MOORPARK : Council to Debate Mayoral Selection

Mayor Paul Lawrason said the City Council on Wednesday will consider the question of reorganizing itself, a debate that could involve a change of mayors.

A fight erupted among the council members last year after Councilman Scott Montgomery suggested that the council rotate the position among the three members who had never served as mayor--himself, Lawrason and Bernardo Perez--until the elections in November. Only council members Eloise Brown and Clint Harper have served a full year as mayor.

If Lawrason, a 61-year-old contracts director for an Oxnard aerospace firm, is confirmed as mayor, he would be the eighth and last appointed mayor in the history of the seven-year-old city.

Lawrason on Tuesday said he would consider filling out the term until the November election.

The city will begin mayoral elections this November after voters decided two years ago that they would rather elect their mayor than allow the five council members to choose the mayor from among themselves.