HUNTINGTON BEACH : Councilman Mays Is Elected Mayor

City Councilman Thomas J. Mays, a 35-year-old business executive, on Monday night was elected mayor.

Fellow council members elevated him to the one-year term by a 5-2 vote. He succeeds Wes Bannister.

Councilman Peter M. Green, who opposed Mays for mayor, was elected to the position of mayor pro tem.

Mays had served two one-year terms as mayor pro tem before winning the position as mayor of Orange County’s third largest city. He was first elected to the City Council in November, 1986. Mays becomes the 40th person in the city’s 80-year history to hold the title of mayor.

In a brief speech, Mays said: “We have a lot of work ahead of us. There are several redevelopment projects to be finished. Redevelopment is still the No. 1 priority. We also will have a new city administrator coming in, probably around Jan. 1.”

He referred to the forthcoming retirement of City Administrator Paul Cook and the city’s current search for a replacement.

Mays is staff manager in charge of strategic planning and market analysis for McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. in Huntington Beach. He also is on the board of directors of Humana Hospital in Huntington Beach and is a field representative for Assemblyman Nolan Frizzelle (R-Huntington Beach). Mays is a member of the Republican state central committee.

Mays has a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago. He and wife Sydne have two daughters, Kelsey and Lindsey.

Mays lists his hobbies as “snow and water skiing, scuba diving, trap and skeet shooting, gardening, swimming, fishing and politics.”

In other action Monday, the council voted to take a one-year option on seven-tenths of an acre of land next to the Civic Center.

The option, together with about $250,000 in city costs for paving and lighting, allows the city to use the land until Dec. 31, 1990, as an additional Civic Center parking lot.

During that one-year period, the city will have the option of buying the parcel or arranging a land swap for it. The site is at Yorktown and Lake streets.