LYNWOOD — Mayor Maria Santillan — the highest vote-getter in the Nov. 3 municipal election — will be keeping her title for one more year after all four of her colleagues at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting unanimously agreed to keep her at the helm of the five-member body during their annual reorganization process.

Santillan nominated Aide Castro for mayor, and it was seconded by Councilman Alfredo Flores, but Castro declined the nomination citing family and fiscal problems. The final vote was 5-0, with Santillan accepting the nomination from Castro. Councilman Ramon Rodriguez seconded the motion.

This will be Santillan’s third year as mayor of Lynwood, the first time anyone has held the position for three consecutive years.

In opening the nominations for mayor pro tem, Santillan nominated Castro. Her motion was seconded by Councilman Flores. At the same time, Councilman Rodriguez nominated Councilman Jim Morton for the mayor pro tem seat. Morton seconded the motion, but the motion failed to get a third vote. The final vote for Castro was 3-2 with council members Rodriguez and Morton dissenting. This also will be Castro’s third year as mayor pro tem.

The annual reorganization was preceded by the swearing-in of Santillan, Rodriguez and Morton after they were re-elected Nov. 3.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office official vote count put Santillan in first place with 1,102 votes, Morton in second place with 1,057 votes, and Rodriguez in a trailing third place with 812 votes.

Both Rodriguez and Morton were sworn in by City Clerk Maria Quinoñez.

Sheriff Lee Baca was present to swear in Santillan. He spoke briefly, praising the city for moving forward and into the technological age along with applauding Lynwood voters for their “wise decision” to re-elect the three incumbents.

Santillan first won a seat on the council in 2003, when she was elected in the recall election that ousted Councilman Paul Richards. She was re-elected in 2005.

On Tuesday, Santillan recalled the bittersweet moment of 2003’s swearing-in ceremony.

“I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into,” Santillan said recalling her first swearing-in ceremony. “Paul [Richards] didn’t want to leave his seat … and I remember him asking Fernando Pedroza [a former council member], ‘are you really going to do this to me?’ It was a difficult night, it’s hard to forget. It was contentious and honestly, I was scared. I remember thinking to myself, ‘how could I have brought my family to witness this?’”

Rodriguez was first elected to office in 2001. He ran again in 2005, but lost his bid for re-election. He later ran in the 2007 recall election and was elected to the council to finish Pedroza’s remaining two years.

This will be Morton’s first four-year term. He was the second highest vote-getter in last month’s election. He’s ran “who knows how many times,” he said in recent interviews, and is grateful to Lynwood voters for allowing him to serve as councilman.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the vote of confidence,” he said Tuesday after being sworn in.

In an interview, Rodriguez said he was happy Santillan was keeping her post, but said it was the opportune time to allow someone else to serve as mayor pro tem.

“I believe everyone should have the opportunity to serve in that capacity,” Rodriguez said. “Aide [Castro] has held the position for two years. Now someone else should get the chance.”

Santillan said she understood where Rodriguez was coming from, but added, “we need to keep that consistency.”

The mayor told the audience she was grateful for their vote of confidence. She thanked her colleagues, the city’s staff, and especially the community, she said.

“It takes a whole community to make a change, and things around here have changed. Today, it’s not about the mayor or the vice-mayor, it’s about the whole council, it’s about staff working together, it’s about the great captain we have at the Sheriff’s Station, about staff, our city attorney who keeps us on our toes, you the residents who get involved, it’s block watch captains, it’s every resident. … The reason we’ve been so productive, crime rates lower, it’s because of [a lot of people], not just one person. It takes all of us.”

Some members of the audience, however, aren’t too happy with the election’s results, nor are they happy about the City Council’s reorganization.

Resident Alex Landeros, who is working with proponents of a recall against Castro, Flores and Quinoñez, said Santillan and Castro remind him of the Paul Richards regime.

“Paul Richards was on the City Council for himself, he was all about nepotism, greed, power and money,” Landeros said. “Maria Santillan reminds me of Paul. … If titles didn’t matter, then she should have stepped down, and so should Aide [Castro], and let someone else have a chance. How can you sit there and say you couldn’t have done anything without your colleagues, and turn around and stab them in the back by not giving them the opportunity to be mayor or vice mayor? They’re being selfish. Paul Richards was just like that.”

Other residents in the audience agreed with Landeros but refused to go on the record. Some of them said, they are so disgusted with Castro refusing the mayor’s post that they are considering backing the recall against her.

“They’re just handing the ball back and forth to each other, but what about the others,” said one of the disgruntled residents. “If titles mean nothing, then one of them should step down and let someone else take a turn.”

Councilman Flores disagreed.

“The way I see it, if you have a winning ball club then you need to keep that ball club together to win another series, right, and you keep the same team and you try to keep the same players and you keep progressing,” he said. “I’m pretty sure that’s what the voters were thinking when they went to the polls on Nov. 3. Absolutely. I mean they brought back all three of the incumbents. That’s as affirming as it’s going to get.”

Resident Miguel Figueroa, who was not too happy with the council’s reorganization, said he knows that people will never be “100 percent happy.”

“You can’t make people 100 percent happy, so there’s nothing we can do,” he said. “You just have to take it one day at a time and move forward.”

Sheriff’s Capt. James Hellmold said he doesn’t like to get involved in politics, but added the department is excited about the “changes happening in Lynwood, especially its strong leadership.”

City Manager Roger Haley said it is important not only for the community, but for others around us to see consistency and stability in a city like Lynwood.

“The re-election of the three incumbents proves that Lynwood has those two things. … Maintaining the current mayor and mayor pro tem is another example of those two things,” he said. “That’s not to say that the other council members were not deserving of a shot. However, as you are aware, majority rules. … They will get their turn.”

More importantly, Haley said he wants people to remember the changes that have taken place in Lynwood over the last 10 to 15 years. He was not employed in the city, but from afar, he was aware of what was happening in the city.

“From afar, people were reluctant, and for lack of better words, scared to come to Lynwood,” Haley said, referring to developers and shoppers. “Some of the political interference that used to take place is a thing of the past and I think now is a new day and I am certain that is key to new interests we have from developers and housing developers and retailers, because they see a gradual change in the city. … So it’s important to keep moving in a positive direction and I know for a fact that people today have a different perception of Lynwood than they did in the past.”

Santillan said she is flattered that her colleagues unanimously re-electted her as mayor.

“The community is happy and that is what counts,” she said. “We need to remember that we are here for the community and when you can work together on the council, it shows — and when you can’t work together, it shows. … If you look at the books for the last two years, you will see that very rarely will we be divided on an issue. … That shows that you’re working together.”

Resident D. Joyce Edner said there are still some issues in the city she would like council members to address, including development.

“We’re still behind on a lot of issues,” Edner said. “Crime still exists and we don’t have the cultural unity that we should have. We need worthwhile businesses to come to our city, that’s what council members should focus on. I believe we are going in the right direction, and I know nothing happens overnight, but there is still a lot of work to be done.”