He and Elysia Lewis take oaths of office; council, residents, and others thank outgoing mayor Dave King
A little more than two years ago, David Silva was running for office for the first time. Thursday night, Dec. 12, he took the oath of office to become the third mayor of Buellton as most of a new City Council was installed during the regular meeting.
Silva defeated incumbent Mayor Dave King in the Nov. 5 election, one that also saw City Councilmembers Elysia Lewis (District 2) and John Sanchez (District 3) run unopposed to win their seats, which were previously at-large seats.
The council convened Thursday without Sanchez, who was absent although he did show up on Zoom during the meeting. After Public Comment, the first item was the Consent Calendar, with passed 4-0 with no problem.
After that, the agenda item was Council Reorganization, which then gave the council, staff, and others in the room a chance to thank King for his service to the city.
City Manager Scott Wolfe began: “This is our chance to recognize outgoing Mayor Dave King for his work. I’d like to thank you personally for the support you’ve shown to me and the city staff. I fondly remember the efforts we’ve made toward this city, and your efforts put mine to shame.”
King’s colleagues on the City Council also praised and thanked him.
“Thank you for teaching me the ropes, and for your friendship and all the things you know since you’v been here so long,” Lewis said.
“I’d like to thank Dave also,” said District 1 Councilmember Hudson Hornick. “I was elected just two years ago, and Dave was very good about teaching me things about being on the board and navigating the role. He taught me about development and the vision of the city.”
“I’ve enjoyed being on the dais with you,” Silva said to King, whom he was about to replace. “It’s been a fun time, we’ve had some great conversation, there’s been different perspectives, and I appreciate all your passion about this city.”
Wolfe also read a letter sent to the council by King’s predecessor as mayor, Holly Sierra.
“We’ve been been involved in this since 2008, when we both reached the City Council,” Sierra’s letter read. “We worked together to keep the budget going, the river trail, and Highway 246 traffic. Thanks for all you did for the city and good job!”
When it was his turn to speak, King emphasized his reason for joining the council.
“I wanted to do it to serve my community,” he said. “Every decision I made was for the people, not self-serving.
“I hope some of the programs I’ve worked on, the current council can make it happen,” he continued. “It’s been my honor to serve, and I’m going to miss this, but it will be left in good hands.”
Of course, King let it be known that losing a reelection bid doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.
“Last time I wasn’t reelected I spent five years and 26,000 miles with Jeff Bridges, so it’s not always bad,” King said before departing.
After a short break, Lewis and then Silva (accompanied by his husband, Jason) took their oaths of office. Since Sanchez was not physically present for the meeting, Silva said he would be sworn in at the next council meeting on Jan. 9.
In the next order of business, Silva nominated Lewis to be the vice mayor. The motion for that passed 3-0 with Sanchez absent.
The first business was one that was necessitated by Silva move into the mayor’s chair: The vacancy in his District 4, and how they would fill that. Wolfe pointed out that they had 60 days to decide whether to fill that seat by appointment or by a special election.
Silva, Hornick, and Lewis all agreed that the appointment process would be best. However, instead of the application process, which the neighboring town of Solvang does, for instance, the councilmembers preferred a process where the city would put out an email or notice and have private interviews with anyone who answers and expresses interest. Council directed staff to “put out a net” via email or notice to see if someone has interest.
The Buellton City Council will next meet on Jan. 9, 2025, at 6 p.m.
