Anaheim : Coveted Mayor Pro Tem Post Isn’t Easy to Fill

After what one council member dubbed a “Gilbert and Sullivan operetta” last week, City Council members Tuesday will again try to select a mayor pro tem.

The appointment process began last Tuesday when Councilman Irv Pickler nominated Miriam Kaywood for the job. Mayor Don Roth then nominated Councilman Ben Bay.

Kaywood lost 2 to 3. Bay lost 2 to 3.

Kaywood then nominated Pickler and Mayor Pro Tem Lew Overholt nominated himself. Pickler received a 2-2 vote. Overholt lost 1 to 3. He was the only one to vote for himself. Roth abstained on both votes.

Bay then moved to continue the selection to Tuesday when it will be the first order of business.

“It’s comical, it’s comical,” Pickler said. Kaywood, who called the events a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, agreed and said “the whole thing took four minutes.”

It happened, Kaywood said, because “everybody is running for mayor, but they don’t admit it.”

With Roth running for the county Board of Supervisors, the mayor’s position will be up for grabs next year. In Anaheim, the county’s largest city, the mayor’s position is an elected post. Whoever has the tag “mayor pro tem” next to his or her name on the ballot stands a much better chance with the city’s 106,430 voters, said Bay, who would not say whether he’s running for mayor. “It’s too early for anyone to say they are running for mayor,” he said.

“In the back of everybody’s mind everybody is running for mayor,” Pickler said, adding he would run for the post if he decides against running for a county supervisor seat.

Kaywood, who said she hadn’t decided whether to run for mayor, said: “If the silly season started so early, it’s really unfortunate. All the decisions will be political.”