On July 26, 2021, Rio Vista Mayor Ron Kott called a special city council meeting to interview applicants to fill the seat recently vacated by council member Dave Hampton for health reasons. Four civic-minded applicants were interviewed. They were Rich Lynn, Tom Watson, Kevin McNamara, and Edwin Okamura. Sitting council members thanked all of them for their public spirit and willingness to take on such an essential job for the city and residents of Rio Vista. Edwin Okamura was selected with a majority vote of the council. He will be sworn in during the regular council meeting on August 3rd.
Edwin, his wife, and their two daughters, moved to Rio Vista in 2004. He started his successful mortgage brokerage business after 17 years as an executive in the fast-paced technology world. From the start, he has been very involved in our community. He is the cross-country running assistant coach for Rio Vista High School, a member of the Rio Vista Planning Commission since 2014, a founder and president of RioVision, and the newly elected President of the Rio Vista Rotary Club. (Because of a potential conflict of interest, he has resigned from RioVision and the Planning Commission, but will keep his Rotary membership since the club is non-partisan and non-political.)
Asked what skills and experience he brings from his years as an executive and a business owner to help him in his new role with the council, he said “my greatest strength is my ability to communicate with diverse groups (of people.) One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou, who perceptively said ‘…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ I live by this. Having an effective negotiation or discussion with an audience requires that everyone has a say at the table and leaves with the feeling they were heard.”
One notable instance of Edwin in action, in his own words, was “several years ago, the past owner of the Sidwell (Ram) Hotel sat on the property and was not renovating it. It was blighted. I called him and had conversations with him and got him to do a town hall at City Hall. I did not see eye-to-eye with him, nor did the town. But I felt the only way something would happen would be if he did meet with us ‘foes.’ He did, and it was contentious, and people told me nothing would change. (Yet) a year later, he sold the property, and … (new owner) Jack Hirsch is nearing completion of the renovation.”
This is an example of the strengths Mr. Okamura brings to his new position. He demonstrates perseverance and the will to keep going when others may quit, and a dedication to the well-being of Rio Vista and our community. Perseverance and dedication are not new to Edwin as he is a lifelong runner, marathoner, and ultra-marathoner. He has competed in several events and still enjoys long mountain hikes with his wife.
Mr. Okamura is clear that his “goal as a councilmember …(is) to help steer Rio Vista toward the vision our community has asked. With an update to the General Plan imminent, this is the time you need councilmembers that recognize the vision for our city and create a working plan that supports development on our waterfront; create physical connections between our disparate developments; and manages growth, so we maintain a strong sense of shared community.”
Our newest council member is definite that the issues and the opportunities upcoming will be handled satisfactorily because “together we can.”