Who Will Be the City's Next Mayor?

San Juan Capistrano gets a new mayor tonight.

Last year, the council  by making Sam Allevato mayor, bypassing then-mayor pro tem Laura Freese. Newcomer Larry Kramer became mayor pro tem.

Although some in the community had expected Freese to become mayor, she announced at the meeting that she would back Allevato for mayor “because I do not want to be the cause of any tension, and I want to go forward with respect and that positive nature I'm hoping we'll have on the council." 

Allevato has been mayor twice. He served as mayor in 2007 and has been on the council since March 2004. The council will also chose the chairperson for the Redevelopment Agency tonight.

Also on the agenda tonight, the council will discuss:

• Extending the time in which the public can comment about the , the proposal to revitalize downtown with more shops; if approved, residents will have until Jan. 3, 2012 to offer opinions
• Broadcasting meetings on the internet
• Allowing the  to traverse local streets for the bicycle portion of the 2012 race
• Hiring Insley Construction of San Juan Capistrano on a three-year contract to remove graffiti on public property; currently the company provides those services on an “as-needed’ basis