Just a quick update on the mayoral selection process we wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Last night, the city council chose Westlake Village’s new mayor and mayor pro-tem. This took place during the “Annual Reorganization Meeting.”

At the beginning of the meeting, there were a series of presentations and recognitions to both Sue McSweeney (as mayor for 2006) and Jim Bruno (as mayor pro-tem for 2007). These recognitions were to thank them for their dedication and service in these officer positions during the course of 2006.

There were a series of public comments. Some speakers were critical of actions in the past year of individual council members, and several were very supportive of council members. Some explicitly called for actions that would help “healing” in the city after the divisiveness caused by Measure Z/Lowe’s initiative. And, there were requests to keep Sue McSweeney on as mayor for another year to help unify the council.

After the speakers completed, nominations were opened for the mayor position. After a short moment of silence, Philippa Klessig nominated Sue McSweeney and Bob Slavin seconded the motion. Sue was then voted unanimously (5-0) as mayor.

Next up was the mayor pro-tem position. Sue McSweeney nominated Philippa Klessig, and the nomination was seconded by Mark Rutherford. Philippa was then voted unanimously (5-0) as mayor pro-tem (her first time as an officer on the council).

There were several eloquent comments — both from those on the council, as well as some of the speakers. It was clear that this was a difficult time and decision for all on the council. It’s also clear from listening to the thoughts and words expressed by each of the council members, that this has weighed heavily on them, and that each of them did what they felt was best for the city.

As with all city council meetings, you can see a replay the entire meeting (about an hour) either on Channel 10 on television, or as a web cast at www.wlv.org

___________________

Upcoming straw polls coming. Make sure you are subscribed to the Westlake Revelations mailing list to partake.