SYRACUSE -- New city councils became official Tuesday as the winners in November's elections took their oaths of office.
The Syracuse council welcomes back Douglas Peterson and new members Karianne Lisonbee and Craig A. Johnson. Mayor Jamie Nagle said she is looking forward to working with the new council, which she said is made up of people with diverse views. That situation, she said, could be beneficial for the city.
"I'm hoping that we can set the example of how Washington can run when you have those diverse views," Nagle said. "Hopefully, we can find the middle ground. That's what the citizens want and I look forward to that."
Nagle said that with the recent hiring of a city attorney, Syracuse is becoming a higher-functioning city. The commitment by the city council to get things done will help, Nagle said, if everyone works together.
Johnson said, "We're not going to agree on everything, but we can reach out to each other and work together."
In Layton, incumbents Joyce Forbes Brown and Scott Freitag were sworn in with newcomer Jory Francis.
Francis is confident the council members will work well together because of the way they got along during the election campaign.
"I didn't hear even a bad comment, and that's how it should be," Francis said.
Freitag said the way the Layton candidates ran their positive campaigns was "remarkable."
No one is under the impression that the council will be free of disagreements, but that is a positive thing.
"An actual good council will be one that will argue the issues, and that's what makes good government," Layton Mayor Steve Curtis said. "The different personal views will come into sync. We have set a tradition of working side by side, even if we don't agree on all the issues."
The Clearfield City Council hosted its Oath of Office ceremony Tuesday night at city hall immediately before a special council meeting. Two new councilmen were sworn in: retired City Planner Kent Bush, and former Councilman Mike LeBaron.
LeBaron is returning to the city council after a short absence, while Bush will be serving his first term, Clearfield Deputy City Recorder Kimberly S. Read said.
Councilman Mark R. Shepherd, who captured his bid for re-election in the Nov. 8 municipal election, also took his oath of office.
Mayor Steve Hiatt swore in Kaysville City Councilmen Ron Stephens, Mark Johnson and Brett Garlick on Tuesday night.
-- Standard-Examiner reporter Bryon Saxton contributed to this report.
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