The Atherton City Council selected Elizabeth Lewis to serve as mayor and Mike Lempres to serve as vice mayor for 2021 during a Wednesday, Dec. 16, Zoom meeting. The council also said farewell to outgoing Council member Cary Wiest.

Lewis said the COVID-19 pandemic has required people to rethink their priorities and how they lived in 2020. During the meeting, she also shared the personal news that her husband Joe died of cancer on Dec. 5. She said her husband insisted she run for reelection in the fall.

"He loved how much I loved the work (on council) and he knew that he was not going to recover," Lewis shared. "I'm glad I did and I'm grateful for all the many Atherton residents who reelected me for my fourth term on the council. … As I look to 2021, I know that it has to be better than 2020 for all of us. We have learned how to live with adversity and how to be creative with how we conduct business. There's hope the vaccines will beat back the virus and restore normalcy to our lives."

In the year ahead, Lewis looks forward to the completion "at long last" of the town's new civic center. She also looks forward to traffic calming measures, a potential ban on gas-powered leaf blowers and projects addressing regional flooding issues, she said.

Lewis, who has lived in Atherton for 23 years, was first elected to the council in 2008 and was reelected by a substantial margin in 2012. She served as mayor in 2013.

Lempres, a lawyer, joined the council in 2014. He currently serves as executive in residence at Andreessen Horowitz and serves on various boards for companies.

Lewis and Lempres also served as mayor and vice mayor, respectively, in 2016.

Newly elected Councilwoman Diana Hawkins-Manuelian and Lewis were sworn into office during the meeting as well.

The council also recognized Wiest, who lost his reelection bid in November. Wiest, who was first elected to the council in 2012, was up against Hawkins-Manuelian, Lewis and newcomer and longtime resident Christine David.

Wiest has been called a "hawk" for his ability to monitor activities of special districts and manage the town's finances responsibly, Council member Rick DeGolia said, reading a proclamation recognizing Wiest for his service to the town.

DeGolia described how Lempres' 6-year-old daughter once offered Wiest a smoothie concoction that had "flavors appealing to a 6-year-old" and a color "somewhere between brown and purple" and Wiest said it was "delicious." This exemplified the kindness Wiest demonstrated in and outside of the council chambers, he said.

In departing, Wiest advised the council to care about, and be kind to, each other, noting the "past election (Nov. 3) cycle was challenging and wrought with misinformation." Wiest was likely referencing the claim by DeGolia that Wiest supported a controversial proposal for the town to detach from the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. DeGolia endorsed Hawkins-Manuelian since she didn't support detachment, and Wiest maintained that he had not supported the proposal.

DeGolia, the outgoing mayor, said it was a great honor to serve as Atherton's mayor this past year.

"There've been several significant losses this year," he said. "Hopefully the pandemic is a once in a hundred years experience."

View video of the meeting here.