Editor’s note: This is the last of four profiles of candidates running for office in the city of Napa in November. Sept. 19, Mark van Gorder; Sept. 20, Jim Krider;  Sept. 21, Amber Martin.

The walls and bookcases in Jill Techel’s City Hall office are chockablock with photos and plaques.

Images of the mayor with Boy Scouts, congressmen, senior citizens, local politicians and Gov. Schwarzenegger crowd up against plaques, statuettes and rolled-up banners.

Techel, who is running without opposition for a second term as mayor, revels in these mementos. Each one captures another facet of a mayor’s life, she said.

In what is supposedly a part-time job, Techel estimates that she works nearly 40 hours a week. “If you didn’t like doing it, it would seem like work,” she said.

The previous week, Techel bestowed city of Napa pins on survivors of World War II’s Battle of the Bulge, made opening remarks at a government conference at the Marriott, attended a Boy Scout awards court and helped dedicate Justin-Siena High School’s new sports field.

For the sponsors of those events, the presence of local dignitaries makes a big difference. “They’re happy you showed up,” she said.

Techel, 60, divorced during her first term as mayor, ending a long-term marriage. She remains in her Browns Valley house of 35 years.

Being single again allows her to represent the city at events big and small. “I enjoy having the flexibility to just run out for an hour. That’s hard for people in a relationship,” she said.

Outside her office window, a three-story commercial building is under construction, creating occasional clatter. Techel doesn’t mind. She calls this “the sound of progress.”

Techel sees Napa’s future in the surge in downtown development that is transforming the Oxbow District, the riverfront and the west end of First Street.

Revenues from new hotels, stores and restaurants are expected to pay for the amenities and services that residents want, she said.

A high-end project like the recently approved Ritz-Carlton resort can provide the millions of dollars needed to operate a new fire station in west Napa, while channeling more than $25 million over the next 30 years for affordable housing, she said.

No challenger

Without an opponent, Techel doesn’t have a campaign to run. This is a far cry from last time, when she spent a record $117,000 to handily defeat then-Councilman Harry Martin.

Why no challenger? It could be the political clout that comes with incumbency, Techel said. It could also be that she’s doing a good job, she said.

Most City Hall watchers describe Techel as a consensus builder who has worked with neighborhood groups to soften the impacts of development.

Cathy Felder, who organized neighbors to tame the proposed Carmel Drive subdivision in Browns Valley, described Techel as a “great facilitator.”

“She was involved with our neighborhood group even before (the project) came to council,” Felder said. The mayor organized a meeting at Browns Valley Elementary School, then worked to modify the project so it was compatible with surrounding homes, she said.

After promising to work for a fire station for Browns Valley, Techel is delivering, Felder said.

Jim Asbury, who organized business interests to support Techel in her last campaign, said Techel has a far different style than her predecessor, Ed Henderson.

In contract to Henderson, who was jocular, Techel seems “non-emotional,” devoting great attention to downtown, he said.

The council’s focus on downtown may be too narrow, Asbury said. Industrial development and services to neighborhoods need attention, he said. Parts of the city are looking “tired,” he said.

Linda Cavalli, a leader in the Foster Road neighborhood that opposed annexation of Ghisletta lands, credits Techel with realizing that Ghisletta was an “incendiary hot potato.”

“I felt she totally listened to me. She was totally responsive,” Cavalli said.

Techel’s leadership style is “one of consensus,” said Councilman Peter Mott, who is not up for re-election. “She really reaches out to the four of us and gets our input.”

In the last six months, Techel seems to have grown more self-assured, taking proactive steps to slow south Napa development and work out a development protocol with the county, Mott said.

Steve Vartan, a leader in the Napa Yacht Club Homeowners Association, said he supported Techel in 2005 and would do so again. “I think she has a pretty good sense of the concerns of the community,” he said.

Economic change

Napa has “come a long way” since she was elected mayor in March 2005, Techel said. More than a quarter-billion dollars’ worth of private investment is remaking the face of downtown, with the Ritz-Carlton slated for the corner of Silverado Trail and First Street bringing another quarter billion. The city is close to achieving “control of our economic destiny,” she said.

The city expects tourism — a “clean industry” — to fuel its economic engine. If some question this direction, it’s because the city hasn’t “done as good a job in painting the picture of where we’re going,” Techel said. “If people can see the next step, they can be proud of it.”

The economic mainstays of yesteryear — major employers such as Napa Pipe and Mare Island Naval Shipyard — are history, Techel said. “These businesses aren’t coming back. We can’t go backward. We have to go forward.”

Tourists are a big-spending group, Techel said. The city will reap millions of dollars annually from the new hotels and other businesses that visitors will patronize, she said.

As this economic strategy plays out, it “has to translate back to the neighborhoods. It has to translate back into parks and better services for them,” she said.

Techel describes Napa as a “blue-collar city.” As amenities are developed for locals and tourists, the city’s demographics will change, she said. “There is a new energy. Young professionals are saying, ‘This is a fun place to be,’” she said.

Growth controls

Techel, who has served on the council for 12 years, gives herself high marks for fulfilling campaign pledges of four years ago.

She has upheld the city’s residential urban limit and voted to delay annexation of land along Foster Road — the so-called Ghisletta property, tentatively slated for mostly residential development.

By encouraging the council to withdraw its annexation request, Techel said she defused a potentially divisive situation that could have made growth the defining issue of this fall’s council election.

In the public’s mind, the county’s processing of development plans for as many as 3,200 housing units at nearby Napa Pipe and the city’s proposed annexation of land capable of holding 1,000 dwellings at Ghisletta seemed like development run amok, she said.

Techel said she is redoubling her efforts to reach an accommodation with the Napa County Board of Supervisors to coordinate south Napa development.

Napa Pipe should be developed in the city in a way that makes planning sense, Techel said. “If you put X amount of housing at Napa Pipe, maybe you don’t have to put it somewhere else,” she said. This could lighten future development at Ghisletta, she said.

Techel agreed that city-county relations hit a rocky patch during her first term as mayor. The county was attempting to chart its own course to satisfy regional housing requirements, exasperating city officials who expected a more collaborative approach, she said.

She is now part of talks, facilitated by a mediator, between two council members and two county supervisors to see if agreement can be found on how to deal with south Napa development and regional housing requirements, she said.

During part of her mayoral term, Techel chaired the county flood district’s board of directors. A previous campaign commitment to keep the flood project on schedule was undercut by inadequate federal funding, she said.

With the flood project falling further behind schedule, Techel said the city and county are now trying to accelerate protection along Napa Creek with city funds and state and federal grants. Cries for help by Napa Creek residents were heard, she said.

The community is already enjoying the benefits of flood control, Techel said. The new Veteran’s Memorial Park and river promenade are a big hit, drawing crowds for the Labor Day river festival and free Friday night concerts, she said.

Her efforts to improve potholed city streets have not been successful, Techel said. A countywide transportation tax failed in 2006. Efforts to revive the tax for this November’s election were abandoned by county supervisors because of the ailing economy.

Techel said she would keep plugging away for a countywide tax to fix deteriorating roads. In the meantime, the city will be doubling what it spends on street repairs next year, she said.

When she voted in 2006 to approve two controversial subdivisions in Browns Valley, Techel said she wouldn’t get re-elected if she didn’t build a fire station for west Napa.

The station doesn’t yet exist, but the city just bought the land for it, a major step to improving fire and medical response in west Napa, Techel said. This is a promise well on its way to being fulfilled, she said.

Creation of the Soscol Gateway redevelopment area should result in the transformation of the area between the river and Silverado Trail in decades to come, Techel said.

Private investment should flourish once the city removes the threat of flooding from hill runoff and improves roads, she said.

The city’s budget is in better shape today than a couple of years ago, with money set aside for unforeseen events, Techel said. Mindful of criticism that public employee wages and benefits are too high, she will proceed cautiously when negotiating new employee contracts, she said.

Wages have to be competitive with other cities if Napa is to attract and retain the best employees, yet the city is short on money to improve public services.

“We’re hearing what the community says,” she said. “We’re hearing what the grand jury says. We need to look at costs.”