Newport leaders to select new mayor

Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon has had a busy first year on the City Council.

Dixon, who represents the Balboa Peninsula area, was elected in 2014 as part of a slate known as Team Newport, along with Councilmen Kevin Muldoon, Marshall “Duffy” Duffield and Scott Peotter. During a council meeting in December 2014, the council chose Dixon to serve as mayor pro tem under the guidance of longtime Councilman Ed Selich, who was selected mayor.

In her first year, Dixon has helped tackle some contentious issues — sometimes voting in opposition to Team Newport colleagues — including boosting police patrols on the Balboa Peninsula, regulating water-propelled jetpacks in Newport Harbor and initiating an audit of the Civic Center construction project.

On Tuesday, the seven-member City Council will select from its ranks a new mayor and mayor pro tem to serve for 2016. If tradition stands, Dixon likely will be selected mayor, according to current council members.

Still, Dixon said Friday that she did not want to assume she would receive the top spot until her colleagues had voted.

“I would be greatly honored and humbled,” she said.

The selection of mayor pro tem for 2016 appears to be a toss-up between Muldoon and Councilman Tony Petros, both of whom have expressed interest in the post. The person who is chosen mayor pro tem will manage approval of the consent calendar during council meetings and attend ceremonies and other events with the mayor.

Several council members declined to specify who they would support for mayor pro tem. Muldoon could not be reached for comment.

However, Peotter, who said he had no interest in being mayor pro tem, said he would be inclined to back Muldoon.

Councilman Keith Curry, who has served as mayor twice since being appointed to the council in 2006, said Petros is qualified for the position. Petros, who was elected in 2012, has never served as mayor or mayor pro tem.

“Councilman Petros has served with distinction for four years and would make an outstanding mayor pro tem and ultimate mayor,” Curry said.

Selich, who will be termed out next year after eight years on the dais, said he was pleased to serve as mayor at a time when four new council members were entering the fold. Selich had been mayor twice previously.

“The reason I took it on a third time is that I felt, with the new council members coming on, as though I was the only one who could bridge the gap between the new and the old council,” he said. “It was a critical year.”

The state’s open-meetings law makes the process of lobbying for and selecting the top two spots on the council a delicate one. The law aims to prohibit council members from privately discussing items to be voted on in a public meeting.

Over the course of the year, Selich said, it often becomes clear who has the aspirations to become mayor and mayor pro tem without a formal discussion among council members.

“You kind of know who’s interested in it. You might hear it from a third party in a casual conversation,” he said. “But by the time it comes to the council meeting, people pretty much have an idea who wants it.”

Tuesday’s City Council meeting will begin at 6:15 p.m. at 100 Civic Center Drive.