Rift in the new council starts with pick of Couper Condit as vice mayor The Ceres City Council met in person but over Zoom on Monday. Left to right are Channce Condit, Linda Ryno, Javier Lopez and Bret Silveira. Couper Condit appeared on Zoom at another location. The first meeting of the new Ceres City Council on Monday evening was punctuated by sharp disagreements over two topics. Mayor Javier Lopez conducted his first full meeting since being elected on Nov. 3 and the first order of business was the appointment of a vice mayor among the four councilmembers. Linda Ryno has served as vice mayor for two years. Lopez recommended that new member Couper Condit serve as vice mayor. That prompted Ryno to ask: “So is this open to discussion or it strictly the mayor’s call?” City Attorney Tom Hallinan said it was open and subject to a council vote. Ryno then nominated new Councilman Bret Silveira “because he has a type of schedule that would allow him to step in at any time because of his proximity to Ceres.”