The meeting had no shortage of twists and turns.
After publicly interviewing eight potential replacements for Papan on Monday night, the four members seemed to agree that two of the candidates looked like viable options. The first was Rich Hedges, a longtime fixture in San Mateo known for his service on several city and county boards. The second was Cliff Robbins, an experienced business attorney.
That's when Lee made a dramatic announcement. She said she had been approached during the last week by two unnamed individuals who said that, if she helped Robbins get appointed to the council, she could be assured that the council would choose her to be mayor. Lee first made this announcement in the Dec. 7 meeting, but this was the first time she revealed which candidate the individuals allegedly wanted her to appoint.
The council then invited Robbins back to the dais to address Lee's allegations, which he vehemently denied any involvement in. He urged Lee to name the two individuals and even mused over a potential defamation lawsuit against the city.Lee, again, refused. She said the vacancy appointment process had been"poisoned" and urged her colleagues to appoint her as mayor before selecting Papan's replacement.
Eventually, Lee backed down from seeking to be appointed mayor before the vacancy vote, and made a motion to appoint Hedges, the other apparent finalist. Newsom, Loraine and Lee voted to appoint him, giving him the necessary three votes. It was a surprising move given that there was hardly any discussion over which candidate — Hedges or Robbins — would be a better fit for the role. Rather, it seemed like the council voted to appoint Hedges as a way to prevent more gridlock.
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