Outgoing Concord Mayor Laura Hoffmeister turned over the gavel Tuesday night to Vice Mayor Edi Birsan, who will serve as the mayor of Concord in the coming year.
It marks Birsan’s second stint as mayor, having held the role in 2018.
Birsan was first elected to the City Council in November 2012, then won re-election in 2016 and again in 2020. He served as vice mayor in 2023 and once before in 2017 — and his fellow council members selected him for another go as mayor in 2024.
He is known as an active community leader who has served in many positions, from the director of Community Services for the Concord-Diablo Rotary to the president of the Friends of the Library, and as a volunteer for numerous nonprofit organizations.
He has small-business knowledge as well as world-class experience in the global containerization trade. When Birsan first came to Concord in 1983, he worked for a global, intermodal container leasing company. He started his own company in 1986 and currently focuses on certification/inspection and service in the intermodal equipment field.
Birsan was born and raised in New York City where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in dual majors of history and political science from City University.
He married his high school sweetheart and the couple went on to raise two generations in Concord. They’ve lived in the same house in an area off of Monument Boulevard since 1983.
Obringer Selected As Vice Mayor For Year Ahead
Councilmember Carlyn Obringer will serve as vice mayor in the coming year.
Obringer, who lives in downtown Concord with her husband, Justin, and their dog, Coco, was elected to the Concord City Council in November 2016 and won re-election in 2020. She served as vice mayor in 2018 and as mayor in 2019. Previously, Obringer served on the City’s Design Review Board and chaired the Planning Commission.
As a regional leader, Obringer chairs the East Bay Regional Park District Parks Advisory Committee and is a founding member of the Diablo Valley Tech Initiative; she represents the Contra Costa Mayors Conference on the East Bay Economic Development Alliance and serves on the Contra Costa Airport Land Use Committee. Obringer also chaired TRANSPAC, a Central County regional transportation planning body, and represents Concord on the Innovate 680 Policy Advisory Committee.
In her role as a community leader, Obringer has chaired the City’s July 4th Parade since 2016 and founded Concord’s annual Art and Wine (and Beer!) Walk. She is the past chair of the Monument Impact Board and the Contra Costa Commission on the Status of Women; and a past president of Soroptimist International of Diablo Vista. Obringer is active in many local organizations including the American Association of University Women, the Concord Ambassadors, the Concord Historical Society and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce.
Obringer earned a master’s of business administration from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Since 2005, she has served as a pianist/organist at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
Mayor’s Community Service Award
Every year, the outgoing mayor honors someone who has gone above and beyond for the Concord community. During Tuesday’s meeting, Hoffmeister recognized Bike Concord cofounder S.M. “Smitty” Ardrey with the Mayor’s 2023 Community Service Award. Bike Concord is a grassroots, volunteer-led organization working for safe, convenient and enjoyable bicycling in the community.
“This is a guy who works behind the scenes in so many ways in our community,” Hoffmeister said. “He’s instrumental in putting together the Bike Kitchen at Olympic High School, and getting people to learn not only how to ride their bikes around town, but how to repair them, and getting our youth involved.”
Smitty was also successful in encouraging the city to add more bike lanes, and he’s the man behind the bike tent at events and concerts at Todos Santos Park.
“It all started with Smitty,” Hoffmeister said. “I appreciate all the efforts that he’s gone through and continues to go through to help our biking community and our youth.”
Blue Star Moms Recognized
The outgoing mayor also recognized the nonprofit Contra Costa Blue Star Moms, which recently announced it would be dissolving its chapter at the end of the year.
Since its founding, the organization has shown immense support to deployed troops by sending thousands of care packages. The group has also provided gifts and gift cards to the veterans at the VA Martinez and supported veterans at the Concord Vet Center, the County Veterans Service Office, Diablo Valley College and VFW Post 1525.
Additionally, Contra Costa Blue Star Moms installed granite memorials at 10 high schools in Contra Costa County. The memorials pay tribute to former students who lost their lives in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Hoffmeister presented a proclamation to Chapter President Loretta Masnada, thanking her for the organization’s contributions to the community and “unwavering support toward active duty members and veterans of our Armed Forces, whose selfless service results in the many freedoms we enjoy in our country.”
Source : Patch
