The Colorado Springs City Council elected Councilman Tom Strand as the new council president and Councilman Richard Skorman as the new president pro tempore on Tuesday at a special meeting.

The two men essentially traded leadership roles because Strand was the previous president pro tem and Skorman was the previous council president.

Strand was elected unanimously to the council leadership role, and he will now run city council meetings. The council president also often plays one of the most publicly visible roles on council.

But Strand promised to share the limelight more, and ensure that the public hears from all nine council members.

Newly elected Councilman Dave Donelson ran against Skorman for the pro tem seat and drew support from councilmen Bill Murray, Randy Helms and Mike O’Malley.

“It’s important for voters to see when they vote things can change,” Donelson said.

Skorman said he thought it might be tough for a council member to jump in right away to a leadership position.

“I am hoping you still have trust in me after four years of being president,” he told the council.

Electing new leadership was one of the first acts of the six newly elected council members who were sworn in during a ceremony at the Pioneers Museum on Tuesday morning. The new district representatives join three at-large council members on the nine-member board.

Three new faces are joining the council after the April election, including Donelson, representing the northwest part of town, Helms, representing the northern part of town and Nancy Henjum representing the central sector of the city. Three other council members won reelection including Skorman, representing the southwestern district, Yolanda Avila, representing the southeastern district and O’Malley, representing the northeastern district.

Henjum, who replaces Jill Gaebler on the council, was among those who laid out her vision for leadership in her new position.

“Good governance should be power with, not power over. We benefit from attending to all perspectives, the voice of every resident should be heard,” she said.

Mayor John Suthers said the success of the city will be determined by how it adapts and its resiliency in the face of challenges. He called on the council members to help overcome obstacles, saying local government cannot fail because citizens must have basic services such as police protection and road maintenance.

“You each bring unique life experiences and new or different perspectives that could help produce the creativity needed to meet the challenges of the future,” he said.