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Tehachapi Mayor Deborah Hand has confirmed that she will not run for a third City Council term in November, thereby foregoing her second year as mayor should she have been re-elected.
Her friends and colleagues have been aware of her plans for some time.
“It's been an incredible experience,” Hand said. “My stepping down is not a surprise to many people. I had intended to serve just one or two terms.
“The goals I set for what I hoped to accomplish - most have been accomplished, or at least set in motion.”
A Tehachapi resident for more than 17 years and owner of Mountain Music, Hand has served two terms for a total of eight years on the city council. She will give the mayor's gavel to her successor at the year's last city council meeting in December.
“I'm in the mode to change,” she said. “I hate to call it 'retire.' I don't intend to retire.”
Hand, who plays cello and is active in the local music and performing arts community, plans wants to spend more time in creative endeavors.
“I am planning to get back to writing. I want to write a play for the Tehachapi Community Theatre for the centennial year. I need to do that for my soul.
“I want to play more music with my husband.
She will be spending more time playing with the year-old Tehachapi Pops Orchestra.
“I want a garden. I am Irish and I love gardening. My garden is weeds.”
Hand has been married for more than a year to musician and audio engineer Peter Cutler.
“I want more of a private life,” Hand said. “Ego is the only reason to stay in. I would be running on ego. I don't need that.”
The mayor said she has no intention of abandoning public service, and, she said, “I won't rule out running again.”
She said that as a private citizen, she will able to contribute more to the regeneration of downtown because her business is located in the redevelopment area and as a city councilperson she is obliged to recuse herself from decisions that might affect that business.
She also plans to work on city affordable and substandard housing issues, “And I can't do that while I am on the council.”
Expansion of the California Correctional Institution (CCI), downtown deterioration and community disconnectedness drove her to run for office in 2000.
Hand stood in opposition to the state's plan to locate a mental hospital for sexually violent predators at CCI.
The public had not been made aware of the hospital plans, she said.
“We found out about it and had a major fight. We went at it from every angle. [The hospital] ended up in Coalinga. It's huge,” she said.
Hand is leaving as CCI again is scheduled for expansion.
“So I go in and go out with the same situation,” she said. “This time we are working with the Department of Corrections to solve the overcrowding with the existing footprint.”
In the 2000 campaign for office, Hand also called for attention to a downward-spiraling historic downtown area.
“I had just opened Mountain Music and moved into town from Bear Valley,” she said. “Downtown was quickly going downhill. It was becoming a wasteland. That was unacceptable. I began working with Holly Hart on the Main Street program.”
That, she said, sparked the idea of running for office.
A third reason for jumping into the fiery furnace of public service, she said, was to bring the city residents together.
“I was in the arts community,” she said. “The town seemed fragmented. The government people in power and the arts community didn't connect.
“It was time we started working together.”
She also wanted to clarify the fiscal relationship between the city and outlying areas, which rely on a variety of city services.
Hand will exit the mayor's office leaving a different Tehachapi than when she started, saying she likes “how good the town feels.”
 With her departure, there will be two seats up for election in November. City Councilperson and former mayor Ed Grimes is running for one of them.
“We need continuity,” said Hand, who opposes mandatory term limits as undemocratic.
“It's very important to have the historical memory” of seasoned city council members and staff, she said, noting that Grimes and fellow councilperson Phil Smith provide vital links to the state and to the county, and that they bring a depth of knowledge to the table.
“If we had new people, that all goes away.”
Saying that she is “terming herself out,” Hand said a new person on the council needs time to learn the ropes.
“It takes one term to understand what's going on,” she said. “It's complex. At the six-year mark I started to be more effective.”
Another reason for seniority, continuity and longevity, she said, is that in a small town, one person can launch and fund a campaign, which is relatively inexpensive. Therefore, Hand said, “Some developer could put three people in and suddenly they control the whole city. You just don't do this.”
Hand has advice for any newcomer on the council.
“During the first year you're going to listen. Be part of the team. Come in with a team attitude.
“Let your colleagues mentor you. You have a lot to learn and a lot to absorb. Your colleagues and staff have a lot of background. [An issue] may look one way but you need to get all the facts. Things are not always what they seem.
“Always keep in mind your job is to set policy. Don't try to micromanage. Don't go below the city manager [to get something done]. He is your CEO. You are the board of directors that sets policy.
“Be willing to compromise. Work things out. Sometimes you have to take the best solution. It may not be ideal. Don't be afraid to be the lone vote.”
Hand indicated there is a built-in dichotomy for elected officials, who are voted into office to use their best judgment while following the will of the people. There is a place for both, she said.
“For the most part, it is your judgment, “ as long as it is in line with the heart of the community, she said. There are times hard decisions have to be made, she said, such as the time Councilperson Maryann Teal, who worked at CCI and could see the advantages of expansion, voted against expansion because the people did not want it.
“This is where your judgment comes in. Stick with your principles. The balance is sometimes one way, sometimes the other. You have to realize there are going to be swings. Everything is not going to be popular.
“Be positive. Follow what's good. Don't take things personally. Don't personally attack anyone. Keep it on the issues.
“Think short term and long term. Don't be stuck in today. How is this going to make the city more livable and affect the quality of life?”
Eight years is a long time to be immersed in government, Hand said, and the last meeting in December “will be bitter sweet for sure.”
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She is proud of the downtown revitalization through Main Street Tehachapi, she said, and the installation of a full-time director for the program. The downtown area has come alive with music and murals. The renovation of the run-down railroad depot already was in motion, she said, and when it opens this year it will be a phenomenal attraction. The rescue and transformation of the BeeKay Theater into a legitimate theater is another attraction that will add to the ambiance of the city. “Having that with the Tehachapi Community Theatre in it will be wonderful,” Hand said.
The ascendency of the arts community is of particular satisfaction to Mayor Hand. “I wanted to have the arts community integrated into the community and be recognized as a valuable aspect of community life. We're there.”
The city now has a Caltrans grant to fund the construction of a road between Dennison Road and the Capital Hills area, which will make life easier for the people who live on the north side of the freeway, she said.. “It's taken eight years. Finally that's happening.”
A community center and performing arts center is “in the works.”
A bike path to Golden Hills has been started; a bike path on Valley Boulevard is in the planning stages.
The city realized the goal of creating small pocket parks in residential neighborhoods with the dedication of Pioneer Park on J Street in 2007. “Everybody should be able to walk to a park,” Hand said. “We're trying to do that.”
With new development, she said, “We have used good planning principles,” including smart growth ideals and requiring walkable projects that are not walled in.
She is pleased with the work the city has done on its General Plan, and the amount of knowledge she has gained by the in-depth study of state legislation.
Hand said one project she wants to see is a new town swimming pool.
“I love to swim,” she said. “I miss it. I have a $300 Kmart blow-up pool that is good for two months in the summer.”