Elect mayors, end musical chairs?

Since Allan Mansoor was mayor when he ran for reelection to the Costa Mesa City Council last November and council colleagues gave him another two-year term as mayor in December, some people may think they voted for him to be mayor.

They didn’t. In Costa Mesa, the mayor is a largely ceremonial position that rotates among the five council members. But more than once, someone on the council has looked into changing that to make the mayor a directly elected position.

Former Councilman Gary Monahan made the proposal in 2001 and even got it on a council agenda for discussion, but he didn’t have the votes to put the change on the ballot. And about a month ago, Mansoor asked what it would take to give Costa Mesa an elected mayor.

The mayor doesn’t have a lot more power than other council members, but that power — running the meetings and officially representing the city — is growing in little ways. In 2005, the council voted to return to two-year mayor’s terms, and Mansoor has held the post since.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council will vote on a new policy that lets the mayor choose council members’ seats on the dais after an election.

Whether anyone wants to go farther and let the voters elect the mayor seems doubtful. Mansoor said his inquiry “was just an informational request at this point,” and Councilwoman Linda Dixon said she doesn’t see any benefit to having an elected mayor.

Six of Orange County’s 34 cities — Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana and Westminster — have elected mayors, and the remainder shift the position among council members.

In cities that operate under a charter, the mayor has more executive power. For example, the Los Angeles mayor can veto council decisions, Costa Mesa City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow said. But Costa Mesa is a general law city, which means the mayor’s duties are described in state law and voters can’t do much to change them.

Monahan said even without extra powers, he sees advantages to having an elected mayor. It gives voters the opportunity to chose who will be “the de facto voice of the city,” and the position has more prestige, he said.

Mayor Carolyn Cavecche of Orange, also a general law city, agreed. She was elected mayor in 2006, and she said she’s had a better opportunity to promote her agenda since then.

“What I have found is the community definitely looks at me and is expecting a little bit more of a leadership push,” she said.

A straw poll of Costa Mesa council members showed most think that an elected mayor either isn’t necessary or is a bad idea.

“I don’t think it would really make a lot of difference one way or the other,” Councilman Eric Bever said.

To Councilwoman Katrina Foley, one person shouldn’t have that much power.

“Our city has not historically been that kind of a city, where one person sets the policy for the whole council,” she said.