BUENA PARK : Griffin’s Term Ends; Marshall New Mayor

City Council members switched seats this week as Mayor Don R. Griffin turned over his gavel to Patsy Marshall.

“Every year has its own distinct challenges and rewards, and it will be no different this year,” Marshall said.

Griffin, for his part, ended his year as mayor Monday night by noting the challenges the council faced after voting to take an aggressive posture regarding the Orange County bankruptcy.

The council last spring rejected the county’s main settlement offer and instead joined a group nicknamed the “Killer Bees.”

The group chose the Option B settlement plan, one of only two cities to do so, and has filed lawsuits against the main players in the financial crisis.

“I think we are closer today as a council than we were a year ago,” said Griffin, who has been on the council for 22 years.

Marshall, 50, who just finished her first year as a council member, faces the challenge of monitoring the ongoing bankruptcy lawsuit and working with other council members to offset a projected deficit of $2 million because of revenue shortfall.

Marshall, who owns a public relations company, was the sole council member to vote against joining the Killer Bees, reasoning that the city could recover more money by accepting the county’s primary settlement offer.

“The mayor is still just one vote out of five,” Marshall said.