New Mayor for Clovis, City Manager Search Continues

Politics

By Edward Smith

Published 6 months ago on

December 10, 2024

Clovis city council selected Vong Mouanoutoua to serve as mayor and Diane Pearce to serve as mayor pro tem. (City of Clovis)

Clovis has a new mayor and mayor pro tem. Councilmembers Vong Mouanoutoua and Diane Pearce will serve in those roles, respectively.
The search for city manager is nearing an end as applicants have returned their resumes. City council needs only pick one, Mouanoutoua said.
Clovis also faces a general plan update, a major election rule change, and a possible change to become a charter city.

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Clovis City Councilmembers chose a new mayor and new mayor pro tem at Monday’s meeting.

Council unanimously chose Vong Mouanoutoua to be mayor and Diane Pearce to be mayor pro tem.

Councilmembers serve two-year terms as mayor and mayor pro tem.

Clovis will soon have to change the way it votes for city council. But the city is also finishing its search for a new city manager and updating its general plan, Mouanoutoua said.

The city will also look at becoming a charter city, giving more local control to leaders.

“It’s an exciting time for the city of Clovis, in that we’re going to be going into a lot of new territory,” Mouanoutoua said.

Clovis City Councilman Vong Mouanoutoua (right) became mayor on Dec. 9, 2024, taking the role from Councilwoman Lynne Ashbeck. (City of Clovis)

Last Stages of City Manager Search

Current city manager John Holt will retire at the end of the year, finishing five years in the position. Working with a new city manager will be a new task for council as well, Mouanoutoua said.

The council did a wide search and returned several names, he said. Council needs only make a selection.

Holt has worked at the city of Clovis for 25 years.

Election Changes

This November election marked the last time Clovis voters will choose councilmembers in an at-large election. The city will soon change to selecting councilmembers by district and is currently reviewing potential maps. Dec. 16 will be the second meeting ahead of discussions of how the map should be drawn.

There will be seven meetings, including town halls, while the council deliberates and determines how to draw the trustee areas.

General Plan Update Coming

Clovis’ general plan — approved in 2014 — needs updating to ensure it’s compliant with state law. Council hired a consultant to find out what needs to be updated in the plan that outlines land use, building codes, and more.

Mouanoutoua said the process could take three years.

Clovis is also in the midst of updating its housing element, as are several cities. Cities need to ensure they have enough zoning of varying densities to meet housing demands.

City to Consider Change to Formation

Mouanoutoua said the city council has been looking into what it would take to change to a charter city. Like the city of Fresno, a charter city gets more local control, something the city has been looking for, Mouanoutoua said.

“We want to be able to maintain as much local control as possible,” he said.

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Edward Smith,

Multimedia Journalist

Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.