CITY HALL — With final election results in, the City Council will convene Monday to swear in new officers, elect a new mayor and start fresh with a new lineup.
Glendale Mayor Dave Weaver will be returning for another four years and newcomer John Drayman will be taking his seat on the council.
"After every election is an opportunity to step back and say, 'Let's reorganize and approach city government in a fresh way,'" Drayman said.
As the council's only new addition, Drayman said his goal as he takes office is to always keep the public's best interest in mind.
"My hope for the council and for the future is essentially what the voters are hoping to see," he said. "A council that interacts civilly with one another and the public and that puts personal issues and personal drama behind them and places the issues of greatest concern to the voters as first priority."
As for Weaver, a council veteran, his hopes are to quickly get started on upcoming projects, which the public has been calling for him to do, he said.
"I'd like to see a hotline for illegal construction as soon as possible," he said. "Downtown, I think is pretty well set, so what I want to do is get in the neighborhoods and into the hillsides and looking to downzoning areas that could be impacted by future multi-family dwelling units, and focus on view protection and 'mansionization.'"
Weaver also hopes that relations improve among council members.
"I hope that we have a good working relationship," he said of the next chapter of the City Council. "The belief out there is we haven't got along.
"I just hope that we're civil toward each other."
Frequent council speaker and recent council candidate Herbert Molano, who attends most council meetings, said proper debate and decorum is necessary among council members, but he would expect some disagreement.
"I personally don't agree with most people that a council needs to be totally congenial; I think what they should have is respect and consideration," he said. "We should not create a council that thinks alike and decides alike."
Molano also hopes that the addition of Drayman onto the council will remind members to keep the people's best interest in mind, he said.
