In a voice overwhelmed by emotion, he thanked his wife, Sue, for her support. "We met when I was with the planning commission. She knew what this life was like."

As his wife stood up to be acknowledged, he thanked her again and then quickly wrapped up his speech.

"God bless our city," he said.

Outgoing Mayor Ann Waltonsmith presented Bogosian with a gift and a bouquet for his years of service. And with that, Councilman Bogosian's term officially ended.

Bouquet and gift in hand, and with his wife by his side, he strode out of City Hall. But true to his style, Bogosian did not go quietly.

At his last meeting, Bogosian reminded everyone about the failure of the utility users tax ballot measure.

"This is the biggest vote of no confidence that that city has ever gotten from its citizens," he said. "There is a lack of trust here."

In recent months, Bogosian has sometimes played the contrarian in the council. When the rest of his colleagues on the council stumped for the utility tax, he plowed a lonely furrow and spoke out against the measure again and again.

The outgoing councilman said that there was a credibility gap in the local city government that needed to be filled. Bogosian said that the city council would have to work very hard to regain the trust of citizens.

"I did not have any illusions when I was elected to the council in 1996," he said. "I wanted to uphold the core values of our community."

Bogosian said that his core values had often put him at odds with the council. "I opposed the utility tax and nearly got booted out as a result."

He said that one of the biggest achievements of his tenure was the passing of Measure G, a neighborhood preservation initiative.

Bogosian also said that he was proud of the new fire station. "It is an anchor for the Village," he said.

Bogosian said that the challenge for him always was to think globally and act locally. He talked about the time in 2000 when he had issued a resolution to support the rights of Falun Gong practitioners wherever they live and then came under pressure from the representatives of the Chinese government to withdraw it.

"There is no room for prejudice and bigotry in our community," he said.

He said that one of the biggest challenges for the council in the near future would be the merger of the Saratoga Fire Department with the Santa Clara County Fire Department. He said that the city must do everything it can to retain local control. "We must be able to retain control over our destiny," he said.

Bogosian ran for and won a seat on the city council in 1996. He was selected by his fellow council members to serve as mayor in December 1999.

He teaches traffic violation classes at a consortium of community colleges for traffic safety in Santa Clara County. Bogosian was part of the Saratoga Planning Commission from 1990 to 1993.