Stillman is ready to be a councilmember again! | Submitted

After final election results were confirmed on Friday, it is official that Alex Stillman will again serve on the Arcata City Council and the councilmember will be sworn in during a special meeting on Monday.

Stillman, who was one of six candidates running for the open seat vacated early by previous councilmember Emily Goldstein, garnered more than 40 percent of the vote. This will be Stillman’s third term on the council over the last 50 years. In 1972 Stillman was the first woman to be elected to the Arcata City Council. She again ran and was elected in 2006.

“The first time I was elected I was 32,” Stillman told the Outpost in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “Now I’m 83.”

Why did 83-year-old Stillman decide to run again? She said, similarly to when she ran in 2006, she felt that things in the city had gotten a little out of order and that she could help get things back on track. “This is a time that we need stability again,” Stillman said.

And Stillman is certainly right that things have been a little off-kilter at Arcata City Hall recently, with tensions running high since Councilmember Brett Watson has been under investigation for sexual harassment against a city employee. Stillman, who will be seated between Watson and Mayor Stacy Atkins-Salazar on the dais, said that she hopes that her presence may help take the burden off the other councilmembers, who have been dealing with Watson’s behavior for too long.

As far as what she hopes to accomplish during this term, which will be up in 2024, Stillman said housing is the most important area for the council to focus on right now. Unfortunately, Stillman might not be able to participate in some upcoming housing-related decisions pertaining to the city’s Gateway Area Plan. At least one property owned by Stillman falls within 500 feet of the Gateway Area, which could be considered a conflict of interest by the Fair Political Practices Commission (Mayor Atkins-Salazar has not been able to participate in Gateway Area Plan discussions for this very reason.)

Now that Stillman has officially been elected, she said, the city attorney has submitted a request for advice to the FPPC. Stillman is not sure when she will hear back about the decision, but she is hopeful that she still may be allowed to participate in Gateway Area Plan decisions.

Despite some of the possible complications and tensions that could come with the job, Stillman said she is very excited to serve on the council again. “I have a lot of expectations placed on me and I just hope I can fill them and get the job done,” she said.

Stillman will be sworn in during a special meeting of the Arcata City Council on Monday, July 11 at 6:00 p.m. at Arcata City Hall – 736 F Street. A closed session meeting to discuss existing litigation will follow.

You can find the full meeting agenda and directions on how to participate here.