Tension simmering for years on the Santa Clarita City Council resurfaced Tuesday night after Councilwoman Marsha McLean felt she was passed over for her turn to be mayor pro tem a second time.  The Santa Clarita City Council doesn’t have a voter-elected mayor – the person who fills the largely ceremonial role is selected by their fellow council members for a one-year term.  The mayor’s main duties involve running the council meetings and representing the city at events, according to the council’s norms and procedures. It refers to the job as a “leader among equals.”  Mayor Bill Miranda is voted by councilmenbers as mayor during the Santa Clarita City Council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Council members used a rotation from 1987 to 1999, then changed it via council vote, which is how things have remained since.   There have been two previous requests to change the selection process back to rotation: One was made by former Councilman TimBen Boydston in 2013; the second by McLean in 2019.  Boydston realized he was at odds with his fellow council members on a number of issues back then, later saying in a December 2014 story he had “no expectation” of being named in a vote for mayor.  At that point, both McLean and Councilwoman Laurene Weste were on the same side of things, at least in terms of the mayoral rotation. They both were part of a 4-1 vote to keep the selection of mayor with the council.  Since then, however, some of the dynamics at play have changed.  During an April 2019 council discussion, McLean called for a rotation with the idea of making it a “non-political” process. The discussion did not go any further after Weste and former council members Bob Kellar and Cameron Smyth indicated at the time they were not interested in changing the policy. Then-Councilman Bill Miranda stayed silent during the discussion.  From Left to Right: Councilman Bill Miranda, Greg Laemmle, Mayor Laurene Weste, Councilman Cameron Smyth, Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean and Councilman Bob Kellar at the groundbreaking for Laemmle Threatres 6 in Newhall. Cory Rubin/ The Signal Fast forward to Tuesday, and newly elected Councilwoman Patsy Ayala’s first official act after the group named Miranda mayor Tuesday was a motion to name Weste as mayor pro tem.   Weste was approved on a 3-2 vote with Councilman Jason Gibbs voting no, after making a second motion to call for McLean as mayor pro tem. The rules called for the motions to be taken in order, so the second motion, which Weste seconded, became moot after Weste had the votes.  A largely ceremonial role also, the mayor pro tem runs the council meeting in the mayor’s absence — but that person has been named the mayor the following year since the change of format.  Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste is voted as mayor pro tem during the Santa Clarita City Council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal McLean said she was prompted to speak up Tuesday before the vote for mayor pro tem at the reorganization meeting, because she felt “personal vendettas” were getting in the way of her getting her turn.   “I know you will vote the way you wish,” she told her fellow council members, “but you really should return to the rotation, and the person who should be nominated, should be nominated in that rotation.  “This business about keeping people off the council for personal reasons, or whatever, to take office, is just not OK for Santa Clarita,” she added.  The comments were like the grievance McLean aired in December 2023 when Miranda was made mayor pro tem and now former Mayor Cameron Smyth was named mayor.  “Laurene, how did I know you were going to do that?” McLean could be heard saying from the dais after Weste nominated Miranda to be mayor pro tem for the year.  McLean said Tuesday when she gave up her turn to be mayor pro tem so Smyth could take the role on his final term, she “fully expected” she would have been voted in as mayor pro tem in 2023.   Marsha McLean is joined by family and friends as she takes the oath of office as City of Santa Clarita councilmember at City Hall on Tuesday, 121322. Dan Watson/The Signal “I keep quiet about it, and I try to be gracious about it, but at this point in time, I think if we don’t go back to honoring people’s service, and allow them to serve in their turn, I really am sorry about that,” she said from the dais.  On Thursday, she declined to answer questions about her past views on the mayoral rotation.  She also made another reference to an ongoing disagreement, but again declined to confirm it was Weste in a phone interview Thursday.  “I mean, it’s obvious who I was talking about,” she said. “Why should I? I said what happened, you know what happened.”  Santa Clarita City Council member Laurene Weste is recognized at the Zonta Women in Service Celebration at the Canyon Country Community Center on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Chris Torres/The Signal Weste chalked it up to politics, saying she had “no clue” about any tension there between her and McLean.   “You can’t have everybody always happy and joyful with the kind of work we do,” Weste said, mentioning some of the frustrations that council members hear from the public during biweekly public comment at their meetings. “You just can’t.”  Weste said any issues that may exist among council members don’t impact the running of Santa Clarita.  Councilmembers Marsha McLean, left, and Laurene Weste speak to the crowd during the dedication of the E.G. “Jerry” Gladbach Water Treatment Plant on Thursday, June 27. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “It’s just a matter of course that sometimes people will be unhappy, and I don’t see how anything in our city has not been well done by any of us,” Weste added. “So, we’re fine.”  McLean and Weste were recently on the same side for the appellant opposed to a mixed-use project slated for the IHOP parking lot off Bouquet Canyon Road.  However, McLean also brought up issues over the appointment process during the naming of a recent Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission appointment by Bill Miranda in January.   In response to an accusation made during the appointment process, Miranda spoke candidly in January about feeling bad that McLean had bitterness toward him and Weste. He said at the time that she was a great representative for the city, but that he didn’t support her being mayor. He also said it wasn’t the first time that someone up for mayor pro tem hasn’t been chosen.  During the regularly scheduled council meeting Tuesday right after the organizational meeting, Miranda agreed to agendize a discussion of returning to the mayoral rotation, at McLean’s behest.  He also made a call for unity on the council.  “Let’s make a point of all working together this year,” Miranda said. “We have a lot to do.”  The post Council’s calls for decorum, unity face challenges  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.