05/17/2026
Neighbors, I've shared this with some for you, and I will share again because no matter of our disagreements, I am of service to the full community.
I’m voting YES on Measure D, and I helped bring this proposal forward alongside the Pinole City Council because I believe Pinole residents deserve the opportunity to decide how their city government should function.
Right now, Pinole uses a rotational mayor system, where councilmembers typically rotate into the mayor position. On paper, that may sound fair, but in practice it has created several challenges for our city.
First, the process is not always truly consistent or transparent. There have been times when councilmembers were skipped over for political reasons or other circumstances, meaning not everyone received an equal opportunity to serve as mayor.
Second, and more importantly, rotating the mayor every single year makes it difficult to maintain stable leadership and long-term direction for the city. Each year can bring a different leadership style, different priorities, and different approaches to governance. From both a policy and operational perspective, that inconsistency can slow progress and make it harder to build momentum on the issues residents care about most.
Measure D would allow Pinole voters (not internal council politics) to directly elect the mayor. That means the community would have the power to choose the person they believe has the vision, leadership, and accountability to guide the city forward.
Directly elected mayors also tend to provide:
- Greater accountability to residents
- More consistent leadership over time
- A clearer mandate from voters
- Stronger long-term planning and implementation
- Increased public engagement in local government
At the end of the day, this measure is really about democracy and local control. Whether someone supports a particular candidate or not, I believe the people of Pinole should be the ones deciding who leads the city.
You should have received a mailer from the City of Pinole explaining the measure, and there’s also helpful nonpartisan information available on the city’s website: https://www.pinole.gov/measure-chapter-2-10/
I also wrote a more detailed blog post on why I support the measure here: https://devinmurphydtm.medium.com/who-should-choose-pinoles-mayor-let-the-people-decide-0c290852b3a8
As for the opposition, much of it has come from a small group of former councilmembers and their allies who disagree with me politically and personally. That’s part of public service, and I respect that people can have different views. But I believe this decision is bigger than any one individual or political disagreement.
This is about giving Pinole residents a stronger voice and creating a more stable, accountable system of leadership for our city.
I hope residents will join me in voting YES on Measure D.
Trusting residents to decide how their city is led.
