Mayor, Council to be Sworn in Today

[UPDATE] Pasadena’s new mayor, along with elected and re-elected members of the City Council, will be sworn in at an organizational meeting that starts at 12 noon today.

Mayor-elect Victor Gordo and newly elected Councilmember Felicia Wiliams will be sworn in alongside re-elected Councilmembers Tyron Hampton, Gene Masuda and Steve Madison.

Gordo will be sworn in by his predecessor and former boss Bill Crowfoot, a Pasadena attorney who is now a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. 

Gordo was Crowfoot’s field representative from 1993 to 2001, when Crowfoot served as the first District 5 City Councilmember after the city redrew the council’s district lines to create a new district that would increase voting opportunities for the city’s growing Latino population.

After Crowfoot, who is not Latino but speaks Spanish fluently, stepped down, Gordo successfully ran for the District 5 seat and has held on to it for nearly two decades.

After the roll call, City Clerk Mark Jomsky will certify the results of the mayoral election and Measure P, the annual $18 million transfer from the city’s utility to the general fund.

After the certification presentations, there will be a recognition of service by outgoing Mayor Terry Tornek and Councilmember Margaret McAustin, who chose to not seek a second term to the District 2 seat won by Williams in the Nov. 3 election. 

“As I leave the council, I’m pleased to be replaced by a woman. I’m disappointed and even embarrassed to be the only woman on an eight-member elected body. Pasadena will be a better place if we have more women in decision-making positions, particularly on the City Council,” McAustin said.

“The form of government we employ calls for a strong city manager, and a weak mayor. The system is designed for volunteer citizen participation as City Councilmembers. But it was designed by men, for men. It’s time to woman up and take our place in our city government. One is not enough,” McAustin said.

After the presentations and statements, that version of the City Council will adjourn for the final time, and the new council will be sworn in. 

The new City Council’s first order of business will be the selection of a new vice mayor. 

The vice mayor, who will be chosen by council colleagues, performs the mayoral duties in the absence of the mayor. The vice mayor’s term ends on Dec. 12, 2022.