For less than an hour on Tuesday, Jose Nuno was no longer a Manteca City Council member.
The 47-year-old Nuno was presented with a resolution and a plaque for his service after Mike Morowit was sworn-in to take his council seat.
But 50 minutes after he took his seat in the audience, Nuno was raising his right hand and being sworn into office once again.
This time it was to finish out the last two years of Gary Singh’s term who earlier had been sworn in as mayor.
Nuno was a unanimous choice of his fellow council members after he was nominated for the vacancy by Singh and seconded by Councilman Dave Breitenbucher.
Nuno had opted not to seek re-election back in January due to his work situation. If he had run, he would have gone head-to-head with Morowit who — like himself — lives in District 1, the area north of Louise Avenue and west of Highway 99.
The Nov. 8 vote was the first Manteca election where council members were elected by districts.
Nuno — since making his decision not to run— has changed jobs. He is now his own boss as a housing development consultant. As such, his time conflicts with work have ended.
Several in attendance at Tuesday’s special meeting — including Ben Cantu as a former mayor — spoke in favor of the council appointing Nuno.
The points they made include:
*Nuno is already well-versed in current municipal issues and would allow the council to be at full strength as “he could hit the ground running” and not have to come up to speed on council protocols as well as issues.
*Given his exit along with that of Cantu meant not a single council member on the new council would be Hispanic, which is the largest ethnic group in Manteca, edging out Caucasians.
*His job situation had changed to eliminate the time commitment conflicts.
Joanne Jamerson, who earlier had administered the oath of office to Singh and has a history of being active in community activities including the campaigns for a number of council members past and present, was among those that stepped up to the speakers’ podium.
Jamerson prefaced her short remarks by saying she was offering a Black person’s perspective on Nuno.
“He’s a cool guy,” Jamerson said, then turned to sit back down, sparking laughter from the packed chambers that had an overflow crowd in the senior center to see the swearing in ceremonies.
Nuno has no intention of running for the District 4 seat — the area that Singh was assigned to when the council divided up the city into four districts. That’s because it would entail his family moving to southeast Manteca.
As such Nuno’s service on the council will end in two years.
It also would not create a built-in advantage for someone that was appointed to fill the vacancy from District 4.
Under state law, the council had 60 days to either appoint a replacement or call for a special election.
Such an election would have cost between $200,000 and $250,000 to conduct.
Nuno said he plans to continue working on affordable housing, economic development, public safety and downtown revitalization.
Nuno outlined how he would work toward those goals:
*Affordable Housing: Continue working with developers, organizations and government officials to identify funding sources, adequate sites and partners to serve the low, moderate and working families of the community. For the homeless population work on developing the Navigation Center with resources and services.
*Economic Development: With a focus on growing the Family Entertainment Zone (FEZ), Nuno plans to continue working with staff to identify and attract private businesses that want to invest and grow their business in Manteca. He also wants to work with businesses that want to provide services and attractions to Manteca residents and the surrounding region.
*Public Safety: Continue advocating and evaluating the resources the police and fire departments need to meet growing community public safety needs. He plans to continue working with the council and city administration to identify new funding streams to adequately meet the needs.
*Downtown Revitalization: Continue working in finding and implementing solutions to revitalize downtown through city efforts and direct involvement by downtown businesses and property owners.
Some of the items Nuno said he has helped accomplish on the behalf of Manteca residents during his past four years as a council member include:
*Hiring Manteca’s first in-house city attorney.
*Cottage Village Apartments affordable housing for seniors completed with funding support from the city.
*Approval of $16 million from the State of California for the homeless navigation center and $2 million from San Joaquin County for the land purchase.
*Completion of the diverging diamond interchange at the 120 Bypass and Union Road. It’s the first such design in California.
*Groundbreaking for an additional interchange on the 120 Bypass at McKinley Avenue. It will provide needed access to a growing number of residents and businesses in South Manteca.
*Completion of Senior Center Rehabilitation work on roof, kitchen and bathrooms.
“It has been an honor to serve these last four years as a Manteca council member,” Nuno said. “I look forward to having the opportunity to continue serving the residents of Manteca for two more years.”
Nuno was elected to the City Council in 2016 after serving on the Manteca Planning Commission.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
