Announcement of Intention to Run for Second Term as St. Helena Mayor

In response to recent questions as to whether I will seek a second term as mayor of St. Helena. The answer is a resolute yes.  

These uncertain times reaffirm my commitment to serve our community in assuring safety, security and the calm, stable continuity of St. Helena governance and administration.  I feel it important to announce my decision now so our community has this knowledge and positive assurance to count on.

I ran for mayor here in 2018 on a platform based on transparency and out of concern for water security, financial stability and quality of life.  I am committed to seeing these ideals through and have a vision for St. Helena that includes residential quality of life, a strong downtown and business community, protecting our water supply, updating our wastewater systems, and investing in infrastructure. 

It is critical to our youth and citizens that we adopt environmentally sound and sustainable policies that address climate change, environmental and social justice concerns and at the same time improve upon the community’s quality of life. In my first term as mayor we made substantial progress on many issues while fielding many challenges, including wildfires, power shut off events and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Through our many challenges over the last few years we’ve made significant progress on a number of fronts, including strengthening the City's financial and administrative oversight, moving forward on many legacy infrastructure projects, and implementing a multitude of community improvements. With the foundations we have put into place I believe we can maintain the momentum to see many aspects of our hopes for St. Helena reach full fruition. 

I would also like to respond to a recent letter to the editor “We’re advocating for new way of selecting St. Helena mayor”.  I welcome this discussion and think it is something to explore as a community, a rotating mayor system can be a sound approach to governance and is employed by many cities.  As mentioned in the letter, any change like this would not be able to take effect before the November election.  I look forward to leading this discussion, and addressing the other crucial issues we face as a community in my next term as your mayor.  

I have also been building relationships with mayors and community leaders throughout Napa County, the North Bay and greater Bay Area region to share in our successes and advocate for St. Helena in an extended landscape.  I have recently communicated with the FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission) regarding my role as mayor and my upcoming campaign, and have been engaged with the League of California Cities to network and explore the latest approaches, policies and best practices being exercised throughout California. 

St. Helena is special to me as I was able to experience an incredible youth and formative years here.  Those years shaped the foundation of my commitment to safeguard the vision and future of St. Helena.  I want to foster and protect the character of our town to ensure that this place remains a great place to live, have a business, to be treasured and realized by children, families, individuals and seniors for many years to come. 

Geoff Ellsworth 

Mayor - St. Helena 

Paid for by Geoff Ellsworth for Mayor 2020 FPPC# 1407177