By Charles M. Kelly
Michael Ponce is mayor pro tem.
The City Council voted unanimously to appoint him to the position at the Tuesday, July 19 meeting.
The position was made vacant when Cinde MacGugen-Cassidy lost her bid to succeed Anni Marshall as mayor. The council honored Cassidy at a special July 14 council meeting.
As for this week’s meeting, Mayor Marshall nominated Ponce to be the new mayor pro tem.
“Michael Ponce has numerous years of experience on the City Council,” Marshall said. “And I also know that he’s very good at correcting when I make mistakes, so he must know how to limit meetings pretty well. So I would like to nominate Michael Ponce.”
Ponce accepted the nomination.
Marshall said they would vote on Ponce’s nomination and if he didn’t win, they would call for someone else.
The vote for Ponce was unanimous. And, yes, Ponce voted for himself.
In other news, the council:
• Appointed three new members to the Planning Commission: Bruce Fertig, Robert Kennedy, and Kathy Smith. This was necessary because three Planning Commission terms expired on June 30.
• Approved memorandums of understanding with two employee unions: SEIU 721 — Avalon Harbor Unit and SEIU 721— Avalon Municipal Employee Unit for the period July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025.
