HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Citizen of the Year 2022____________________________________________________________________________________
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
Council Meeting: May 2, 2022
Disposition: Resolution 15060
Agenda Item No: 5.f
Meeting Date: May 2, 2022
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: City Manager
Prepared by: Lindsay Lara, City Clerk City Manager Approval: ______________
TOPIC: CITIZEN OF THE YEAR 2022
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO RECIPIENT OF THE RICHARD P.
O’BRIEN AND MARY FERRARIO O’BRIEN CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD -
2022
RECOMMENDATION: Adopt Resolution of Appreciation
BACKGROUND: In March 2001, J. Michael Mahoney established an endowment in honor of
former Planning Commissioner Richard O’Brien and his wife, Mary Ferrario O’Brien. The
endowment funds an annual “Citizen of the Year” award. The purpose of this award is to
recognize an individual in the San Rafael community who has made exceptional contributions
to the City, making it a better place to live or work. In addition to public recognition, the
endowment provides a cash award to the recipient.
In September 2001, the City Council adopted procedures for the “Citizen of the Year” award
program and process. The procedures include the appointment of a Section Committee to review
nominations from the public and recommend an award recipient to the City Council. The
Selection Committee includes two City Council members, two Planning Commissioners, a
member of the O’Brien family, a representative from the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce,
and neighborhood community representatives (e.g., Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods).
The call for nominations was initiated in November 2021. Once the current year nominations
have been submitted, they are reviewed along with the nominations submitted over the past
three years (in this case 2019, 2020 and 2021). Last year’s Citizen of the Year recipient (Shirley
Fischer – 2021) was eliminated from the pool of eligible candidates.
This year, a total of 16 candidates were considered. Of this total, nominations were submitted
for 1 nominee this year and 15 were carried over from the past three years. On March 22, 2022,
the Selection Committee met to review and consider the nominations. The Committee selected
Samantha Ramirez as the twenty-second recipient of the award.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2
As summarized in the attached Resolution and nomination materials, Samantha Ramirez was
selected as Citizen of the Year due to her impact on the youth community in the areas of civic
participation, community engagement, her volunteer work with LatinX families in San Rafael,
and her efforts to inspire youth Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) by running for
Board of Education in 2020. Samantha serves on the Marin County Youth Commission and the
Youth and Parent Council for Marin Promise Partnership. She built relationships with families of
students who had a desire to participate in the rallies for Black Lives Matter and coordinated
rides to get students to and from the rallies. She has made herself available to help families that
don’t speak English to maneuver through the legal system by assisting with filling out and
submitting applications for housing. Samantha’s efforts and accomplishments have bettered our
community in many ways, which has earned her the receipt of the City of San Rafael’s Citizen
of the Year Award for 2022.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH: The call for nominations for Citizen of the Year was advertised in
Snapshot (the City Manager’s e-newsletter), the City website, NextDoor social media, and with
neighborhood associations.
FISCAL IMPACT: As the Citizen of the Year Award program is privately funded, there is no
financial impact to the City of San Rafael. However, the recipient of this award receives a check
in the amount of $2,500 from the Richard P. O’Brien and Mary Ferrario O’Brien Citizen of the
Year Fund, which is administered by the Marin Community Foundation.
OPTIONS:
1. Adopt the Resolution of Appreciation conferring the 2022 Citizen of the Year Award to the
Samantha Ramirez
2. Return the recommendation to the Selection Committee for reconsideration.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution of Appreciation.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution of Appreciation
2. Nomination materials and letters of support for Samantha Ramirez
Resolution 15060
City of San Rafael
Richard P. O’Brien and Mary Ferrario O’Brien
Citizen of the Year Award for 2022
Presented to
Samantha Ramirez
WHEREAS, Samantha Ramirez is committed to uplifting the community in which she resides, both
in her work and her extracurricular activities. As a bilingual and bicultural community
member with family from El Salvador and Honduras, she has worked hard to be a
powerful bridge between the LatinX communities in San Rafael and the bodies that
govern San Rafael. She is a passionate advocate for students and creating a fairer and
more equitable environment for inside and outside of the school system; and
WHEREAS, Samantha is a coordinator of the Marin County Youth Commission, a group of 23 young
people that work with the Board of Supervisors, and she has worked to increase the
number of students of color on the Commission and transformed the group to better
represent Marin County. The Commission is proud to include a variety of races,
cultures and experiences, which was a variety that did not exist previously; and
WHEREAS, In 2020, Samantha worked with students who had a desire to participate and attend
rallies for Black Lives Matter, and built trust and relationships with their families to
assign and coordinate pick-ups and drop-offs for students who desired to attend. The
relationships she built with families, and difficult conversations she facilitated, were
with the purpose of providing experiences to students that could make a difference and
to help introduce them to advocacy; and
WHEREAS, Samantha makers herself available to families who don’t speak English by meeting
with them and helping them maneuver through more complicated processes. One
example of this was her work with a family who desired to find housing but needed
assistance with filling out and submitting applications in English. She met with this
specific family on three occasions until they were able to acquire housing; and
WHEREAS, Samantha spends much of her free time volunteering by serving on the Youth and
Parent Council for Marin Promise Partnership, attending community events, Board of
Supervisors, City Council and School Board meetings; she supported the Marin
Community Fridges Initiative and advocated to eliminate School Resource Officers
from San Rafael schools; and
WHEREAS, Samantha ran for Office for the San Rafael Board of Education in 2020, and while
unsuccessful, she wanted the School Board to represent the community they serve and
to signal to young people that they can also run for office and that their voices would be
heard. Her running for Office provoked discussions among the youth of San Rafael
about the importance of representation, of having someone in leadership who
represented a significant part of the community. Her candidacy demonstrated that the
voice of the youth matter, and the voice of people of color in this community matter;
and
WHEREAS, Samantha has made such an impact to the community that she received a total of nine
nominations for Citizen of the Year. In the opinion of her nominators, she has gone
above and beyond her official role to nurture and mentor kids in our community,
particularly Latino kids who have had very few Latinos in leadership roles to whom
they could look up to and relate. She has served as a bridge builder, which is a
tremendous gift, and which she does without compensation, and she has proven to be
an exemplary citizen of San Rafael.
NOW, THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED, that the San Rafael City Council expresses its appreciation to Samantha
Ramirez on behalf of this community and hereby awards her the Richard O’Brien and the Mary Ferrario O’Brien
Citizen of the Year Award for 2022 on Monday, May 2, 2022.
Mayor