Members of the Dunsmuir City Council appointed Nancy Neubauer to fill the short-term vacancy (which expires in November) by way of a 3-1 vote during their special meeting last Thursday.
Neubauer was one of three applicants for the council vacancy that was created by the recent resignation of Helen Cartwright. Arlis Steele and Alma Newell also submitted letters of interest to serve out the term.
All three applicants stated their intentions to run for a council seat in the November election.
During the meeting, each applicant was allotted the opportunity to introduce himself or herself, answer council and citizens’ questions, and make closing remarks.
Following the applicants’ presentations, council member Mario Rubino made a motion to appoint Steele to the council. However, his motion was not seconded.
Council member Cherie DuPertuis then made a motion to appoint Neubauer and her motion was carried by a 3-1 vote, with Rubino voting “no.”
Neubauer will take her oath and be seated at the next regular city council meeting this Thursday.
“I believe that I have the countenance, intellect, passion, and drive to serve our citizens,” Neubauer stated at the meeting. “I would like to be a consensus builder and take appropriate action on items that go before the council.”
A Dunsmuir resident for three years, Neubauer said that she wishes to offer a “calm and focused communication dynamic” on the council, and to the citizenry.
In college, Neubauer studied psychology and business. She lived in Hawaii for several years where she served as executive director of an art gallery that yielded $2 million in annual sales. There, she managed 15 to 18 employees.
Throughout her life, Neubauer has had extensive experience in the human resources field and the mortgage industry. Since moving to Dunsmuir, she has run an independent consulting business in which she recruits senior-level sales and marketing personnel for companies nationwide.
Since her work allows her sufficient free time, she stated that she looks forward to researching city business matters to come to informed decisions on council actions.
A member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Revitalization Committee, and poised to serve on the Dog Control Task Force, Neubauer said that one of her main goals is to address Dunsmuir’s economic development.
Noting the improvements in the appearance of the downtown historic district that have been prompted in large part by the current council, Neubauer commented that she wishes to continue to build on the council’s progress.
Regarding the recently imposed water and sewer rate increases and the subsequent recall effort of Mayor Peter Arth and council member Rubino, Neubauer said during a follow-up interview, “I want to mitigate some of the viciousness and vitriol that has been polarizing the city over the past six months or so.”
