Walnut : Watson Chosen as Mayor

Mayor Bertha (Bert) Ashley handed her gavel to Mayor Pro Tem Ray T. Watson as the City Council conducted its annual reorganization Wednesday.

Watson was elected to the council in April 1988. Councilman H. Thomas Sykes, also elected in April 1988, was approved as Watson’s successor as mayor pro tem.

Ashley, a 10-year council veteran, read a short statement of the city’s achievements during her one-year tenure as mayor, including stronger waste recycling, earthquake preparedness and relations with Walnut’s service organizations. She had also served as mayor for a year from 1984 to 1985.