After years of debating with each other, compromising with one another, even joking with each other as meetings dragged past the six-hour mark, the Coronado City Council has turned over.
Politics are tumultuous, but in watching the former council members say goodbye in favor of the new, the takeaway was this: Politicians are human.
They laugh as their shirts come untucked during official photos. They thank their moms. They run for office in a small, coastal city with hopes of making a difference in its future. They may disagree, but it’s impossible to say that they are without passion.
In the final meeting of the year, the Coronado City Council said goodbye to former members and swore in new ones.
The new council consists of Mayor John Duncan and Council Members Carrie Downey, Mark Fleming, and Amy Steward. An empty seat will be filled by appointment.
Those leaving are Former Mayor Richard Bailey, and Former Council Members Mike Donovan and Casey Tanaka.
The council chambers were standing room only as the city said goodbye to its former council and welcomed its new one on Dec. 17.
Richard Bailey
The only City Council meeting Richard Bailey ever missed was after he summited Mount Everest – and it wasn’t for lack of trying. He was unbearably sick, trying to survive the trip down the mountain, while trying in vain to call in from a satellite phone.
Bailey was a highly visible mayor, once making national headlines with his plan to address homelessness, but he also earned the most votes of any mayoral candidate in the history of the city.
His opinion on a matter was never a mystery, nor did his votes ever feel surprising or counter to thoughts he expressed. He organized council meetings and summarized his colleague’s opinions in a way that kept meetings on matters that can be difficult to follow accessible to the public.
He advocated for funding to address the Tijuana sewage crisis, traveling to Washington, D.C. to advocate and doing so locally. He also pushed for reforms to make the community grants program more objective. The city proclaimed Dec. 18 as Richard Bailey day, and presented him with an ice ax.
“When I reflect back over the past 12 years, the word that comes to mind the most is ‘gratitude,’” Bailey said. “I just have so much gratitude. I’m so just grateful for the opportunity to have served Coronado, first as a council member and then as mayor.”
Most Sunday nights, Bailey has a family dinner, and there’s a running joke: How long until Richard brings up Coronado business? It’s rarely more than 15 minutes, he said.
“Coronado is truly a special place, and it’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve it for the last 12 years,” he said. He thanked his colleagues, current and former, for their work to make changes over the years, including improving beach accessibility and pushing for funding for the Tijuana sewage crisis.
“It’s not a question of if it’s going to be solved anymore,” Bailey said. “It’s a question of when, and we’re talking about months, not years, now. And it’s in large part because of the work of multiple councils, and the incoming council will have a chance to actually finish the job, and what an honor that will be.”
He closed with a story. When Friend became city manager in 2021, Bailey invited her son to light the tree.
“I wanted him to experience that,” Bailey said. “But I also had an ulterior motive.”
He asked Friend to remember the moment when thousands of people, waiting with anticipation, saw a single strand of lights illuminate the city’s tree, and listen for their collective disappointment. Friend, as well as the Coronado Chamber of Commerce, worked to improve the tree and that, Bailey said, was his favorite win. He thanked city staff for their work.
“I don’t know what’s next for me, but I know that I will be somewhere between the beaches of Coronado and the mountains of Nepal, and I will have a heart full of gratitude for each and every one of you,” Bailey said. “So, thank you.”
Mike Donovan
Donovan’s eight years on the council were marked by precision and methodical attention to detail. His remarks always felt deliberate and measured, and he asked questions, listened, and pointed to minute details that others might have skimmed, eyes glazed – government documents are not light reading.
Donovan is a retired U.S. Navy Captain and engineer, and his work coordinating with the Navy was applauded at the meeting. He worked to improve the efficiency and transparency of the city’s historic designation and community grants programs, while advocating for mitigation of shoreline erosion. He pushed to preserve the future of North Grand Caribe Island as a park. Assemblymember Tasha Boerner grew emotional as she thanked Donovan for his work to pass e-bike safety laws. Capt. Ladislao R. Montero, commanding officer of Naval Base Coronado, thanked him for his work. The city proclaimed Dec. 16 Mike Donovan Day.
“When I think of you, I think of the ideal definition of what the Navy wants its captains to be,” Duncan said. “Someone who has a high ethical, principled, moral standard, and who shows that when nobody is looking.”
In typical fashion, Donovan’s remarks focused not on himself, but on thanking his colleagues. Specifically, he thanked Montero, Ladislao, Port Commissioner Frank Urtasun, and Mike Woiwode, the community representative for the Sharp Hospital Board.
“I want to thank the community for your confidence and trust in me to represent you on the Coronado City Council for the last eight years,” Donovan said. “I want to thank all of you who have sent me and given me well wishes after the election. (…) I can’t tell you how much that’s meant to me. I’m really in overwhelm.”
Donovan also thanked his colleagues on the council, both current and former, as well as city staff, saying their work is often done in the background but is paramount.
“We sit up here and make all these big decisions,” Donovan said, “But we get such good input from our staff. It’s unbiased, objective, complete, comprehensive. It’s all the information we need to make informed decisions up here, and believe me, that takes a lot of time and effort. So thank you to the city staff. I’m in awe of all the work you all do.”
Casey Tanaka
City Manager Tina Friend and Tanaka had a meeting once, while sitting at Centennial Park. At least 15 people walked by, she said, and said, “Hi, Casey. How are you doing, Casey?”
Everyone in the city knows Tanaka, Friend said. He has lived here since he was young, served as mayor from 2008 to 2016 before returning to the council in 2020. The city proclaimed Dec. 17 as Casey Tanaka Day.
Tanaka’s focus during meetings was always on accountability to his constituents. “We’re going to have to look people in the eye,” he would often say, “and explain why we voted for this.”
When the council made decisions the community balked at, he asked they be reconsidered. He once climbed a tree that was slated for removal to speak with a protester. He is undeniably a part of the city.
“You are truly beloved by this entire community,” Duncan said.
His lengthy tenure in city leadership meant he often provided valuable context to issues – context I would then fact check, but would find accurate. Despite his clear passion for both Coronado and for civics – he assigns memorizing the names and photographs of city leaders to his high school students – he often made jokes during council meetings.
What is perhaps most illustrative of Tanaka’s service to the city is that he asked that its staff forego the proclamations and awards. He said it felt like “double dipping” to ask for a second send-off after he left the council in 2016, and his departing remarks were focused on others.
He thanked the public for its trust in him; he complimented his colleagues on the council; he expressed how much he loved the work of problem solving for the city.
“I specifically want to call out our employees,” Tanaka said. “I really think our employees are the secret to our government’s success. No offense to the council, but it’s not us. (…) There are a lot of unsung heroes who keep things working, who keep our city safe, who keep our city efficient and prosperous. So I want you to know that I appreciate you, and I want you to know that I see you. (…) You’re really one of the reasons that we shine.”
The new City Council
With the departures come a new City Council. Duncan was sworn in as mayor, and he spent his inaugural address thanking his outgoing council members. He said he looks to Tanaka as an obligation – he hopes to earn the same community love and respect, he said.
Bailey taught him to be succinct, he said, or at least to try to be so. City Council Member Carrie Downey’s extensive service and background knowledge on issues has and will continue to be an asset, he said, and he highlighted Donovan’s integrity and focus on detail.
He said he plans to address the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis, which he has been a long advocate for, as well as flooding and infrastructure.
Duncan was joined by his family, aside from his son, who is a fourth grade teacher and was not yet home for the holidays, and he thanked them for his support. It was a truly other-facing inaugural address.
“I’m humbled, and I will work extremely hard to do what’s best for this town,” Duncan said.
Mark Fleming was sworn in as a council member.
“I just want to look out for the best interest of this community,” Fleming said. “I’m here to serve your interests, to serve your needs, and to protect this community and to continue to advance it forward. I truly appreciate the confidence that this community has instilled in me, and I will work hard in the next four years to earn that confidence.”
Amy Steward was also sworn in as a council member.
“We live in the very, very best city in all of the United States,” Steward said. “It truly is our ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ It’s a place where we know and help our neighbors. We stop and chat with people on the street. We support our schools and our nonprofits. We join service clubs – shout out to my fellow Rotarians out there tonight – and we give of ourselves in service to our communities. We’re proud of our military and support them and their families, and we are the most red, white and blue patriotic community in all of America, but we have big challenges ahead, and I’m so excited to work with my fellow council members to prepare Coronado for the future, prioritizing our needs to be done and focusing on meaningful change.”
The installation ceremony felt both hopeful and nostalgic. As outgoing leaders were hugged and applauded and newcomers were welcomed, there was a sense of duty to and love for the city of Coronado.
After all, for all their differences, every single politician said that Coronado is special.
