City of El Centro unveils new City Council leadership

The new mayor and council member shares some of the challenges they are going to be facing.

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The City of El Centro introduced a new mayor and council member during a special meeting Monday.

The first item on the agenda was the swearing in of new councilmember Michael Crankshaw.

Crankshaw was appointed by the City Council after Tomas Oliva stepped down as a mayor and council member last month.

Crankshaw has over 30 years serving El Centro as part of the city's police department, and says he's ready to work with the rest of the council to move the city forward.

"As a council, that's going to be our task is to make sure to work collectively for the community. Community first. It's not council first. It's community first and I'll stand by that," Crankshaw expressed.

During the meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem Sonia Carter was appointed as the new City Mayor, and says she'll be working on several city issues, especially two which she considers a top priority.

"The biggest challenges as we heard in the interviews will be for the downtown and homelessness, we have work to do. The community has spoken and we are going to listen," Carter added.

Council member John Ellet was appointed as the new Mayor Pro-Tem.

The regular council meeting will take place next month.