Outgoing Woodside Mayor Brian Dombkowski handed the "official mayoral license plate frames" to Dick Brown this week.

The Town Council voted to make Councilman Brown the town's new mayor, and Chris Shaw mayor pro tem, for 2022 at a Tuesday, Dec. 14, meeting.

Brown commended Dombkowski for his ability to remain calm while leading the town during a pandemic.

Brown, whose term expires at the end of 2022, moved to Woodside in 2011 and joined the seven-member council in 2018.

Brown, a serial small business entrepreneur, is a San Mateo County Library board member.

He previously served on the town's Architectural and Site Review Board.

Brown, born in the East Bay city of Orinda, is a fourth generation Californian. He holds a bachelor's degree from University of California at Davis and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.

Shaw came to the council in November 2015 after winning as a write-in candidate in a contest with Nancy Reyering, who had been running without opposition. His latest term ends in 2024.

Shaw founded 5B Life Sciences, an offshoot of his startup H2ORS, Inc., a vendor of electrolyte drink mix related to cancer treatment, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The mayor and mayor pro tem serve one-year terms that are effective on the day and time the council reorganization takes place.

Upcoming changes to Town Council

The town, like other cities and school districts across the state, is in the process of changing how voters elect its Town Council.

Starting in 2022, residents will vote for just one Town Council member who lives in their district. This will replace the current system of "from-district" elections in which voters townwide cast ballots for all council members, according to the town's redistricting website.

The Town Council will also consider whether having seven or five council districts best serves the town.

The town held two public hearings to invite input on the composition of the voting district maps in November and December.