Solana Beach City Councilmember Jewel Edson will be the city’s deputy mayor for the next year, following a vote by the council on Dec. 13.
Solana Beach City Councilmember David Zito served as deputy mayor over the previous year.
For years, residents in Solana Beach elected five at-large council members who rotated the positions of mayor and deputy mayor every year. But a few years ago, in response to the threat of litigation against many smaller cities throughout the state, Solana Beach switched to a separately elected mayor who serves a four-year term and four council members who each represent a district.
The deputy mayor position is still rotated every year in December among the four council members, serving alongside Mayor Lesa Heebner. Heebner had previously served on the council before being elected mayor in 2020.
Edson represents District 3, which consists of the southwest corner of the city, west of Stevens Avenue and south of Nardo Avenue. She was also the last Solana Beach mayor to serve on an annual rotation before the switch to the current district-based system with a separately elected mayor.
