One Mayor Walks In, And Another Mayor Walks Out

All glory is fleeting.

I am not sure this will quite live up to the Mad Max Thunderdome sounding title of this post, but it is fairly edgy nonetheless. Due to a longstanding tradition here in Sierra Madre, one that links the sequence of Mayoral succession to the amount of votes each candidate received when running for office, we now have the #3 vote recipient in the 2012 election John Capoccia becoming Mayor, and the #1 vote recipient from the 2014 election, Gene Goss, moving up to take the Mayor Pro Tem slot.

Of course, there is a wrinkle in this otherwise time honored picture. Had Sierra Madre's traditionally determined order of succession been followed in 2013's Mayor Pro Tem selection, we could very well have been watching Mayor Chris Koerber passing the gavel of all Foothill Village power to John Harabedian tonight.

Is it possible that soon to be Councilman Harabedian will find himself wondering why he was in such a big hurry back in 2013? The last year of his term could end up being something of an anti-climax for him.

I'm not sure that the soon to be former Mayor of Sierra Madre ever really found whatever it was he believed he needed to get so quickly. Good things come to those who wait, as they say.

Then there is this. Mayor John Capoccia may be called upon to deliver a UUT increase, one that could be on the ballot in April of 2016. The third of its kind since 2012. This could end up being the theme of his year in that office. Rather ironic considering that he was originally elected as a tax skeptic.

But enough of that. There isn't much beyond the largely ceremonial reorganization of the City Council on the agenda for this evening, but it is possible to find two items on the Consent Calendar worth being concerned about.

Taken slightly out of order, here is the first:

Someone on the City Council might want to pull this item out for a little further conversation.

The other item that could cause a bit of agita tonight is this one. It is in the second slot of the Consent Calendar, right behind the spending of $763,000.00 or so big ones.


Now you may recall that at the last City Council meeting this matter devolved into something of a rhubarb. One that resulted in a tight 3 to 2 vote in favor of what will become an effective check on the kinds of unfortunate mansionization found in such blighted cities as Arcadia.

This conversation had its more bizarre moments, with Mayor Harabedian and Councilmember Goss actually inferring that many in this community had become paranoid or delusional over the McMansion threat facing Sierra Madre. Which was unfortunate, especially when you consider that it was only a few weeks earlier that they too had expressed strong concerns about the troubling potential for mansionization and over-development here.

You almost have to wonder what unsettled spirits had taken possession of the guys. Here are two video segments that will take you back to their dark places. We'll start with John Harabedian.

To view video clickhere.

Gene Goss also had some particularly unhappy things to say on this topic that evening.

To view this video click here.

In a Mountain View News article the following weekend titled "Preventing The McMansionization Of Sierra Madre,"Mayor Harabedian spun the fracas this way: