CASEY McKEON (at right) takes the oath of office as the new mayor of Huntington Beach (Tribune photo).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

What’s typically a celebratory event turned into an angry, accusation-filled moment on Tuesday night as the Huntington Beach City Council convened to select a new mayor.

Councilmember Casey McKeon was unanimously elected the new mayor, but – after a surprisingly emotional interlude – the council majority selected Councilmember Butch Twining as the new mayor pro tempore (vice mayor) by a 6-1 margin over Councilmember Chad Williams.

Williams attempted to forestall the vote by claiming that a motion to sidestep an earlier council protocol about how mayors and mayors pro tem are chosen, but was repeatedly rebuffed by Mayor McKeon.

What followed turned into an angry series of exchanges in which terms like “coward” and “villain” were used. Williams felt that he was entitled to take the pro tem post based on the criteria in the protocol the council was choosing to set aside.

A crowd of supporters of Williams spoke in favor of his candidacy during public comments, and many expressed their anger during the council’s comments on the issue.

The next meeting of the council will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in the Council Chambers, 2000 Main St.