San Ramon council to vote on letter to mayor asking about his status amid recovery from stroke

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The San Ramon City Council is set Tuesday to consider authorizing the city’s vice mayor to issue a letter to Mayor Dave Hudson asking about the status of his seat in the midst of a nearly three-month absence brought on by a medical emergency.

984 — San Ramon Mayor Dave Hudson. (File photo by Mike Sedlak)

Hudson has been away from the dais and absent in council votes since mid-January, when he suffered a stroke following a trip to Washington, D.C.

More than two months later, councilmembers held a lengthy discussion on March 28 about Hudson’s status and next steps, with dozens of public commenters, including family members of Hudson, weighing in during the night. At the end, they voted on a resolution to form a subcommittee to draft a formal letter to the second-term mayor for discussion at a future meeting.

The subcommittee consisted of recently elected Councilmember Marisol Rubio and Vice Mayor Mark Armstrong, who prepared the draft for review, discussion, and a vote to authorize Armstrong to sign the letter at the council’s upcoming regular meeting.

During last month’s discussion on Hudson’s medical absence – which was the first time the council had been authorized to discuss the matter with each other, due to public meeting laws and regulations including the Brown Act – the four remaining councilmembers expressed support for Hudson’s recovery and return, and said they were happy to hear that he was recovering and eager to be back.

“Our sincere desire is that you come back and resume your full range of duties as Mayor of San Ramon,” Rubio and Armstrong wrote in the draft letter to Hudson. “We look forward to regular updates about when you can resume those duties and to a discussion about what options may be available to accommodate your public participation as Mayor.”

“We understand that a full recovery from your illness requires time and, as such, the City Council and our city staff are doing everything to seamlessly adjust to what we all hope is a temporary absence,” they continued.

Rubio and Armstrong noted that Hudson would be updated on news out of the city, including the hiring process for a permanent city manager, the budget process and the General Plan update process.

Nonetheless, in both the previous meeting’s discussion and the letter, councilmembers emphasized the need to have a sitting mayor who could perform the role’s duties and responsibilities.

“Our hope is that you can actively resume your role at public meetings and public events in a way that is consistent with public expectations and your duties as elected mayor,” the draft letter states.

Hudson recently won re-election to the mayor’s seat for a second consecutive two-year term during last November’s general election. He has been an elected official in the city for approximately 30 years, including his years as a regular council member.

The council is set to vote on a resolution that would authorize Armstrong to sign the letter and submit it to Hudson during its meeting on Tuesday (April 11) at 7 p.m. The agenda is available here.

In other business

* The council will hold a workshop on the 2023-24 fiscal year budget at 4 p.m., ahead of the regular meeting later in the evening.

* Councilmembers are set to hear a report and provide direction to city staff on how to process compliance determinations under the Housing Accountability Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 and went into effect in 2020, requiring only objective standards to be used in making determinations about whether or not to approve housing development applications.

The report comes amid ongoing discussions on the matter in recent months, including between the City Council and the Planning Commission on Feb. 22, in which they came to an agreement on a proposed new procedure for issuing compliance determinations.