by Kevin Cody
The Hermosa Beach City Council voted 4 to 1 at a special council meeting last Thursday, October 5, to name Mayor Pro Tem Justin Massey to replace Raymond Jackson as mayor, and to name Councilmember Dean Francois as mayor pro tem, replacing Masssey.
The vote followed a tradition tracing back to the early 1970s, under which every nine months the mayor pro tem is elected mayor, and the highest vote getter among the most recently elected councilmembers is elected mayor pro tem.
Speculation had circulated in recent weeks that Francois would be passed over as mayor pro tem in favor of Councilmember Rob Saemann, despite Francois finishing ahead of Saemann in last November’s election.
The speculation was fueled early in Tuesday’s meeting when Mayor Jackson told the crowded council chambers, “Tradition isn’t always correct… No one has a right to the positions of mayor and mayor pro tem. It’s up to the five councilmembers to vote for who is the best person to lead us forward.”
Jackson then made a motion that Massey be named mayor and Saemann be named mayor pro tem.
He praised Saeman for his integrity, and said of Francois, “What I’ve been troubled by these past few weeks is this ‘I’ thing. There’s been a public campaign of ‘I deserve this, I deserve that. It’s my right to be mayor pro tem.’ To me that is the personification of everything that is wrong with elected officials. It’s about the ‘I’ and not about the ‘we.’ It’s not about the team. That is why I’m steadfast in my support of Saemann as mayor pro tem.”
Jackson’s motion was supported by Saemann, but failed 3 to 2.
Francois then introduced a motion that he be named mayor pro tem and Massey named mayor.
Prior to that vote, Saemann said, “Whatever happens in these deliberations and vote tonight, I’m perfectly accepting of that and I hope that we have a good council with good relations all the way across the board.”
Saemann then voted with the majority for Massey as mayor and Francois as mayor pro tem.
Jackson cast the sole dissenting vote. ER
