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The City Council has appointed Santa Cruz city clerk Lorrie Brewer to take the reins as Mountain View’s city clerk on Jan. 3.
Brewer said in e-mail to the Voice that she plans to move to Mountain View and become involved with community organizations. She says she has been “very active” in the Santa Cruz community.
“The Mountain View community has a very inviting appeal,” Brewer said via e-mail. “The beautifully tree-lined streets and vibrancy of the downtown are a huge draw.”
Brewer views the City Clerk’s office as the “Switzerland” of the city’s government, as it is neutral in all things as the information and administrative center of City Hall.
Mayor Ronit Bryant said the City Council had interviewed “several very qualified candidates for the position” and found Brewer to be the best fit for the job. She follows Mountain View’s 21-year City Clerk Angee Salvador, who retired in June.
Bryant noted Brewer’s experience implementing an electronic records system in Santa Cruz as one reason the council appointed her, along with her ability to work “cooperatively with elected officials, staff and community members.” Brewer is also a certified Master Municipal Clerk, Bryant said.
Brewer said she hopes to fulfill the City Council’s goal of “providing public access to the City’s records through electronic medium, as well as improving efficiencies in the agenda packet preparation process.” She added that “I have led this charge in Santa Cruz, so I am familiar with the process.”
] Brewer said she became involved in city government immediately following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake when the City of Santa Cruz sought temporary employees. At the time she was a stay a home mother with a 4-month-old son, Casey, taking a break from working as an assistant at a law firm for 10 years.
“The city of Santa Cruz was in desperate need of assistance in the City Manager’s office, so I signed on as a temporary administrative assistant,” Brewer said.
She was appointed city clerk in 1999 after eight years as deputy city clerk and jobs in the parks and recreation department and public works department.
She said she has played an active role in the larger Santa Cruz community, and hopes to do the same in Mountain View. She’s been a board member of the United Way for two years and serves on the board of Leadership Santa Cruz County. She is also chair of the Northern California City Clerk’s Association.
Brewer was an avid softball player in Santa Cruz, playing on the team “The Usual Suspects.” She is also an artist who enjoys making mosaics out of ceramic and glass. She is originally from Redding, and plans to retire to a home she has there and spend her days fishing.
The city manager’s office said that Brewer will be paid $123,500 a year, not including health and pension benefits.
