Clayton’s Second Annual Hispanic Heritage Day – A Huge Hit

By Kim Trupiano 

Mayor, Clayton 

We had a beautiful day at The Grove on Saturday, September 20. The park seemed to come alive with the energy and excitement of so many wonderful people who gathered to honor and celebrate Hispanic culture. There was an undeniable sense of community as families, neighbors, and friends spent the afternoon enjoying each other’s company, dancing and singing along with Mariachi Mexicanismo, who graced the stage throughout the afternoon, along with Ballet Folklorico Netzahualcoyotl, featuring dances from Jalisco, Hidalgo, Veracruz and Nayarit.

Naturally, no celebration would be complete without incredible food and Ranchero Catering made that happen in a big way! From street tacos to tortas to quesadilla, each bite was a reminder of the rich and diverse flavors that define Hispanic culinary traditions. The food brought people together and brought back memories of family gatherings and home-cooked meals.

We want to thank Sound Events, who provided the sound system and staging and a special thank you to the Royal Ladies Car Club of Contra Costa County and Kodiciados 925 Truck Club for coming out on Saturday. It meant a lot to us to have you all there.

A Heartfelt Thank You goes out to all of our generous sponsors who without their support this event would not be possible: Globe & Anchor Wealth Management & Financial Planning, CEMEX, Oakhurst Country Club, Enye Latin Table, IMC Payment Systems, Ponderosa Homes and Ed’s Mudville Grill.

I extend my deepest gratitude to our City staff, particularly our Maintenance team, Clayton Police Department and Janessa Torres, for all of the hard work and dedication in making this event extra special.

Also, thank you to Councilmember Jim Diaz and Frank Gavidia, Chair of our Financial Sustainability Committee, who put so much hard work into making this event a real success.

As we close out another celebration, I’m already looking forward to next year’s Hispanic Heritage Day Event and if this year’s event is any indication, I know we can expect more joy, community spirit, and unforgettable performances.

Let’s continue to celebrate the richness of our shared heritage, support one another, and make memories that will last for years to come. I am excited to see what next year’s celebration will bring. It is truly an honor to serve as your Mayor.

Other City News

The switch has been flipped and City is now generating renewable energy for our Maintenance shop, City Hall and Library buildings. In addition, the EV Charging Station will be activated soon, so be sure to check our City website and social media sites for additional details. We are planning a ribbon cutting to celebrate the conclusion of this two-year Climatec project and we hope to have a date soon. Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in this project, which will help the City control its energy costs while protecting the environment.

Upcoming Events:

- Clayton Theatre Company celebrates its 14th season with “Tootsie” the musical, running Oct. 17-19, 23-26 at Endeavor Hall 6008 Center St. in Clayton.

- Clayton Community Library Foundation Fall Book Sale, October 17 (members only), 18 and 19, at Hoyer Hall.

- The next Clayton City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Hoyer Hall.

- State of the City Town Hall, Wednesday, November 5, at 6 pm at Hoyer Hall.

- Holidays in the Grove, Saturday, December 6 at 5:00 p.m. Sponsored by the City of Clayton in partnership with Clayton Business and Community Association (CBCA). Enjoy marching bands, singers, tree lighting and Santa’s arrival.

Community Member Raises Concerns

Community Member Raises Concerns Over Missed Cal Cities Vote By Holly Tillman

Shared Correspondence from the Community

The following statement was submitted as public comment by a member of the Clayton community for the City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 16th.

Clayton Watch regularly shares excerpts of letters, emails, and posts received from residents and community forums to promote transparency and civic engagement.

Please note: The opinions expressed below are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Clayton Watch.

The letter raises concerns that Councilmember Holly Tillman misled both the Council and the public regarding her participation in the 2024 League of California Cities Annual Conference.

UPDATE: Councilmember Holly Tillman was not selected to represent Clayton at the 2025 League of California Cities Annual Conference.

We invite readers to join the conversation by submitting respectful and concise comments that contribute to a constructive community dialogue.

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Clayton is on the move!

Kim Trupiano Mayor, Clayton (kimT@claytonca.gov)

Mayor Trupiano

Staffing 

By the time you read this, Clayton’s City Hall will be fully staffed with an unrivaled team of experienced employees that are committed to the community, to each other and to being results oriented. 

Thank you to our City Manager, Kris Lofthus, who has been hard 

at work building this outstanding team, by rightsizing the staff’s roles and responsibilities, vetting through hundreds of applicants and finding the best employees to support our City. 

We now have a new Police Chief, Jeremy Crone, a new Administrative Services Director, Dennis Bozanich, a new City Clerk/Assistant to the City Manager, Leticia Miguel, a new Administrative Clerk, Sklyer Aitken, a new Community Development Technician, Jason McKinely and a Community Services Leader, Janessa Torres and joining us on September 2nd, we will welcome our first Public Works Director/City Engineer and a new Senior Planner. These exceptional employees are ready to serve the needs of the residents of Clayton. 

Finances 

Over the last two years, many of us on City Council, along with City staff, have done the hard work of scrubbing the financial data, scrutinizing expense and revenue data, engaging the services of UBS to manage our investment account, implementing an accurate and updated Master Fee Schedule, making quality appointments to the Financial Sustainability Committee, attending monthly (sometimes bi-weekly) Budget & Audit committee meetings, tasked with reviewing budget projections, contract analysis, updating the City’s investment policy and bringing those recommendations back to the Council at large. 

In August, we held Part One of a multi-part series on revenue generating ideas and will be taking a deeper dive to determine the City’s needs and estimate what level of services we as a community can afford and supports, as it relates to major things like roads and paving, sidewalk repair and ADA improvements, special district funding, landscaping and maintenance and future staffing needs. 

City Projects 

At the end of this year, the City is embarking on Phase I of a three-part library refresh project with Contra Costa County Library and the Clayton Community Library Foundation. Phase I will include all new paint and carpeting, for both the library and Hoyer Hall, as well as some new furniture. We know this is the most cherished building in the community and our collective goal is to make even more inviting to the public. 

As one project begins, another is coming to a close this month and that project is in partnership with Climatec. The Climatec project was launched in 2023 and once completed will include all new irrigation controls, new HVAC systems, new interior and exterior LED lighting, a solar array panel that will provide energy to City Hall and the library, as well as a new two-vehicle EV charging station in the library parking lot. We hope to announce a “flip the switch” date and ribbon cutting soon. 

Housing Element 

After many years and even more meetings with our consultant and the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), I am excited to share that both the Planning Commission and the City Council have approved the final version of the City’s Sixth Housing Element and we are awaiting final certification from HCD in the next 60 days. Thank you again to our City Manager for all of his work in getting us over the finish line. 

On the Horizon 

We will shortly be launching the 311 app, which will provide the community with an easy method for reporting issues they see needing attention throughout the City including but not limited to sidewalk repair, potholes, irrigation problems, graffiti and more. 

We are also reviewing new rental facility software for our city-owned buildings and parks, in order to make reservations and payments easy and seamless for the community. 

Save the Date 

Hispanic Heritage Day Event on September 20th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, at The Grove, to include food, music, dancing and lots of fun! 

Holidays in The Grove, in partnership with the CBCA, Saturday, December 6, at 5:00 pm at The Grove Park, downtown. 

Thank you to all who attended, volunteered, sponsored, performed and participated in our 18th Annual Concerts in the Grove. It was an outstanding season and we could not have been successful without everyone who made it happen. Here’s to season 19 in 2026! 

I will be hosting a State of the City Town Hall meeting November 5 at 6:00 p.m. in Hoyer Hall, with updates from myself, our City Manager, Kris Lofthus, and each of our department heads. It will also provide you, the community, with an opportunity to ask us questions, and field your concerns so we can understand what’s important to you now and for our City’s future. 

If you would like to reach me, you may contact me at kimt@claytonca.gov or at 925.673.7324. Remember, we are stronger together!

City Council Meeting Summary - Jeff Wan 8-19-25

Jeff Wan

City Council Correspondence: The excerpts below have been sourced from the website of council member Jeff Wan to share with the Clayton Watch Community. You can access council member Wan's website by following this link: https://www.jeffwanforclaytoncitycouncil.net

While we may not always agree with the opinions shared, we believe in facilitating a platform for respectful debates. Thank you for contributing to the ongoing conversation in the comments section. Remember to keep your comments respectful and concise.

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At our meeting on Tuesday, we discussed several significant items:

- We approved a resolution allowing an additional ADU on properties, increasing the total number allowed from four, to five, contingent on meeting other criteria like lot size and lot coverage. This was done based on feedback received from CA Housing and Community Development (HCD). While the City approved its Housing Element Update (HEU) timely as required by law back in January of 2023, HCD did not approve it even though it met all statutory requirements including planning for zoning for housing at all income levels. Further, the City actually enacted the new zoning in January of 2024.

Based on communication from HCD, the City has received feedback that if this new resolution allowing an additional ADU, then HCD would approve the City's HEU. As such, the Council voted 5-0 in favor of this action. After HCD approved the HEU I will have more to say about the overall process.

- We appointed Brian Mayhew to the Financial Sustainability Committee. He is a long time Clayton resident and has over 30 years of municipal finance experience including most recently retiring as CFO at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission after serving for more than 20 years.

- We made several appointments to the Trails and Landscape Committee (TLC). The TLC is an 11 member body of which 10 of the 11 members' terms are currently expired. The TLC requires six members for a quorum. We appointed 8 of the 9 individuals who applied, the 9th person is currently serving and their term is not yet expired.

- We appointed Sheila Driscoll as the City's representative to the Contra Costa County Advisory Council on Aging. Ms. Driscoll has served in a volunteer capacity in many organizations in the community and will be a great addition to the Advisory Council.

- We agreed to modify the City's franchise agreement with Republic Services. When originally drafted, the agreement called for certain increased in rates based on CPI changes. It was later discovered that the timing of CPI change information was not in alignment with the dates drafted in the agreement. The only modifications to the agreement were to bring these dates in line for ease of administration.

- We updated the job classification of the Assistant City Manager/Administrative Services Director to just be Administrative Services Director and made updates to the City's Salary schedule to reflect the change. This action was requested by staff to better align the organizational structure to the needs of the City.

- We had a discussion with no action taken regarding closing the City's long term budget deficit. I will comment on this item in a separate thread.

Guest Editorial — A Façade of Perfection? By Holly Tillman

Clayton Watch republishes excerpts of community correspondence, published articles, and public comments to encourage transparency, accountability, and civic engagement. By sharing these pieces, we aim to give residents direct access to viewpoints that have shaped discussion in our city.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Clayton Watch. We believe the community deserves to see not only what is said at City Hall, but also what leaders and residents alike are putting forward in public forums. In sharing this commentary, we invite our readers to participate in the conversation and to do so with respectful and concise contributions.

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The following editorial was authored by Clayton Councilmember Holly Tillman and published in the now-defunct Clayton Pioneer on August 14, 2025.

CLAYTON, CA (Aug. 14, 2025) — I often wonder what our town would be like if people worked together instead of against each other.

From the outside looking in, Clayton is a picturesque setting. We are a bedroom community with parks and trails, and events are held throughout the year that bring the community together. But when you peel back the curtain to see the inner workings you understand there is a lot of work to do.

Recently our City Council participated in a governance training session facilitated by a third party to help us be better leaders. There were two outcomes that concerned me about that session. We never touched on the main reason we needed the governance training to begin with, and some council members believe we are doing everything right and don’t need to improve upon anything. This comes across as an unserious city council.

While it is no secret that our council is divided, residents expect us to work together to do what’s best for the entire city. This is why we were elected. Clayton isn’t divided into districts, yet council members treat their responsibilities and the will of certain constituents as if we were. I feel these actions have led to increased hostility at council meetings over the past 9 years and dirty politics in general by a group who thrives on being in control and being perceived as a “trusted authority/voice” in Clayton. Much like our national government, bad actors have infiltrated the city council with a pipeline of sycophants and loyalists lying in wait in the wings.

The reality is we have had high staff turnover which led to a loss of institutional knowledge and project delays, and we need to raise revenue or cut expenses.

Did you know that our trails have not been maintained in years? Or that we have special districts for our streetlights, stormwater, trails and landscaping that are all running at a deficit? Did you know that we have over 4000 hours of deferred maintenance that needs to be done and we don’t have the resources for it unless we draw from our reserves? Our council has known this for years, and two previous city managers were badgered for saying the quiet part out loud and not falling in line with “the Clayton way.”

Pretending we are perfect and do not need to make changes or improvements is a slap in the face to every Clayton resident. It’s about time we get to work.

Holly Tillman
Clayton City Councilmember