant. At the conclusion of the discussion, councilmembers directed staff to open applications for McCorriston’s council seat and planned to review applications at their next regular meeting on June 18.
While Dublin is beginning to transition from at-large to district-based elections starting in November, the current vacancy left by McCorriston’s appointment is for an at-large seat through the remainder of his current term expiring in December. Applications are open to those who are both residents and registered voters of Dublin through June 12 at 5 p.m.
