Galt council chooses former Councilman Malson to fill Marylou Powers’ seat
GALT — Former Galt City Councilman Thomas Malson was unanimously chosen from an applicant pool of 12 to finish out a term left vacant when Marylou Powers retired to Arizona last month.
Malson was chosen and sworn in at Tuesday’s regular council meeting.
“I saw a need and with my background, I knew I could fill it,” he said, adding that he feels he can come up to speed quickly in order to do the job. “I thought, ‘I could do it.’ So I did.”
But he said Wednesday he was kind of surprised by the appointment. “I’ve been nominated to different positions, so it’s still surprising.”
Instead of holding a special election, council members had previously decided to solicit applications for the position to finish out Power’s term, which expires in November.
Malson has served as both a planning commissioner for 16 years and on the city council for one term, from 2000 to 2006.
“I have been involved with our city since 1986 and am very interested in serving the City of Galt,” he wrote in his application earlier this month. “From my prior service to the city, I would be well qualified to complete this council seat term.”
He has also been on a number of committees from the Galt General Plan Committee to the Skate Park Ad Hoc Committee, and is a life member and former president, vice president and treasurer of the Galt Area Historical Society.
Malson, whose professional background is in maintenance, has made clear he has no intention to run for election once his appointed term expires, citing in his application that this decision provides a level playing field for any candidates choosing to run in November 2018.
He is still working full-time for Aerojet in Sacramento where he has been for 35 years, but has already set up a personal meeting with the city manager to come up to speed.
“Anybody that’s been to this rodeo before knows that the things coming up on the agenda have been in the pipeline for a long time; it’s gone to commissions, committees, to the council and maybe back a few times,” he said, adding that because he’s been
on many of the same committees he understands city documents such as reports and budgets.
“I understand those things, just have to know how they pertain to today,” Malson said. “I will dig into the report more and talk to staff.”
When Powers resigned, she also left open the position of mayor. A new mayor is scheduled to be chosen at the next council meeting.