WHEN IS A MAYOR A MAYOR- AND WHO SAYS SO?

Every year when a member of the West Hollywood City Council assumes the duties of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore, both rotating positions, there seems to be some confusion in the community regarding how the new city officials acquired their titles and seats.  Many of us who lived in West Hollywood pre 1984 cityhood were accustomed to voting for the mayor of Los Angeles in normal election cycles, known as the "council-mayor" form of government  (elected City Council, elected Mayor) and really had no knowledge of or need to know about West Hollywood's present "council-manager" form of government (Elected City Council, hired City Manager), in which the Mayor is elected/appointed by the City Council itself from among their members. The West Hollywood Mayor's chair is strictly a voluntary position and can be accepted/rejected by the electee/appointee at will, in which case the chair is filled by the Mayor Pro Tempore.  (As I recall, John Heilman once voluntarily forfeited his mayoral designation to Abbe Land) The mayor has no formal authority or executive function whatsoever beyond what they already have as a sitting City Council member, but serves for one year as chair of the City Council meetings, hopefully is in a stronger position and has at least a little more influence to push his/her own agenda, signs certain city papers, attends ceremonies and functions as the face of West Hollywood, although usually along with fellow members of the City Council.  It is strictly a "take-it-or-leave-it" position. Otherwise the mayor's "power" is based largely upon their own personality and their standing/popularity in the community.  It is that simple.  And this method of selecting the mayor cannot be randomly changed to that of a mayor elected by the city's voters without changing the city's whole form of government.  As a "general law city", West Hollywood is bound by the laws of the state of California, as opposed to a "charter city", which is not. The "council-manager" form of government is nothing new or unusual.  In fact it has been traced back by different sources to as early as 1904 in Ukiah, Calif., 1908 in Staunton, Virginia, and at the very least, back to the largest city using this form of government, Dayton, Ohio, beginning in 1913.  40.1% of U.S. cities with a population over 2,500 use the "council-manager" system and the selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem is the same in all of these cities.  So fear not, no one missed voting for a new mayor in this, or any other annual reorganizing of City Council positions.  It is that and only that- an internal "changing of the guard" ceremony, so to speak, that is open to the public. John Heilman is now the Mayor Pro Tempore (Latin, meaning "for the time being",  or "provisionally") so no member of the community  should be surprised when he becomes Mayor next year and complain that they were not given notice of who else was running and why they were not asked for  their vote.  But the next election for City Council is in March, 2015.  In that election you do have a say, you will know who is running and you will definitely be asked for your vote many times over.  So don't forget to register and be prepared to vote in the 2015 City Council election!