Fullerton has a fair rotation policy for selecting the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem (No. 226 in the Policy and Procedures Manual). The policy states, “The Mayor Pro Tem shall automatically become the Mayor after serving one year at Mayor Pro Tem…” (Note that this also means the Mayor will serve only one one-year term). The other significant element in this policy is that selection is based on seniority according to the number of years a member has served consecutively on the city council without serving as Mayor. By that standard, at the upcoming December 5 meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Whitaker should become Mayor, and Councilmember Dr. Ahmad Zahra should be selected as Pro Tem.
In fairness, Zahra should have been Pro Tem and Mayor by now. But, as it turns out, this policy is advisory. Three years ago, to almost everyone’s surprise, the newly elected Councilmember Fred Jung nominated newly-elected Nick Dunlap to be Pro Tem, bypassing sitting members Zahra and Silva and undoing years of effort to establish a fair, ration, and non-political selection process. In 2021, when Dunlap showed no interest in being Mayor, Jung was elected to that position, again bypassing Zahra and Silva; and in what was an unprecedented move in recent years, outgoing Mayor Whitaker was selected as Pro Tem, placing him next in line to become Mayor again.
Despite the best efforts of newly-elected Councilmember Dr. Shana Charles to get the council to follow established policy, the council majority (Jung, Whitaker, and Dunlap) were not having it. She pointed out that now that we have districts, the lack of an orderly rotation process denies an individual member the right to be Mayor and an entire district the right to equal representation. She pointed out that while the office is mainly ceremonial, it does have some significant powers like agenda setting. Unswayed, the majority proceeded to re-elect Jung as Mayor and Whitaker as Pro Tem, unprecedented actions in recent years. Charles and Zahra strongly dissented.
But, arguing in favor of ignoring policy, Dunlap spoke to the importance of collegiality before acting in the most uncollegial way possible. He also said, in effect, that the Council should elect someone they respect and that respect has to be earned. He gave no example of why Zahra had not earned his respect.
One has to wonder what happened in closed sessions that made council members Jung, Whitaker, and Dunlap publicly disrespect Zahra. Will the council members ever tell the public the reasons? Or is it so petty or phobic that it can not be uttered? Whitaker was more candid; he dwelt on perceived past injustices, saying that while he initially favored fixed rotation, the first time that the current policy was violated was when he was due to be Mayor Pro Tem several years ago, and that while the current situation was not his preference it is “…where we are right now.”
Jung never joined the discussion nor offered any reason why he wanted to be Mayor again or deserved to be. No mention was made of accomplishments or what he hoped the Council would achieve in the next year. The City has not been in a good position during the last couple of years, losing several valued senior staff with institutional knowledge. There is a lack of continuity. Most of the new staff have historical reference amnesia.
Zahra is one of the most visible Councilmembers, widely available to his constituents and other residents. He also survived a vicious negative campaign funded by Tony Bushala. Both Charles and Zahra defeated candidates supported by the Mayor, showing they had reliable support in their respective districts. Also, it shows that the Mayor may not be viewed positively citywide and does not have much influence outside his district.
One of the constants of politics is that “what goes around, comes around.” That has worked to Whitaker’s benefit and against Zahra (he made some rookie mistakes in his first years and should have anticipated some payback). But in 2024, the seats of the current majority will all be up for re-election. Whitaker is termed out in a heavily Latino district. Jung does not have any competition in District 1 yet. And although Dunlap often appears more interested in sports than the interests of his District 2 constituents, he is running again. Jesus Silva, who was Gerrymandered out of District 3, now lives in District 2, and although this district is marginally Republican, it is competitive, and he would be a formidable candidate.
And there are other possibilities, but those who want to see a change in the Council must identify strong candidates and start supporting them now.
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