15 Jan Pittsburg Planning Commission Chair Appointed to City Council

Arlene Kobata was unanimously chosen Monday to take the Pittsburg City Council seat recently vacated by new Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

The Pittsburg City Council voted Monday to appoint Arlene Kobata, the current chair of the city’s Planning Commission, to the vacant council member seat and serve the rest of the nearly two-year term. 

The appointment, which the council opted for over a special election, comes after former council member Shanelle Scales-Preston vacated the seat to serve on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. The move saved Pittsburg an estimated $700,000. 

Kobata, a 36-year resident, was appointed unanimously and was most of the council’s first choice for the position. In the weeks-long process, she beat out 22 other candidates, three of whom she faced off against in a final public interview last week. 

Ultimately, council members said Kobata came out on top for, among other things, having “the heart of a servant.” 

“I just want to thank you for your belief in me, and I promise you that I will do my best to represent the city of Pittsburg and the residents,” Kobata said in her first remarks as a council member, “and doing the best for our future, for our community.”

Kobata was one of the top two vote-getters among council members at last week’s interviews alongside Wolfgang Croskey, the Chamber of Commerce’s CEO. 

“I just can’t say enough. It’s important that a person is respected, they know where we’re going, they know our plans,” said Vice Mayor Dionne Adams. “She has, through the years, demonstrated it.”

Adams, who previously served alongside Kobata on the Planning Commission, said the newest council member once acted as a mentor to her. 

“Her knowledge was just tremendous to me,” she said.

Adams and council members Juan Banales and Angelica Lopez named Kobata their top candidate for the position. Mayor Jelani Killings named Croskey his top choice. 

In her interview last week, Kobata said that environmental protections and city development were her “platform issues.” She also mentioned recreational programs for youth and opportunities for parents as areas of focus for her. 

Youth development has been one of the Pittsburg City Council’s priorities, including increasing the amount of non-sports program offerings for youth. Pittsburg’s Dream Courts, a 45,000-square-foot sports complex, is also in development. 

Kobata has also served on the Community Advisory Commission and, in her application, said she loves “to contribute to the growth of Pittsburg.” 

When making their choice for the appointment, council members said some of their priorities included: understanding of the role’s expectations and policy priorities, learning agility, passion, commitment to public service and ability to listen to residents

Lopez, who only recommended Kobata in last week’s interviews, said she wasn’t looking for someone who was the same as current council members, nor was she looking for “a buddy.” Instead, she was looking for someone to replace some of what Scales-Preston brought to the community. 

“Instead of using this as an opportunity for more division, let us work together to actually be that anchor that I told you guys we need to be,” she said. 

In her time on the Planning Commission, Kobata was one of the commissioners who voted not to recommend the Seeno Hillside Project, a 1,500-home development in the southwest part of the city. 

Kobata will serve out the rest of the term until November 2026.

“It’s a sigh of relief because now we have a direction forward,” Adams said, “but more so than anything, I’m just grateful to be on this council and also have you all here as our constituents, staff included, to get through this process.”