Monday night, Dec. 6 was the final Escalon City Council meeting for longtime councilman, Mayor Pro Tem and former Mayor Jeff Laugero.
He tendered his resignation from the council as he is moving out of the city in preparation to run for the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s post.
“I have been with the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office since 2005 and was recently promoted to Assistant District Attorney. When the current District Attorney, Birgit Fladager, announced she was not seeking re-election, I was asked to run,” Laugero explained. “After a lot of consideration and many discussions, I have decided to step down from council and move to Stanislaus County to run for D.A.”
First elected to serve on the Escalon City Council in November, 2008, he is in the midst of his fourth term on the dais, having been reelected in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
“I served as mayor once and mayor pro tem twice,” he said, and is currently serving his second stint as mayor pro tem.
The Monday night meeting featured special recognition for Laugero as he moves on in his life and career.
But, he also took time to reflect on the time spent on the council.
“I was elected just as the Great Recession hit, so definitely one of the most important accomplishments was surviving the recession while still providing city services as seamlessly as possible to meet community needs,” he said in pointing to what he feels were key accomplishments during his tenure. “There were changes in the city manager and police chief, substantially reduced revenues and fewer staff to deliver those services, but they succeeded. It was a testament to the great city staff and their dedication to the community during a very difficult time for everyone.”
Interim City Manager Dominique Romo said the council will appoint a replacement for Laugero rather than holding a costly special election.
For his part, the multi-term councilman said he leaves the position knowing some good things have been done and feeling a sense of pride.
“Infrastructure has been the primary focus during my time on council, and we have been working diligently to repair, replace and upgrade our infrastructure, as well as adapt to the many unfunded state mandates. We are now much better prepared to maintain our systems, too,” he said. “There is an affordable and intelligent plan to connect to SSJID to be able to use our surface water allotment. I think this is critical to our water system. The new sewer lift station is online and the treatment plant has been receiving attention. The city has also incorporated solar into recent projects. I believe the city is positioned very well moving forward.”
Serving on the council, he added, always meant discovering something new and incorporating the lessons to the betterment of the city.
“We learned quite a bit during the recession and recovery. We saw the benefit of our fiscally conservative city budget and the healthy reserve we continue to maintain,” Laugero noted. “The long term planning and investment in infrastructure will ensure the reliable delivery of services. It has been an honor to serve our city and I truly appreciate the community support and trust.”
