TUSTIN : New City Council Appoints Mayor

The new City Council began its relationship in harmony this week with the initiation of two newcomers and a unanimous vote to put a woman at the helm for the second time in the city’s 35-year history.

Council member Leslie Anne Pontious was unanimously elected to a one-year term as mayor by her colleagues. She succeeds Councilman Charles E. Puckett.

“It is a good start to have a 5-0 vote for both mayor and mayor pro tem,” said Pontious, who postponed her acceptance speech until the May 4 meeting. “I hope we can all continue to work together,” she added.

Three-term former Councilwoman Ursula Kennedy was the city’s first woman to be elected mayor. She won the post twice, first in 1984 and again in 1988. Kennedy, who was one of the first to congratulate the new mayor on Tuesday, said Pontious “wrote her own legacy.” Councilman Jim Potts, the only incumbent to keep his seat in the April 14 election and the top vote-getter, was unanimously elected to serve as mayor pro tem.

The vote for mayor and mayor pro tem was the first for new council members Thomas R. Saltarelli, 44, and Jeffrey Thomas, 36. . Saltarelli and Thomas won the seats of four-term Councilman Richard B. Edgar and five-year council veteran Earl J. Prescott.

Before giving up their council seats, Edgar and Prescott were honored with plaques from the city. Additionally, Edgar was awarded a plaque from the Orange County division of the League of California Cities for his 16 years of service.

“The circumstances surrounding my leaving office are disappointing,” said Edgar, who blamed his loss on anti-incumbent sentiments. He said that despite his loss--Edgar ranked fifth in the voting--he was proud of his accomplishments as a councilman.

Prescott, who was appointed to the council in 1987, then elected to a four-year term the following year, also relinquished his council seat with no regrets.

“There are no long faces here tonight,” he said.

Civic activist Berklee Maughan said the new council “made a promise to communicate better with residents, and now it is up to them to deliver.

“Politicians promise a lot and sometimes fail to deliver, but I have a good feeling about this council,” he added.