Chico City Council swearing in new councilmembers; electing new mayor

CHICO, Calif. — Two new Chico City Council members—District 4's Addison Winslow and District 6's Tom Van Overbeek—will be sworn in Tuesday night at the Chico Council Chambers.

The city will also have a new mayor and vice mayor, replacing current Councilmembers Andrew Coolidge and Kasey Reynolds. The mayoral position in the city has a two-year term limit and is voted on by the council.

Van Overbeek campaigned on addressing homelessness and spoke with KRCR's Anwar Stetson before the meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

“I knocked on every door in my district; the biggest issue for everybody is homelessness,” van Overbeek said. “How do we deal with it compassionately, while, at the same time, get our city back? That’s, overwhelmingly, the big issue.”

Van Overbeek said a major cause of homelessness is drug addiction and claims the State of California decriminalizing drugs has made homelessness a bigger issue.

The newly-elected councilmember also expressed interest in downtown revitalization, road repair and the maintenance of Bidwell Park.

The council meets every first and third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Meetings are open to the public.

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