Lucan No. 1 in City Council Race, Breaks Up All-Woman Quintet

Hometown man became the youngest member in the 51-year history of the Novato City Council by not only winning a seat in Tuesday’s election but coming in first among seven candidates.

Lucan, a 30-year-old hotel marketing executive, joined incumbents Jeanne MacLeamy and current Mayor Madeline Kellner as the top vote getters in the election, and the three will join Denise Athas and Pat Eklund on the dais at .

Kellner edged another challenger, former school board member Leslie Peterson Schwarze, by just 86 votes in the unofficial tally. Jerome Ghigliotti, who ran on a campaign of eliminating illegal alien gangs and making sure all companies doing contracted work with the city proved that their workers were documented citizens or legal residents, came in third. Eleanor Sluis and Manny Fernandez rounded out the field.

The final unofficial totals: Lucan 4,303 votes (21.6%), MacLeamy 3,974 (20%), Kellner 3,555 (17.9%), Peterson Schwarze 3,469 (17.4%), Ghigliotti 2,000 (10.1%), Sluis 1,347 (7.7%), Fernandez 1,015 (5.1%).

Lucan’s election breaks up the second all-female City Council in state history. He takes the seat previously held by council veteran Carole Dillon-Knutson, who decided this summer not to run.

Lucan is about one year younger than Novato’s first mayor, Wayne Womack, was when he was elected in 1961. William “Jack” Adams was in his early 30s when he first served in 1964.

Lucan, a graduate, was edged by Eklund two years ago in his first bid for the Novato City Council. But Tuesday night he celebrated his 21.6 percent share (4,303 votes) with friends and family at and said he’s glad age didn’t turn out to be a deciding factor in the voting.

“The voters understood that age shouldn’t be an issue,” he said. “I think it’s, ‘Do the candidates understand the issues?’ I think I proved two years ago that I was knowledgeable on the issues and even more so this time around. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m ready to dive right into it.”

MacLeamy, who like Lucan has zeroed in on fiscal sustainability as the No. 1 issue in the city, said she is looking forward to working with Lucan. "Not only is he a bright young man, but I think he has the background that could really be of help to us as we go forward the challenges we have.”

Kellner said Lucan will bring a new perspective to the council, “but I think he also brings a steady hand. He has a business background and he does his homework. The fact that he ran once and just missed it, then tried again and put his heart and soul into it, that says a lot. He did his homework and he’s very thoughtful.”

It was a total surprise to come out No. 1 among vote getters, Lucan said.

“I’m pleased to have done so, though,” he said. “Having grown up here in Novato and being a local individual for so long, I felt pretty good about it going in. I felt I was strong and knowledgeable on the issues and presented myself well at the candidate forums. It’s just a real honor, having grown up here.”

Lucan said Marc Levine, a member of the San Rafael City Council and also in his early 30s, stopped by Ghiringhelli’s on Tuesday night to congratulate him and pass the torch.

“He said I’d be taking away the ‘youngest’ title from him,” Lucan said.

Lucan credited his wife, Kiley, for her encouragement and patience.

“She’s been the greatest supporter in this,” he said. “Fortunately we commute together (to San Francisco), so we’ll still see a lot of each other.”