Meeting Mayor Spencer

During the summer months of June, July, August, the City of Alameda has free concerts at the Crab Cove Beach. The concerts are once a months, and they usually have local bands perform. I moved to Alameda over five years ago, and since I’ve been here, I’ve gone to just about all these concerts. There’s food, drinks, and everybody is dancing and having a good time.

At these concerts I see a lot of the same people from previous concerts. One of the women who I always saw at these concerts is the mayor of Alameda, Trish Herrera Spencer. She always came over to Steve and I to say hi and danced with us for a minute or two. However, we never knew that she was the mayor. We didn’t even know her name. We just thought that she was a very friendly, energetic person who like to dance. We always saw her dancing with so many people, enjoying herself.

One day, I was online and I found a new art fair called, Alameda, Mini Makers Faire, so I signed up to do it. At the fair the woman who always danced with me at the concerts came to my booth, said she knows me, and gave me a hug. Then she looked at my art and asked me which one of my paintings was my favorite. I pointed to the one that says, “Art” in sign language. She asked how much it was, and the next thing I knew she said, “I want to buy it.” So as Yvonne, one of the women who helps me at the fairs, was taking the painting off of the grid wall, this woman called her husband to bring her money. A minute later the painting was sold. The woman gave me her business card and said she was putting my painting in her office in City Hall where lots of people will see it. She then asked me to write a short bio to put up next to my painting. After she left and I looked at her business cards that was when I realized that the Mayor of Alameda, Trish Herrera Spencer, just bought one of my paintings! I was excited that I sold a painting, but discovering that I sold a painting to the mayor was unbelievable. She definitely made my day.

check out her website at

https://mayortrish.com/

At the fair Mayor Spencer also told me to friend her on Facebook. I thought that was pretty funny. I did and she accepted my friend request fairy quickly. She messaged me on Facebook saying that she already hung my painting up in her office and I needed to schedule an appointment to go see it.

A week after the Mini Makers Faire, while in the process of scheduling an appointment with the mayor, there was another concert at the Crab Cove Beach. I went and so did Mayor Spencer. Once again, she came to dance with me, but this time we danced for a whole song. It was a good five minutes or so.

After emailing her assistant back and forth a couple of times, I finally had an appointment with the mayor on July 19, 2018. I thought it was going to be a pretty short visit mainly to give her my bio. However, Mayor Spencer really took the time to visit with me, my husband, my mom, and my business assistant. First, she took us to her office where she hung my painting. She even told us about the other art pieces that she has on her wall, so my painting is now a part of her art collection. She was going to have me sit behind her desk, but my wheelchair couldn’t fit. She took us on a tour of City Hall. She showed us the confidential room where they sign important documents. We also went to the chamber where they have the city council meetings. Mayor Spencer moved chairs out of my way and had me sit in the spot where she normally sits during the meetings. I guess I was the mayor for a few minutes.

During the tour, Mayor Spencer also told me about the art opportunities they have in City Hall. There is what’s called an art lottery. If my name gets drawn, I could have my art up on the walls in City Hall. She introduced me to the woman who is in charge of doing the art lottery, and I definitely signed up for that.

I am so honored and grateful that Mayor Spencer took the time to visit with me and my family. Plus, the fact that she bought one of my original paintings is still exciting and unbelievable to me. Mayor Spencer is a lovely woman who really takes time out of her busy schedule to get to know the people who she is trying to help, and I will forever be honored that she took interest in me and my art.

Scroll through to see the images from our visit!