The Willow Glen Resident Gonzales names Fiscalini as city's new vice-mayor Councilmember brings hidden talents to new post By Cecily Barnes Mayor Ron Gonzales' choice of District 6 Councilman Frank Fiscalini, which was announced last Friday, could have an inadvertent benefit for the Gonzales administration: Fiscalini possesses something the Latino mayor doesn't--a practiced bilingual tongue. A vice-mayor's key role is to fill-in when the man-in-charge is too busy, and in addition to his myriad other responsibilities, Señor Fiscalini could fill in at the Spanish-only gigs. Gonzales press aide Leslee Hamilton said that to this point, the mayor's office has received no requests for Spanish-only events. When they do, she said, Fiscalini would be an option but not the only choice. "Depending on his schedule, he could be asked but there are other Spanish-speakers on the mayor's staff," Hamilton said. According to Hamilton, Fiscalini received his appointment for more than just a diverse tongue. "I think it's definitely a bonus that Frank speaks Spanish but I don't think it was a factor," Hamilton said. "I think [Gonzales] looked to Frank because he's a very respected and senior member of the current council, and Frank was also very helpful to Ron in his campaign." After ditching the idea of running for mayor himself before the June primary last year, Fiscalini handed his endorsement to Gonzales and continued to help throughout his campaign. Once Gonzales was elected, Fiscalini went so far as to part with his beloved chief-of-staff Joe Guerra, who went on to work in the mayor's budget office. As vice-mayor, Fiscalini will run City Council meetings when Gonzales is away, speak at events that the mayor can't attend, and chair the Rules Committee which essentially selects what items will make the City Council agenda and in what order. "This committee meets weekly on Wednesdays, and it is basically the scheduling committee for the council," said Michelle McGurk, Fiscalini's chief-of-staff. "It previews the council agendas to make decisions about which items will be on, and they deal with legislative policy." The office of vice-mayor is likely as high as Councilman Frank Fiscalini will rise. In 1990, he sought the mayor's job, but lost to Susan Hammer. And in this last mayoral race, he allowed the rumors to float before officially announcing that he would not run. Although Fiscalini has not officially ruled out the possibility that he will serve in public office again after his term expires in 2000, this could be his last political endeavor. Right now he's vague about his future plans. He talks of volunteering and possibly writing a book. Besides his role as vice-mayor, Fiscalini will chair the Rules Committee and sit on the Civic Center Relocation Task Force and the Finance and Technology Committee. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, January 20, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.