By Christian Mignot

Los Altos Hills City Clerk Patricia Dowd is set to retire after 23 years of service. She is scheduled to leave office Nov. 16, shortly after the last election she will ever have to administer.

Over the years, she has taken minutes for more than 600 council meetings and seen the inauguration of 21 council members. She has worked closely with eight city managers and has been a pillar of strength for the council, holding local government together as members have come and gone.

Dowd, who started work at town hall on Dec. 3, 1979, said it was time for a break from work to pursue other plans. During the coming months, she hopes to take time to travel with her husband, John.

“I will not have an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule anymore, so it will give us time to visit some places we have wanted to go to, as well as allowing me to focus more on volunteer activities that I pursue,” she said.

City Manager Maureen Cassingham said Dowd would most be missed for her commitment, wisdom and ability to work well with staff and citizens, as well as her vast knowledge of city history.

“Pat is a repository of historical information who always helps us to combine a sense of the past with the present whenever we are brainstorming or making a decision on anything,” Cassingham said. “She takes care of everything, from handling the everyday inquiries of citizens to helping staff and council.”

The role of a city clerk entails doing all of the legwork for council members and other staff - writing the minutes for council meetings, acting as liaison between town committees, handling all archived records and dealing with inquiries. Dowd has dealt with the daily nitty-gritty while watching the city mature, much like a loving mother tending to her child.

Dowd said she would most miss the people with whom she works. “Because the town is so small, I’ve always been able to work directly with other staff members like the city managers and council members, a privilege that city clerks don’t usually have,” she said. “In a sense, they have almost become like extended family for me.”

And although faces and times have changed, Los Altos Hills has remained much the way it was when Dowd first joined government.

“The houses have gotten larger, and the council has become more active in the sense that they offer community building programs like recreational activities,” she said.

“But otherwise, the town hasn’t changed all that much.”

An appreciation dinner for Dowd, open to the public, will be held Nov. 8. For more information, call 941-7222.