The Mableton City Council held its first meeting of the year Tuesday night: an organizational meeting to swear in new members and appoint a Mayor Pro Tem.

There were two candidates for Mayor Pro Tem: District 3 Councilwoman Keisha Jeffcoat, who held the position at the time of the vote, and District 1 Councilman Ron Davis.

Under Mableton’s charter, the Mayor Pro Tem is a city councilmember chosen by the council to act in the mayor’s stead when the mayor is absent or temporarily unable to perform duties.

After an initial tie vote, Davis won on a second vote 4-2 [Correction: We originally stated the vote was 4-3, but Councilwoman Deborah Herndon was not present at the meeting. We regret the error].

Before the final vote the candidates made the following statements:

Davis said:

Good evening and happy new year. It has been a great honor to be a part of the city of Mableton. working with an exciting and incredible team of people. I just want to continue the work. Most of you already know the work I’ve been doing in the community for a long, long time, and I’ll continue to do that. It will be an honor to serve as Mayor Pro Tem and taking nothing away from the shoes that I would have to fill. So that’s it pretty much. Just short and sweet and to the point. I want to keep serving.

Jeffcoat said:

My fellow council members. As you all know, I’ve served as a Mayor Pro Tem for the past two years. I’ve been a part of public service for over 30 years.

Starting, serving in the military, I’ve oscillated between the military and the corporate sector. I came in the military as an E3 and then progressed all the way onto being a field grade officer. I’ve served at every level of the army. I started serving at the local level, as you know, at the start of or the inception of the city, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this work. I am a servant leader. I am here to support every single council member, and I’ve really worked to be a consensus builder.

It’s not an easy job, as you all know. And so I don’t take what I’ve done or what I do lightly. And I think everyone up here is an advocate and represents Mableton, and we’re going to do whatever’s in the best interest of Mableton. And as Mayor Pro Tem, I’ll continue to do that work and roll up my sleeves and put in the sweat equity that’s needed to get the job done.

New council members Michael McNeely of District 2, and Cassandra Brown of District 4 were sworn in during the meeting.

McNeely was sworn in by Superior Court Judge Sonya Brown.

Brown was sworn in by Superior Court Judge Kelly Hill.

Watch the video of the meeting