Pauline Valdivia said her final goodbye as a Hollister city councilwoman Tuesday and thanked many people for their support.
Valdivia served four terms, which came to 16 years, on the Hollister City Council as the District 3 member. She chose not to run for a fifth term on the November ballot.
“Let me tell you, 16 years is a long time,” Valdivia said to the crowd. “It was a good time. And yes, we had our ups and downs and those will continue.”
Valdivia said she enjoyed her time on the council.
“You actually have to be here to know how the city is run, why decisions are made,” she said. “Sometimes it’s not popular. Sometimes it is.”
She thanked the staff and others in the community who supported her during the tenure, which city officials believe is the longest council run in city history.
Valdivia mentioned how she was born and raised here, has worked for the community all her life, and will now have more opportunities to advocate for Jovenes de Antano, the senior center where she is the longtime executive director. She said the city is continuing to grow.
“The Latinos in the community are so important, so we can all work together for the people that are coming up,” she said.
Other officials took their turns thanking Valdivia before she spoke.
“Thank you for all the work that you do. You do plenty of work for the senior community,” Councilman Victor Gomez said. “But I want to thank you personally for your representation of the Latino community throughout the City of Hollister. Not just within your district. That means a lot to me personally as a son of immigrant farm workers.”
