Pasadena leadership will continue to undergo change in the coming year as Vice Mayor Andy Wilson announced this week he will not seek reelection in 2022.
Just Tuesday, Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell announced he will retire in December, ending a five-year tenure. His last day will be Dec. 2. Now comes the news from Wilson.
After being appointed to the council in 2015 to fill a vacant seat, Wilson was elected in 2017 to represent Pasadena’s District 7, where he has championed a mindset of collaboration among his peers.
During his tenure, Wilson has been active in both the South Lake Business Association and the Playhouse District Association in an effort to attract high quality tenants and promote the success of the local Business Improvement Districts, according to a biography.
With an extensive background in finance, Wilson kept an eye on the city’s fiscal affairs. His work was rewarded at the start of this year when he was chosen by his peers to be Pasadena’s vice mayor. While the mayor’s position is elected by the voters, the vice mayor is selected by the council.
Wilson, the executive director for The Alliance for Southern California Innovation — a nonprofit established to accelerate the growth of high tech and life science start-ups in the Southern California region — is ready to hang up his coat as a councilman to fully focus on his philanthropic efforts, he said.
Acknowledging his passion for the community and public service remains, Wilson said in a statement Wednesday, “it has been an honor to be a city council member, but I’m also eager to explore other high impact ways to serve this amazing community.”
With so many organizations doing great work, he added, “I look forward to having more time to help drive their success. It’s the same mission with a different strategy.”
The nominating period for the June 2022 primary doesn’t open until February, but that hasn’t deterred local planning Commissioner Jason Lyon from jumping into the fray.
“I’m running for the council because I love this city. I want it to be not just the wonderful place it is but all the amazing things it can be,” Lyon wrote in a letter to supporters this week. “I truly believe that, together, we can achieve all of these things and more.”
Lyon added he continues to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 surge and intends to hold a formal “campaign kickoff” event when health officials advise that larger groups can safely meet again.
