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Record of Proceedings

Mountain View City Council Special Meeting - January 13, 2026: Mayor Recognition and Election

City Council — Tuesday, January 13, 2026
BodyMountain View, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:33
Transcript — Verbatim
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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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All right, everyone.

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Good evening.

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Good evening, everyone.

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Hello.

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Hi, everyone.

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Good evening.

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Thank you for your patience.

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We're just waiting on our colleague, but we just want to welcome everyone to the special

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meeting of the Mountain View City Council of January 13, 2026.

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So we'll begin.

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Ask you to please stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

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All right, everyone, thank you.

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We'll move on to item three, which is roll call.

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The City Clerk will take attendance by roll call.

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Council Member Clark?

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Here.

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Council Member McAllister?

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Here.

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Council Member Ramirez?

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Here.

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Council Member Showalter?

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Here.

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Vice Mayor Ramos?

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Here.

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Mayor Comey?

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Here.

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We have a forum with Council Member Hicks absent.

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So we'll move on to item four, new business.

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We will now hear from Supervisor Margaret Abe Koga on behalf of the Santa Clara County

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Board of Supervisors.

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Good evening.

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It's really an honor to be here.

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As mentioned, I'm Margaret Abe Koga, County Supervisor for District 5.

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And thank you so much for inviting me to your very important reorganization meeting.

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it's always great to be home and I just want to first of all thank you Mountain View, Mountain

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View City Council, the residents for your great partnership this year with the county this past

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year. We have some have had some big challenges and we still have many more to go but it's really

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wonderful to have the partnership with the cities and the county and I've been I'm fortunate to be

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able to represent nine cities now. This is my last day of reorganization meetings. I have one more to

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go after this one, and I will have done all eight cities, and then I have San Jose, but, you know,

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I try not to pick favorites, but I think you all know which one is in my heart. So, I'm pleased to

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be able to be here today to honor outgoing Mayor Ellen Kamei, and I just want to say, first of all,

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congratulations to you for a very successful year as mayor. I recall because you were my vice mayor

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and then became mayor in 2021, and that was during COVID when we were sheltering in place.

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And I know how disappointed you were because you didn't get to do all of the things that most

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mayors do with events and ceremonies. So I hope that this past year you were able to fulfill all

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of your dreams. And I think that you did a wonderful job in leading the city. I appreciate

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your leadership on so many issues, especially with affordable housing. I know we were able to

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open La Avenida together, homelessness response. I know we need to continue to work on that,

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but I appreciate your leadership there. I've been watching, sometimes I watch you on YouTube

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on your discussions on middle-income housing.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement████████████████████████████28%
Affordable Housing████████████12%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Transportation Safety████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Homelessness███████7%
Public Safety██████6%
Technology and Innovation██████6%
Economic Development██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Mountain View City Council Special Meeting - January 13, 2026

The Mountain View City Council held a special meeting on January 13, 2026, to recognize outgoing Mayor Ellen Kamei for her year of service and to elect a new mayor and vice mayor for 2026. The meeting included presentations from county and state officials, public comment, and remarks from council members.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Peter Katz, CEO of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, thanked Mayor Kamei for her support and welcomed the incoming mayor.

Discussion Items

  • Recognition of Outgoing Mayor Ellen Kamei: Supervisor Margaret Abe Koga presented a commendation on behalf of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, highlighting Kamei's leadership on affordable housing, homelessness response, and civic engagement. Representatives from Assemblymember Mark Berman, Congressman Sam Liccardo, and Senator Josh Becker also presented certificates and congratulations. Council members and city staff offered personal remarks, praising Kamei's dedication, accessibility, and accomplishments during her term, including the opening of La Avenida affordable housing, the first ambulance service, and various community events.
  • Remarks by Outgoing Mayor Ellen Kamei: Kamei thanked the council, staff, and community, reflecting on her family's history in Mountain View and her focus on inclusivity, child care support, and the "Community for All" initiative. She highlighted achievements such as paid family leave, the Mayor for a Day contest, and the city's AAA credit rating.
  • Nomination and Election of Mayor: Councilmember Clark nominated Vice Mayor Emily Ann Ramos, citing her leadership, housing advocacy, and collaborative spirit. Councilmember McAllister seconded. The council voted unanimously to elect Ramos as the first Filipino-American mayor of Mountain View.
  • Nomination and Election of Vice Mayor: Councilmember Ramirez nominated Councilmember Clark, praising his ability to build consensus. Councilmember Showalter seconded. The council voted unanimously.
  • Remarks by Incoming Vice Mayor Clark: Clark thanked his colleagues and acknowledged the rotation policy, expressing honor to serve.
  • Remarks by Incoming Mayor Ramos: Ramos thanked her family and the community, emphasizing community engagement and service. She announced a new tradition of highlighting volunteer opportunities at each meeting and invited attendees to refreshments, including Filipino desserts.

Key Outcomes

  • Ellen Kamei was recognized and thanked for her service as mayor in 2025.
  • Emily Ann Ramos was unanimously elected as mayor for 2026.
  • Chris Clark was unanimously elected as vice mayor for 2026.
  • The next regular city council meeting was scheduled for January 27, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, everyone. Good evening. Good evening, everyone. Hello. Hi, everyone. Good evening. Thank you for your patience. We're just waiting on our colleague, but we just want to welcome everyone to the special meeting of the Mountain View City Council of January 13, 2026. So we'll begin. Ask you to please stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. All right, everyone, thank you. We'll move on to item three, which is roll call. The City Clerk will take attendance by roll call. Council Member Clark? Here. Council Member McAllister? Here. Council Member Ramirez? Here. Council Member Showalter? Here. Vice Mayor Ramos? Here. Mayor Comey? Here. We have a forum with Council Member Hicks absent. So we'll move on to item four, new business. We will now hear from Supervisor Margaret Abe Koga on behalf of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Good evening. It's really an honor to be here. As mentioned, I'm Margaret Abe Koga, County Supervisor for District 5. And thank you so much for inviting me to your very important reorganization meeting. it's always great to be home and I just want to first of all thank you Mountain View, Mountain View City Council, the residents for your great partnership this year with the county this past year. We have some have had some big challenges and we still have many more to go but it's really wonderful to have the partnership with the cities and the county and I've been I'm fortunate to be able to represent nine cities now. This is my last day of reorganization meetings. I have one more to go after this one, and I will have done all eight cities, and then I have San Jose, but, you know, I try not to pick favorites, but I think you all know which one is in my heart. So, I'm pleased to

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