Leesburg council approves slate of commission appointments and elects Todd Simona Johnson as vice mayor

Leesburg — At its organizational meeting, the Leesburg Town Council confirmed appointments to advisory boards and commissions and elected Council member Todd Simona Johnson to a two-year term as vice mayor.

The council approved a long list of commission appointments by unanimous consent and adopted council rules of procedure, with the mayor calling for voice votes and the body answering "aye" on routine items. The council then considered two separate motions for the vice mayor position; a motion to reappoint Vice Mayor Veil Steinberg failed, and a subsequent motion to appoint Todd Simona Johnson succeeded.

The appointments confirmed by the council included nominees to the Airport Commission, Board of Architectural Review, Commission on Public Art, Diversity Commission, Economic Development Commission, Environmental Advisory Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Performing Arts Commission, Planning Commission, Residential Traffic Committee, Technology and Communications Commission, Thomas Balch Library Commission and the Tree Commission. The mayor listed the appointees during the meeting; the council moved to accept the slate as presented and later voted to accept "all of these recommendations." The council vote on the bundled appointments and related organizational items was recorded on the floor as 7–0 in favor.

Council members discussed which members would take councilmanic assignments to boards and regional bodies. Several council members volunteered to represent the town on regional and statewide groups, including the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority planning committee (the Planning Coordinating Advisory Committee), and Virginia Municipal League committees.

On the vice mayor selection, a council member moved to approve "Vice Mayor, current Vice Mayor, Veil Steinberg to a 2 year term as Vice Mayor." That motion did not pass, as the presiding officer declared, "That does not pass." A subsequent motion to "approve Todd Simona Johnson to 2 year term as vice mayor" was made and carried; the council recorded the motion as adopted and moved on to other organization business. The meeting then adjourned the organizational portion and proceeded directly into the regular scheduled meeting.

The mayor conducted the votes by voice throughout the organizational agenda; the mayor instructed members to indicate their votes verbally ("All in favor, indicate by saying aye").