Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council selects Councilmember Penalosa as mayor pro tem after two nominations
Summary
In a pair of ordered votes, the council voted on competing nominations and selected Councilmember Penalosa as mayor pro tem for 2026 by a 4–3 margin; council also unanimously appointed Councilmember Lopez as the SCAG alternate.
The City Council conducted nominations and votes for 2026 leadership at its Jan. 20 meeting. Councilmember Becerra nominated Councilmember Penalosa; Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez nominated Councilmember Jonathan Hernandez. The council voted on each nomination in the order received and selected Councilmember Penalosa by a 4–3 vote.
Councilmember Becerra and Mayor Meskwah supported Penalosa’s nomination, while Hernandez and Lopez voted no on that motion. The second nomination, for Councilmember Hernandez, received fewer affirmative votes in the ordered voting process; the clerk explained that the process used was to vote on each nomination and select the person with the highest affirmative total.
Separately, council unanimously (7–0) approved Councilmember Lopez as the alternate representative to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) General Assembly business meeting.
The council’s actions set its leadership roster for 2026 and determine local representation for regional bodies; the changes take effect immediately for council committee assignments and representation duties.
