On December 7th, John Anderson’s term as Mayor and Nancy Rikel’s term as Mayor Pro-tem will expire. The new City Council must decide who becomes the new Mayor and Mayor Pro-tem.
In Yorba Linda, the City Council nominates and votes for the Mayor and Mayor Pro-tem every year during the first meeting in December. More times than not the Mayor Pro-tem is chosen to be the new Mayor. Two years ago this did not happen. The Anderson, Schwing and Rikel council majority vindictively denied Councilwoman Jan Horton the opportunity to be Mayor even though she had been Mayor Pro-tem.
During an election year being Mayor is a coveted position that can account for a 5 -10% bump in votes. This was part of John Anderson’s strategy for his own 2010 re-election bid. He made it a point of having Mayor John Anderson on his signs, campaign literature, ballot statement, and website.
I predict that John Anderson will be Mayor for another year and Councilman Mark Schwing will be the new Mayor Pro-tem.
Why would I think this?
This will position Mark Schwing to become Mayor for his 2012 re-election to the City Council. Tom Lindsey will then become Mayor Pro-tem and then Mayor in 2013.
This brings us full circle in four years when John Anderson, if he decides to run again, will be Mayor for his 2014 re-election bid.
So what happened to Nancy Rikel and Jim Winder you might ask?
Jim Winder is will be termed out in two years and has no influence with the new four member council majority. They have no reason to make him mayor again.
Councilwoman Rikel will be the sacrificial lamb so to speak. There is little doubt that Anderson and Schwing cringe at the prospect of spending a year under the “leadership” of a Mayor Nancy Rikel.
Nancy Rikel has not shown any of the spunkiness she displayed for decades prior to her election to the City Council. She has become a cheerleader for the status quo who continually announces “I second that motion” in response to any motion made by Schwing or Anderson. The unscripted Nancy Rikel seems to be lost unless Anderson or Schwing provide her with clues on how they will be voting.
If my prediction is wrong and there is a Mayor Rikel then City Council meetings should be more entertaining in a kind of perverse John Gullixson redux sort of way. If I am right . . . who cares?
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