Frank Ferry made two nominations at tonight’s special meeting: (1)A nomination for Laurie Ender to be Mayor of Santa Clarita , which was approved unanimously, and (2)A nomination for himself to be Mayor Pro-Tem. It wasn’t clear how surprised Bob Kellar was. Based on the usual rotation, Kellar was next in line to be Mayor Pro-Tem and protested with a no vote, saying “I would prefer to go with the usual progression.” However, Ender, Ferry, McLean, and Weste all gave their vote to Ferry.
There have been many 4-1 votes during Kellar’s tenure on the City Council, and this was a clear sign that not everyone has been happy about that. Ferry made this point all but explicit when he nominated Laurie Ender, citing her work for the HMNMH campus expansion and the library takeover as evidence of her leadership abilities. Kellar, of course, was a dissenting voice on these major projects.
While mayordom is largely ceremonial in Santa Clarita, Tim Myers has pointed out that a “Mayor” or “Mayor Pro-Tem” next to one’s name helps during elections. How tense are things going to be over the next four months?
*UPDATE
After Public Participation concluded, Mayor Pro-Tem Ferry explained that after his coma, the ensuing “reflection and re-prioritizing”, and developments in his family life, he felt that being in line to be mayor again was something he needed. He claimed he was not at all trying to marginalize Kellar. Ferry said he was doing this for himself–”I did this today because, really, for myself”–and not to keep Kellar out.
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