After a unanimous vote of the Scotts Valley City Council last week, Vice Mayor Dene Bustichi was named to succeed Jim Reed as mayor of Scotts Valley. Councilwoman Donna Lind was unanimously selected to serve as vice mayor.
Reed, remains on the council. His term expires in 2014.
For Bustichi, who was first elected as a member of the City Council in 2004, the appointment will mark his second time serving as mayor.
Lind, who was first elected to the City Council in 2008, will serve as vice mayor for the first time.
The mayor’s position, which is voted on annually, is largely a ceremonial title that carries little in the way of powers or responsibilities, other than to lead City Council meetings and serve as the council’s spokesman.
The vice mayor position, Bustichi said, is often regarded as the inside track to being appointed to the mayor position the following year.
“It’s always fun and exciting to serve as mayor,” Bustichi said of his Dec. 1 appointment. “It never becomes old hat.”
Bustichi is a lifelong resident of Scotts Valley who owns and operates local contracting firm BCI Builders, as well as Scotts Valley Window, Door and Skylight. He is active in the local Kiwanis chapter.
Bustichi said his priorities as mayor in 2011 are to get the new library branch opened on time, to promote economic development and recovery and to take the next step forward in the planning process toward breaking ground on the proposed Town Center.
