SANTA PAULA : Council Members Select New Mayor
Santa Paula Councilwoman Margaret A. Ely was chosen to serve as the city’s new mayor by her fellow council members Monday, succeeding outgoing Mayor Alfonso C. Urias.
Ely, 46, who works as supervising legal secretary in the Ventura County public defender’s office, was selected to the one-year post after the results of the November election were certified and newly elected Councilwoman Robin Sullivan was sworn into office. Ely noted that it is the first time two women have served together on the council.
Sullivan, an attorney who has served as president of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, was the top vote-getter in the race, in which Urias was reelected.
The council also named Councilman Wayne Johnson to serve as the mayor pro tem for the coming year.
City Treasurer Robin S. Muniz and Clerk Stacey B. MacDonald were also sworn into office after winning reelection. MacDonald has resigned since the election to become city administrator for the Sierra Nevada town of Portols. The council must decide how to fill the remaining four years of her term.
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