Dixon takes mayor’s seat in Newport Beach; Muldoon is mayor pro tem

A new mayor took control of the Newport Beach City Council dais Tuesday night, outlining a vision for the city that includes fixing deteriorating seawalls, selecting a new police chief and reviving aging commercial districts.

Diane Dixon, who was elected in 2014 as part of a slate of four candidates known as Team Newport, took over as mayor from council member Ed Selich, who had served in the post for the past year.

The council unanimously selected Dixon as mayor and Councilman Kevin Muldoon to replace Dixon as mayor pro tem. Muldoon, who represents District 4, known as the Eastbluff and Belcourt areas, also was a Team Newport candidate elected last year along with Marshall “Duffy” Duffield and Scott Peotter.

Dixon, who represents District 1, which includes the Balboa Peninsula and Lido Isle areas, outlined five goals she hopes to accomplish in her year as mayor:

• Create a master plan for Newport Harbor to deal with issues related to eelgrass, trash removal and seawall restoration or replacement.

• Work with City Manager Dave Kiff on the selection of a police chief to replace Jay Johnson, who has said he plans to retire this month.

• Find ways to simplify permits for small businesses in an effort to improve commercial districts.

• Continue her monthly town hall meetings and expand them from the District 1 area to include the rest of the city.

• Work toward those goals while maintaining a conservative city budget.

“We are all prepared to work together to nurture and protect our shining city on the water,” she said. “Our finest days are ahead.”

After giving up his seat in the center of the dais, Selich wrote notes to each of the other council members to publicly — and at times sarcastically — thank them for their contributions to council meetings.

In the style of Jimmy Fallon’s comedy skit on “The Tonight Show,” he thanked Councilman Tony Petros for his bow ties, Dixon for her “long monologues” that caused him to miss “Dancing With the Stars,” Duffield for keeping his comments brief so he could get home in time to watch “Dancing With the Stars,” Peotter for not blowing up the bunny statues in Civic Center Park and Councilman Keith Curry for keeping his true feelings on issues under wraps during council meetings.

In a more serious tone, Selich, a councilman since 2005, reflected on his third stint as mayor, saying he was honored to lead the council during a year when four new members joined and tensions sometimes ran high among old and new members.

“It’s time to turn the leadership over to Team Newport,” Selich said. “They have a year of seasoning and they’re ready. When we get down to doing the work, the new and the old council really aren’t that much different.”