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Davis

Davis, California

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Dan Wolk takes fifth Davis City Council seat

The City of Davis City Council appointed Dan Wolk as the newest councilmember, after four hours of questioning, deliberating and voting on Tuesday night.

Wolk, who is originally from Davis, was one of 10 applicants who sought to fill the vacancy. He formerly worked as a deputy city attorney for Davis and is currently a public finance attorney for the County of Solano and the chair of the Davis Social Services Commission.

Linda M. Parfitt, Vincent Wyatt, Robert Smith, Steve Williams, Paul Boylan, Walter Bunter Jr., Kari Fry, Sherelene Harrison and Kerry Daane Loux also applied for the council position.

Councilmembers voted the original group down to seven candidates, then five, three, two and finally down to the final selection.

After narrowing the field down to seven, councilmember Sue Greenwald said she did not see the council doing this application process again. She felt that since it was such a difficult decision for the councilmembers, an election would be a far better strategy for filling future vacancies.

After three rounds of voting, the candidates were brought down to Paul Boylan, Kerry Daane Loux and Dan Wolk.

Mayor Joe Krovoza said the decision was one of the most gut-wrenching votes he has made in his city council career thus far.

Councilmember Steve Souza encouraged all the applicants to continue their work in city politics.

“To the nine of you who leave, stay involved,” Souza said. “We need you to help the city become even better than it is now.”

Krovoza informed the applicants that the councilmember job is a huge time commitment, taking at least 30 hours a week.

Souza vouched for Krovoza, describing how the position is surprising, but rewarding.

“What you think it’s going be is not what it’s going be,” Souza said. “But I know you will enjoy it.”

Wolk said that even though he has a young family, this was to his advantage since he felt a lot of the issues the city is facing will affect young children.

The final two candidates were Boylan and Wolk. Boylan, an attorney who obtained his law degree from UC Davis, King Hall in 1989, currently serves as general counsel for the Orland Unified School District and the Glenn County Office of Education.

With a vote of three to one, councilmembers Swanson, Greenwald and Krovoza voted in favor of Wolk, with Souza voting for Boylan. Greenwald praised all of those who applied for the council position.

“I met people I didn’t know lived in Davis,” Greenwald said. “People who are just fabulous.”

After he was selected, Wolk complimented the council on their recent work.

“This council has set a high bar,” Wolk said. “I just hope to live up to those expectations and be as good of a councilmember as them.”

Swanson had the last word.

“It felt like a giant group of friends hanging out and having fun, but taking care of the city and being serious,” Swanson said.

ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.

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