ENCINITAS — Nearly a year after appointing him to the council, the City Council unanimously selected Joe Mosca to serve as deputy mayor.
The council appointed Mosca to the ceremonial position at the Dec. 20 meeting.
In Encinitas, the deputy mayor seat, which rotates annually, officiates meetings and signs proclamations in the mayor’s absence, but has no more voting authority than the other members of the council.
Mosca, who previously served on the parks and recreation commission, was appointed to the City Council in January to fill the seat left vacant when Catherine Blakespear was elected mayor. He became the city’s first openly gay council member.
An attorney by trade and a manager of major projects at San Diego Gas & Electric, Mosca also served as a councilman in the San Gabriel Valley city of Sierra Madre from 2006 to 2011.
He was believed to be the San Gabriel Valley’s first openly gay mayor when he was appointed the ceremonial title in 2010. He resigned from the council in 2011 after he and his partner and children moved to London.
He lived briefly in San Diego after law school.
The City Council on Dec. 20 also appointed Mosca to serve as an alternate on the Encina Wastewater Authority.
As deputy mayor, Mosca will also serve as president of the San Dieguito Water District.
Blakespear told reporters that she felt that Mosca would be a good fit for the role as other council members would be busy with other roles, including Mark Muir, who is serving as chairman of the powerful San Diego County Water Authority and Tasha Boerner Horvath, who is running for State Assembly.
“It’s a useful experience for the newest council member to be president of the water board and understand more about the way the city functions,” Blakespear said.
