Mayor Says Council Is ‘Back on Track’

The third time was the charm for Councilwoman Lesley Devine, who was unanimously named mayor at the Calabasas City Council’s reorganization meeting last week. Twice before in her six-year tenure on the council, Devine had been passed over for the position.

Although Devine said Friday that the issue loomed larger in the minds of some in the community than in her own, she added that she thought the vote was symbolic of a clear change of direction for the council.

“This a signal to the community that we’re back on track again,” she said.

A founding member of the Calabasas City Council, Devine is an environmental activist known for her outspoken views that often have run contrary to that of her fellow council members.

In 1994, she was passed over for the position of mayor pro tem, often the step before the mayor’s seat, when the council ignored the accepted rotation for the position. She was also passed over for the mayoral position in 1995 and 1996.

This year, as the candidate with the top number of votes in the March 4 council election, her third, she was the “logical choice,” she said.

“People spoke very clearly about what vision they wanted to have for the city,” she said. “They removed a sitting council member. They knew what they were doing. It was a very clear mandate.”

Immediate past Mayor Bob Hill, who had publicly endorsed Devine’s opponents in the campaign, said the council had to start over in its selection process because Marvin Lopata, the former mayor pro tem, was voted out of office.

As the leading vote-getter in the election, Devine was entitled to the post, he said.

The new mayor pro tem, Councilman James Bozajian, applauded the council’s decision. He called Devine’s ascension to mayor an “olive branch” from those remaining, after an often-heated campaign over development that involved candidates as well as sitting council members.