Orinda’s Volunteer Government
Imagine willingly putting yourself through a public election – with all its attendant costs, exposure and risk – just so you can … volunteer.
That is service above self. And that is exactly what the members of the Orinda City Council do every four years.
Orinda has an amazing professional staff of city administrators and public safety officers who keep our city running every day. But the work of governing the city is done by volunteer Orinda citizens through the city council and at least eight different city commissions and boards.
Hundreds of our friends and neighbors have given thousands of hours of time to serve on councils, boards and commissions without ever being paid a dime. It’s a real commitment to civic duty and to our home.
In anticipation of the upcoming State of City message that the Rotary Club of Orinda will host on March 13, I reached out to our mayor, Darlene Gee, and vice-mayor, Latika Malkani, to find out what compelled them to serve in this way, and what that service requires of them.
Gee has been an Orinda city councilmember since 2012 and Malkani is serving her first term. They told me that serving on the council takes an average of 10 hours a week over the course of a year, which they must balance, of course, with their day jobs. When a councilmember takes her turn as mayor, a rotating position, Gee estimates that number rises to more than 15 hours a week.
What compels someone to make that sacrifice of time and energy?
Both leaders have long connections to Orinda and histories of community volunteering that predate their council runs, but both also had specific interests that brought them to the council.
Gee is a civil engineer with a career in transportation infrastructure, who spent five years on a civil infrastructure oversight committee before deciding to continue that work on the council.
Similarly, Malkani had served on a sales tax oversight committee and wanted to see that through. With Orinda’s evolving demographics, Malkani also felt strongly about the need for more diversity and representation on the council.
Being in a public position isn’t always fun. As Malkani noted, it opens you up to criticism and to being held accountable for your decisions. But service can benefit the servant as much or more than the recipient, and both women stressed how much they enjoy giving back to the community and working to make Orinda a nicer place for all of us.
Gee and Malkani encourage people interested in civic service to start by getting involved in one of Orinda’s commissions or committees, stressing how important it is to understand how Orinda works and the issues that affect our community.
Opportunities open every year, and though the window for applications in 2024 closed in January, you can check your Orinda Outlook weekly, particularly late in the year, to see when the window opens again.
The Rotary Club of Orinda has a long, deep connection with the city and its leaders, and we have brought the mayor’s annual State of the City address to the community for decades.
This year we invite the public to join us at the Founders Auditorium in the Orinda Community Center between noon and 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, for Mayor Gee’s address. Lunch is $25 per person at the door ($1 more if paid by credit card). To ensure we have enough seating and food, we ask that you let us know you will come in advance by emailing us at rotarycluboforinda@gmail.com. For more information, please visit our website at orindarotary.org
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