The Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday selected Councilwoman Jill Remington Love, a moderate, as its new chairwoman in a 5-2 vote, which was all but cemented in private prior to the meeting.

But some intrigue followed in the vice chairman contest, where three rounds of secret ballots were cast before conservative Carlton Christensen edged liberal Soren Simonsen by a single vote.

"It was unexpected but I'm not surprised," Simonsen said after the vote. "I've got to keep counting votes."

Routinely outnumbered over the past few years, Simonsen looked to the vice chairman slot as an opportunity to help set a more progressive agenda for the city - particularly with Mayor Ralph Becker, a fellow urban planner, on board.

Newly sworn Councilman Luke Garrott said he too was "surprised" by the vote against Simonsen. Garrott and new Councilman J.T. Martin are self-professed progressives who have talked openly about shifting the city's agenda left on issues ranging from protecting open space to loosening liquor laws.

"I've been on the losing side of lots of decisions so I don't see it as necessarily problematic," Simonsen responded, adding that Christensen is in his third term and well-respected.

Indeed, Councilman Eric Jergensen, a moderate-conservative member, suggested the vote was not symbolic.

"I don't think there is any greater agenda," he said. "Any group of members on the council can bring things up so long as there is four votes."

In other business, members welcomed Mayor Ralph Becker to the dais for his first council meeting. Despite a lengthy inaugural Monday, Becker appeared spry, sporting a pink tie and black pin-striped suit.

"I'm looking forward to spending many evenings with you," Becker told the council.

djensen@sltrib.com