Concord, Calif. – At the Dec. 10 Concord City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Carlyn Obringer was sworn in to her third Council term, and Councilmember Pablo Benavente took the oath of office for his first term.
In the Nov. 5 general election, Obringer and Benavente both ran in contested races. Obringer (District 2) was re-elected to Council, and Benavente (District 4) was elected to fill the seat held by outgoing Mayor Edi Birsan.
The newly seated Council also selected Obringer as Mayor and Councilmember Laura Nakamura (District 5) as Vice Mayor for the year ahead. Councilmember Dominic Aliano (District 3) and Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister (District 1) round out the full Council.
All councilmembers and several members of the community recognized and thanked Birsan for his 12 years of service on the City Council and for his leadership as Mayor.
In her remarks, Mayor Obringer highlighted what she foresees as the work ahead for the City Council.
“We have a variety of areas where we’ve made progress, but there is much more work to do,” she said, noting that roadway improvements, public safety, addressing homelessness, economic development and redevelopment of the former Concord Naval weapons station will be top priorities in 2025.
Background
Carlyn Obringer was first elected to the Concord City Council in November 2016 and was re-elected in 2020 and 2024. She served as Vice Mayor in 2018 and 2024, and as Mayor in 2019.
Obringer previously served on the City’s Design Review Board and the Planning Commission, which she chaired. A regional leader, Obringer chairs the East Bay Regional Park District Parks Advisory Committee, is a founding member of the Diablo Valley Tech Initiative, represents the Contra Costa Mayors Conference on the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, and serves on the Contra Costa Airport Land Use Committee.
Obringer also chaired TRANSPAC (a Central County regional transportation planning body) and represents Concord on the Innovate 680 Policy Advisory Committee.
Pablo Benavente was raised in Concord, where he attended local schools and he earned his B.A.in political science from CSU East Bay. Pablo has been involved in local community affairs, volunteering with organizations such as the Economic Opportunity Council of Contra Costa and serving as Chair of the Board of Monument Impact, a community-based non-profit that is focused on immigrant, refugee, and low-income communities in Concord.
He currently works as a government relations professional in the technology industry, and previously worked for SEIU and IFPTE Local 21. Until his election to Council, Benavente served as a member of Concord’s Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Committee.
Mayor’s Community Service Award
Every year the outgoing mayor honors someone who has gone above and beyond for the Concord community. During the Dec. 10 meeting, Mayor Birsan recognized Mary Rae Lehman and former Concord Mayor Michael Pastrick with the Mayor’s 2024 Community Service Award.
Lehman and Pastrick lead the nonprofit Concord Ambassadors organization which manages the City’s relationship with its sister city, Kitakami, Japan.
For more than a year, Lehman, Pastrick, the Concord Ambassadors volunteers, and a committee of community members worked to organize the 50th anniversary of the sister city relationship, which culminated in a four-day visit by a delegation from Kitakami in October. The visit included a tour of Concord and the greater Bay Area, multiple social events, and a formal dinner.
“For the unbelievable amount of work they did, they have been the heart and soul of the Kitakami sister city effort,” said Mayor Edi Birsan. “They are totally deserving of all our recognition and our thanks. They made it possible for us to be reminded that we are not alone; we are part of an international network called the human race.”
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