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Councilmember Sergio Farias is set to serve as the mayor of San Juan Capistrano in 2024, alongside Councilmember Troy Bourne as the mayor pro tem, following a unanimous City Council vote during the last meeting of the year on Tuesday night, Dec. 5.
“It’s a privilege to do it,” Farias said of the appointment after thanking his wife and daughter for allowing him to continue serving the city in the leadership role. For Farias, this will be his second go-round in the mayoral role after previously holding the position in 2018.
With Farias replacing Councilmember Howard Hart as mayor, Farias credited his predecessor for the “remarkable job” he did, all while holding down a full-time job.
“It’s very difficult on our families, and also, sometimes, on our employers,” Farias noted. “So you did a remarkable job doing that. The first time I was mayor, I was a little underemployed—self-employed and underemployed—so I had all the time in the world.”
As the mayor, Farias is expected to attend more city functions and events as the town’s figurehead. He’ll also chair the council meetings—which he hopes to continue doing in an effective, well-run manner as has been accomplished in his more recent years on the council.
“It’s difficult to be part of a meeting that’s not well-run. It’s one of the frustrating things that you could be part of. But I haven’t seen that in quite some time,” he said, before touching on the amount of work he and his fellow elected officials remain committed to accomplishing in the year ahead.
“I know that we’re going to accomplish a lot; we’ve got a lot of projects that are exciting in this community,” he said. “There’s a lot of projects that have been completed. There’s a lot of projects that we’re working on. I look forward to working with my colleagues and representing the City of San Juan Capistrano.”
During his remarks, Bourne echoed Farias’ sentiments, expressing appreciation to Hart for how he ran the council’s meetings over the past year, and how he interacted with the community.
“I think the way the community approaches us reflects how we approach the community,” he said. “We’ve been able to be collaborative, because you’ve been congenial. And we welcome comments, we welcome criticism. And when it’s done in a neighborly spirit, we can really see a lot of things done without the contention that can sometimes debilitate the process that we all want for our town.”
Hart was appointed by his fellow elected officials to be the mayor for 2023. In that time, he noted during his outgoing remarks, he and the council oversaw the completion of many projects and approved others that are now in the works.
“As your mayor, it’s been incredibly rewarding to see so many projects completed this past year while also continuing to preserve and celebrate the rich history of San Juan Capistrano,” Hart said, before noting that he and the council adopted a “landmark” budget that included more than $9 million in investments for enhancements around the town.
Some of those projects achieved or started with those funds include the initiative to rehabilitate San Juan’s streets and beautify parks, especially the city’s sports park. He also pointed to the groundbreaking of a new City Hall and Council Chambers, which is being accomplished through the public-private partnership with Jamboree Housing.
The new Council Chambers, Hart noted, are expected to be completed by next month, ahead of the council’s next regular meeting.
“No pressure,” he joked to an amused audience while looking at City Manager Ben Siegel.
Hart said that what he’ll remember most are the community members he met, notably during his Lunch with the Mayor events, the “incredible” city staff that Siegel assembled, and his colleagues on the council, whom he called “friends.”
“I cannot think of a classier, more selfless group of public servants than those sitting on the dais beside me,” he said.
Hart further compared his tenure as mayor to the last cool job he had.
“Throughout my professional career, I’ve enjoyed many honors and titles,” Hart said, “but being the city’s mayor has been the coolest job I’ve had since working at Tower Records in college.”
Recognizing that councilmembers’ spouses “put up with an awful lot,” Hart thanked his wife, Laura, as he “could not have done this without your support and encouragement.”
After Farias, who served as mayor pro tem for 2023, presented Hart with a commemorative gavel recognizing his predecessor’s time as mayor, he gave Laura Hart a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the city. But not to be outdone, Hart also had a bouquet of his own to give to his wife.
“The mayor is making every previous mayor look bad by actually buying his own flowers, not the flowers the city purchased,” Farias joked.
