Musical Mayoral Chair:

Larry Crandall, a Fountain Valley city councilman since 1998 and two-time mayor, has been selected as the mayor again for the next year.

Crandall replaced Guy Carrozzo, who held the office for the last year, at Tuesday’s meeting. The City Council chooses mayors on a rotational basis every year.

An Illinois native who has lived in Fountain Valley since 1974, Crandall retired in August after 14 years as a senior criminal investigator for the county. With his schedule open, he said, he wants to devote his time to forging relationships around town with schools, businesses and other community organizations.

“I’m certainly going to spend my time looking at helping businesses in town and working with the Chamber of Commerce,” Crandall said. “They’ve been contacted by a number of businesses wanting to come to Fountain Valley, and we’ll work closely with them and see what we can do to generate new business opportunities here in town.”

Beverly White, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, said she had worked with Crandall extensively in the past and considered him an advocate for local business.

“He’s very good about supporting the chamber and being at all our ribbon-cuttings and grand openings of businesses,” she said. “He’s also intervened on issues I’ve had, so he does visit the businesses on our behalf.”

In addition to his seat on the council, Crandall serves as vice chairman of the Orange County Sanitation District’s Board of Directors and as a city representative to the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Larry Crandall

Age: 60

Occupation: Retired; former senior criminal investigator for Orange County

Years In Fountain Valley: 35

Years On City Council: 11; two as mayor