New Bainbridge Island City Councilmember Ashley Mathews said at her first meeting Jan. 9 that she wants to be a light.

“We had a really timely sermon in church Sunday, ” she said. “It was about serving and being a light. I think that’s going to be my role.”

One of the first things she wants to do is look into starting a youth council. “We’ve all been through a lot the past few years,” especially the kids, she said, adding she wants to get youth involved in the conversation.

Mathews said it was an honor to be on the council, and, “I can’t wait to get to work for you,” meaning the public. She added, “There is space in government for kindness, love and hope.”

Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said, “It is really, really an honor to be here again. It’s not something I set out to do, but it’s something I’m called to do.”

She also mentioned her support for the University of Michigan, which won the national college football championship Jan. 8 by beating the University of Washington.

“I will do the duties for the state of Washington, but I’m still going to keep saying, ‘Go Blue.’”

Kirsten Hytopoulos took the microphone and said, “I feel like I’m back on the campaign trail.” She had an opponent in the November election, while the other three did not.

She said she’s thankful to be on a high-functioning council that will get into key issues like climate control and affordable housing.

Leslie Schneider’s comments were not audible.

While applause is usually banned at the meetings a lot of it, along with cheering, went on when the new councilmembers were sworn in.

The councilmembers then elected a mayor for a year and deputy mayor for six months. Hytopoulos, Fantroy-Johnson and Deets were nominated for mayor.

Hytopoulos said the process can be divisive so she wondered if everyone wanted to just vote for the incumbent, Fantroy-Johnson. Deets was mayor the year before that. Hytopoulos said she was mayor years ago when she was on the council, but wasn’t during the past four years. She asked that they share the power.

The first vote was Deets 3, Hytopoulos 3 and Fantroy-Johnson 1. They did another vote with no change, so they suspended Roberts Rules of Order and did a ranking system. Deets won with 15 points, Hytopoulos had 14 and Fantroy-Johnson 13.

Hytopoulos was nominated for deputy mayor, but she declined, so Jon Quitslund will fill that role.

In council comments, Schneider said Town & Country is getting electric vehicle chargers, and Clarence Moriwaki said the Mochi Tsuki Festival on BI had 2,000 people making it the largest such event in the nation.

In public comments, Bob Russell said he hopes for good, transparent communication with the new council. He objected to the council’s decision late last year to limit public comments to items on the agenda. “The council works for us,” he said. “How the heck do we get something on the agenda? It doesn’t seem right.”

The other three public commenters were about the Eagle Harbor bike-pedestrian trail and their support for the Green Light Garage. They all support small businesses on BI and encouraged selection of other options that would not hurt the business. They support bike lanes, but not dangerous ones.

Two said they are bike riders who travel that route often and haven’t had problems at the garage, although they have on the nearby hill. They said motorists cooperate there, and when there is an issue it’s because of vehicles going too fast so a lower speed limit would help.