Robert McBain New Piedmont Mayor

PIEDMONT, CA — Piedmont has begin the process of moving forward.

The Piedmont City Council has voted to elect Robert McBain as the city's mayor and Teddy Gray King as its vice mayor until the next general election in November 2018, City Administrator Paul Benoit said.

The council needed to elect a new mayor and vice mayor because former mayor Jeff Wieler recently resigned from his post in the wake of controversial social media posts he made about Democrats, Black Lives Matter
and transgender people.

Following the procedures laid out in Piedmont's city charter, McBain, who had been vice mayor, stepped up to become Piedmont's acting mayor after Wieler resigned.

The City Council's vote on Tuesday night means that McBain will remain mayor until November 2018, when the council will elect a new mayor and vice mayor.

In Piedmont, mayors, whose roles are largely ceremonial, aren't elected directly by voters but instead are appointed by fellow councilmembers. Vice mayors also are appointed by the council.

Wieler announced his resignation as mayor on Aug. 27 and said last week that he also would resign from his position on the council.

Benoit said the remaining four council members now have 30 days to select a new council member.

If the council doesn't appoint anyone within that time period, the mayor would be able to appoint someone, Benoit said.

But he said McBain has pledged that he will allow the council to take more than 30 days to appoint someone unless they become deadlocked and need him to go ahead and act.

Benoit said the last time there was a vacancy on the council, the councilmembers advertised for the position and then interviewed the finalists.

In a recent statement, McBain said, "The past days have been tumultuous, sad, and extremely difficult for Piedmont residents and for the city organization."

He said, "The opinions and postings of former Mayor Jeff Wieler were in no way reflective of the values and sensibilities of this community. We, his colleagues on the City Council, took swift action to communicate our
collective outrage and disappointment in his statements."

McBain said, "At the same time we were clear and consistent in our requests that he should resign as mayor and from his position on City Council. In the end, Jeff made a decision that was well-advised and in the
best interests of all concerned."

— Bay City News contributed to this article; Image via Patch archive

Also See:

• Women Rescued From Hull Of Overturned Sailboat
• Accused Sacramento Cop Killer Dies Of Gunshot Wounds
• 13 Calif. Restaurants Among 100 'Most Scenic' In America, New Ranking Says