New Merced City Council members look ahead at swearing-in ceremony

Two new Merced city council members took their seats Monday after their predecessors were honored for their service during tough times after the recession.

District 2 Councilman Fernando Echevarria replaced outgoing Michael Belluomini, and Delray Shelton took over the District 6 seat held by Josh Pedrozo.

“We’ve been through a lot these last nine years,” said Pedrozo, who joined the council in 2009. “When I was first elected we were facing mounting budget issues, employee reductions and pay, as well as people, job losses throughout the city and a foreclosure mess that was crippling our community.”

The city has since climbed out of the recession, Pedrozo said, noting his involvement in reducing business fees and helping form the city’s general plan, climate action plan and a revenue-sharing agreement.

Several sitting council members said Pedrozo and Belluomini helped transform the city during their terms.

Belluomini, who was elected to a five-year term in 2013.

“When elected, I committed to you and you entrusted me to be a steward to the welfare of the City of Merced,” said Belluomini. Fellow council members praised Belluomini for his inclusiveness and perspective during his time on the board.

The two new council members replacing Belluomini and Pedrozo said they wanted to continue seeing the city thrive, but were focused on first learning the inner workings of the council. But they also have areas of improvement they’d like to work on.

“It’s super important we’re supporting (initiatives on) public safety and homelessness,” Shelton said. He also talked about continuing economic growth and expanding senior programming.

Echevarria said he wants to focus on infrastructure, retail development and youth programming, specifically providing more access to activities like soccer to kids.

Shelton and Echevarria were joined by District 4 Councilman Kevin Blake and Merced Mayor Mike Murphy, both of whom won re-election.

Blake said in his next term he wants to focus on adding more multi-family housing and continue the revitalization of the downtown Merced area while continuing support for infrastructure and public safety projects.

This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 4:31 PM.