At the Newport Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9, the City Council elected a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem to serve one-year terms in 2026. This is a process that occurs annually during the final council meeting of the year.
According to information in the council’s agenda, the city clerk presides over the election of the Mayor. The city clerk, in presiding, places all members of the Council on an equal basis to nominate and elect. Verbal nominations for Mayor are made and he election is conducted by roll call vote, after which the new mayor is announced by the city clerk and the mayor takes his or her proper place at the Council dais.
The mayor then presides over the election of the mayor pro tem. The mayor conducts verbal nominations for mayor pro tem followed by an election via roll call vote. The new mayor pro tem is announced by the city clerk takes his or her proper place at Council dais.
The Council then decides on seating arrangement of Council dais. Per City Council Policy A-1, members of the City Council shall be seated at the City Council table with senior Councilmembers having first choice of seats. The Mayor, however, shall be seated in the center of the City Council table and the Mayor Pro Tem shall be seated to the right of the Mayor. In the event of equal seniority among members of the City Council, selection of City Council seats shall be made by the Councilmember who received the highest margin of victory percentage in the most recent election.
Prior to the election of mayor and mayor pro tem, outgoing Mayor Stapleton was presented with a ceremonial gavel, after which he thanked his fellow city council members.
Mayor Stapleton Remarks
“This has been an honor of a lifetime,” said Stapleton. “It’s not something I took lightly. It was an honor to serve, and I got to thank my council colleagues for awarding me this opportunity and having the faith in my commitment for this role, and of course, to our community. I think I went to every single neighborhood community organization this year. I don’t know how many events there were, but Keith Curry, former mayor, told me, If you’re not going to be good, at least show up. So I think at least I did that.”
Stapleton thanked everyone at City Hall, first responders, Newport Beach police and fire and lifeguards, and others who guided him through his year as mayor. He also listed numerous issues he successfully tackled as mayor and recited statistics about his one-year tenure.
“I signed 777 letters—443 of those were to new businesses welcoming them into the city of Newport, 151 went to residents celebrating their accomplishments. I signed 1047 certificates including 392 to the youth scholarship athletic awards, 344 to our very own Newport Beach Film Festival, 61 to Newport Beach Police Citizen Academy, 45 to our Newport Beach Fire, and I signed 80 proclamations. I also signed 100 eggs for the Mayor’s egg race—that was probably the hardest thing. So with that, thank you for the support. What an achievement. I had so much fun. Together, we strengthen the community. We invested in our future, and together, we’re going to keep Newport, Newport. Thank you so much.”
Electing the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem for 2026
After outgoing Mayor Stapleton spoke, it was time to elect the new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem for 2026.
Current Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Kleiman was nominated for Mayor, and with no other nominations, the council voted unanimously to elect her as Mayor.
For Mayor Pro Tem, two names were nominated: Councilmember Robyn Grant, and former Mayor Noah Blom. After the votes were cast, Councilmember Blom was voted in as Mayor Pro Tem 4-3.
“I am truly honored to serve the city in this capacity,” said Mayor Kleiman. “And of course, I want to start by thanking my colleagues for their confidence and recognize them for everything that they do in their roles each and every day.”
As she contemplated themes for 2026, Mayor Kleiman said she considered the city’s 120th anniversary (Newport Beach was incorporated as a city in 1906).
“Over the past 12 decades, Newport Beach has grown from a quiet coastal community into a world class city known for its natural beauty, idyllic neighborhoods, charming villages and exceptional quality of life, but we don’t need a theme to remind us to strive for excellence in everything we do in order to preserve the qualities that make The City such an extraordinary place to live, work and visit,” said Mayor Kleiman. “It’s simply the Newport way. This year and every year should be about good old-fashioned productivity and council meetings designated for conducting city business. As a resident. I know that I expect tangible outcomes for my taxpayer dollars.”
Mayor Kleiman laid out a blueprint of her key focal points for the year, which she said place emphasis on the protection of everything that makes Newport Beach great while refining and elevating the services and infrastructure that support residents every day.
Her plans include a refresh of the city’s website, the launch of new social media campaigns, and develop a proactive outreach strategy, because as she said, “an engaged community is a strong community.”
She also intends to address public safety, customer service, and improving wireless coverage for residents and businesses.
“Before I close, I want to acknowledge all of those around the room for their many contributions: our extremely capable department heads and city staff, residents, community stakeholders and of course, my husband and son, who graciously endured countless dinner conversations about civic policy issues and weekend sessions of me writing newsletters or pouring obsessively over other cities ordinances between soccer matches,” said Kleiman. “They will make extra sacrifices this year as I spend more time connecting with and representing the community. Hopefully I can still make sure everyone in the Kleiman household has clean underwear and their favorite breakfast food on hand.”
She ended by stating, “Thank you all for your trust, your partnership and your love for our special city. I’m honored to serve as your mayor, and I look forward to everything we’ll accomplish together as we turn the page on this next chapter.”
