The Santa Clarita City Council will hold a Special Meeting in open session on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m. at Santa Clarita City Hall to conduct the annual Council Reorganization event, when the gavel will be passed to a new mayor. 

The council will also elect a new mayor pro tem for 2026.

Mayor Bill Miranda is expected to pass the gavel to current Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste at Tuesday’s meeting. This would be Weste’s seventh term as Santa Clarita Mayor. Weste has served six terms as Santa Clarita Mayor in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.

The Santa Clarita City Council previously used a strict rotation system that ensured each council member would receive a turn as mayor. This system was in place from the city’s founding in 1987 to 1999. In 1999, the council decided to switch from the strict rotation system to choosing a mayor and mayor pro tem by a vote among the sitting council members.

The position of Santa Clarita Mayor is a ceremonial role which includes running the city council meetings and representing the city as its ceremonial head for public events. The mayor is also the person the city manager goes to as the council’s representative leader.

The day-to-day business of the city is run by City Manager Ken Striplin. Striplin has worked for the city of Santa Clarita since 1995, serving in a leadership capacity in every city department during his tenure and became city manager in 2012.

After the council’s reorganization meeting the council will meet for its Regular Meeting in open session at 6 p.m.

Among the items on the agenda is awarding a contract for the purchase of three statues for the First Responders Tribute Project, honoring local first responders.

The council will also discuss a mid-year review of the city’s budgetary and financial position to ensure any deviations from the initial budget projections are proactively addressed.

The meeting of the council will be held on the first floor of City Hall in the City Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Blvd., Santa Clarita, CA 91355.

Ed. Note: The above information was provided to KHTS Radio by the City of Santa Clarita.

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