Cole, David to lead South Tahoe council

By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe is moving forward with continuity and change when it comes to city leadership.

While it is normal for the mayor pro tem to take on the roll of mayor, that could not happen this year with Brooke Laine not being re-elected.

At the City Council meeting on Dec. 9 it was agreed that Hal Cole will continue as mayor and Wendy David will be mayor pro tem.

Cole started the discussion by saying instead of just nominating someone he would prefer those interested in the two positions say why they wanted it.

Cole, Tom Davis and JoAnn Conner each wanted to be mayor. Conner’s belief is that the position should rotate and that newcomers should not be in either leadership role.

Her colleagues said the mayor and mayor pro tem need to be a person who treats their fellow members and the public with respect. 

Voting for Cole were: Cole, David and Austin Sass. Davis and Conner voted for Davis.

When it came to mayor pro tem, David, Davis and Conner expressed interest in the job. Davis and Conner voted for themselves, while the rest voted for David.

When it came time for the council to make the positions official, those were unanimous votes for Cole and David.

David pointed to her vast experience in running boards, being in the community as well as being the top vote getter on Nov. 4.

There is precedence of the top vote getter becoming mayor pro tem. This happened in 2010 when Claire Fortier was elected to the council with the most votes.

Both terms are for one year.