Marked by moments of levity, the selection of Mountain View’s new mayor and vice mayor was at times celebratory in tone but also a fairly staid event that ushered in the first City Council meeting of the year.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday evening, council members selected Pat Showalter to take over the helm as mayor and Lisa Matichak as vice mayor.

The selection of the two council members followed a well-established city protocol. Every council member gets the chance to be mayor and vice mayor as part of a regular rotation based on seniority.

But there was a slight variation to the proceedings this year. Instead of passing on the proverbial gavel, outgoing Mayor Alison Hicks presented Showalter with a hefty emergency phone.

“This is a 1980s or 1990s emergency phone because apparently when the emergency happens, our cell phones will go down and you and our city manager will be in charge of us,” Hicks said, adding that the mayor was expected to carry it at all times.

While received with laughter, the handing off of the phone underscored some of the challenges the city has weathered over the past few years.

When Hicks started her tenure as mayor a year ago, it was the first time the council had returned to in-person meetings since the pandemic. For nearly three years, the council met virtually, a situation that no one anticipated would become the norm for so long.

The emergency phone was a reminder that the unexpected could happen anytime, and the city needed to be prepared for it. The phone also was a fairly recent addition, Hicks said, noting that it did not exist the last time Showalter was mayor, which was in 2016.

“There were a lot of changes with the pandemic. And in 2016, I don't think any of us had a clue what was to come,” Showalter said. “But we should be very proud of how we adapted as a community and as a city,” she added.

Showalter described a long list of the city’s accomplishments under Hicks’ leadership. It included numerous groundbreaking ceremonies that saw the construction of new housing, parks and playgrounds, as well as the state certification of the city’s housing element and the largest development ever approved in the history of the city, Google’s North Bayshore Master Plan.

Showalter also commended Hicks for her strong commitment to sustainability and climate resiliency, something that was on display during the recent celebration of the Shoreline Regional Park’s 40th anniversary.

Hicks referenced these achievements in her remarks as well, but she also presented a more measured assessment of what the future might hold, not only for the city but also for the country.

“Our democracy is facing unparalleled dangers, something that growing up I thought I'd never say. I took it for granted which, apparently, we can no longer do,” Hicks said.

“So, my outgoing request as mayor is to ask each and every one of you to do something in our national election this year to try and make sure our democracy survives and thrives,” she continued. “I'll leave it up to you, what you choose to do.”

With this call to action, Hicks encouraged the community to not let problems sit or “fester.” She described the world as a hotter and more violent place than it was a year ago, referring to climate change and the violence occurring in the Middle East.

“My request to all the elected officials in the room and my reminder to myself is to tackle hard problems before they become nearly impossible problems,” she said.

Showalter accepted the challenge and the emergency phone too. “I will treasure this and hope there is never a need to use it,” she said.