Palo Alto's election of mayor and vice mayor, which often feels more like a coronation than a contest, turned fiercely competitive this year, as Ed Lauing narrowly edged out Vicki Veenker for the second leadership spot on the City Council.

In one of the longest and most debated leadership tussles of the past decade, Lauing and Veenker jostled for the role of vice mayor after getting nominated by council members Pat Burt and Julie Lythcott-Haims, respectively. The votes came minutes after Greer Stone was chosen to serve as mayor by a 6-1 vote, with Council member Greg Tanaka dissenting.

For Stone, who served as vice chair in 2023, ascension to the mayor's chair was a foregone conclusion, given Palo Alto's loosely held tradition of electing vice chair to the mayor's chair in the following year. The real drama came minutes later, when Lauing and Veenker squared off in a contest that was both competitive and collegial.

The last time that the council had a competitive race for vice mayor was in 2021, when Burt edged out former council member Alison Cormack for the role. But while that race was in some ways a clash of two different political philosophies, the Monday faceoff featured two colleagues who rarely disagree. Both were elected to the council in 2022 and each has a reputation as a political moderate who gets along with their colleagues and rarely ruffles feathers.

Both Lauing and Veenker had plenty of support in the Council Chambers, with about 20 residents weighing in. Bryna Chang, current vice chair of the Planning and Transportation Commission, praised Lauing for his patience and his temperament, which she said make him uniquely suited to working on city problems.

"They are difficult and he has this incredible patience to come back to something again and again, and the stamina to do it. ... He is doing all of this with no ego involved. He is just in the service of the best solution," Chang said.

Burt, who nominated Lauing, also cited his many years of service as a commissioner and said he is a rare council member who already has "enough experience with our processes and the myriad of issues that we face to be able to step into a leadership role."

Lauing was elected vice mayor by a 4-3 vote, with Burt, Lauing, Stone and council members Lydia Kou all joining his selection. Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims, Tanaka and Veenker all voted for Veenker, who received kudos from her council colleagues and from members of the public for her work both on the local, regional and national levels.

Veenker spearheaded the establishment of Palo Alto's sibling city relationship with Bloomington, Indiana, and she serves on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. And as Lythcott-Haims noted in her nomination speech, Veenker receive more votes in 2022 than any of the other candidates.

"It was Council member Veenker who came out in first place and I do think that means something," Lythcott-Haims said.

Both Lythcott-Haims and former Mayor Liz Kniss also observed that the council has three female members and suggested that electing Veenker would make the council more representative of the city's population.

Others lauded her for being receptive and generous with her time. Julian Hong, a Palo Alto High student who has worked with Veenker on the topics of race and belonging, praised her for her engagement on the topic and said he believes she will be able to nurture the next generation of leaders.

"She embodies the first-one-in and last-one-out approach that I believe our leaders need," Hong said.

But Lauing's supporters pointed to his experience at the local level as the reason to elevate him to the top spot. Burt noted that Lauing had spent 13 years on the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning and Transportation Commission, which included five years as chair. Kou said the city will have plenty of time in future years to elect people who are active on the global stage.

Stone called the vote for vice mayor his "least favorite vote of the year" and said all three of the council members who were elected in 2022 are "incredibly gifted and capable in their own way."

"We really can't make a wrong decision tonight," Stone said.

Lauing recalled that when he ran for council in 2022, he promised the public that he would "hit the ground running."

"I think I've done that and that would be my promise again tonight," Lauing said, "that as a vice mayor, I'd hit the ground running tonight and move on with our work."

Stone's elevation to the mayor's chair was far less dramatic. Tanaka nominated Veenker, who quickly declined the nomination and then joined the rest of the council in supporting Stone, a teacher and a renter who was elected in 2020. Lythcott-Haims, who nominated Stone, lauded him his commitment to fairness and for treating every member with respect.

"I appreciate your values around equity, whether we're talking about supporting unhoused people, protecting renters, building affordable housing or allocating funds to worthy nonprofits," Lythcott-Haims said.

In accepting the nomination, Stone said one of his first moves will be to bring more attention to the topic of youth mental health. He cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finding in 2021 that about 42% of students felt "persistently sad or hopeless" and 22% reported seriously considering suicide.

Stone said he will be forming a committee that consists of local nonprofits, mental health professionals and city and school officials to identify and address service gaps.

He also thanked his colleagues for selecting him to lead the city in 2024.

"Palo Alto and this community made me who I am today," Stone said. "It's truly the greatest honor of my life to be chosen as mayor." n