After swearing in two new members to its fold, Issaquah City Council’s selected new leadership for 2010 at their first meeting for the year on Monday night.

Nominated by former Council President Maureen McCarry, Councilmember John Traeger was unanimously approved to take her place as head of the city’s elected body.

“John has shown knowledge of council duties,” she said. “He’s stepped forward several times and served on our regional committees.”

The new council also chose to reappoint the council’s deputy president, Fred Butler, for another year. Deputy is a role he’s served in since 2006. Butler has been an Issaquah councilmember since 1999.

Prior to Monday night’s vote for council president, Mayor Ava Frisinger and four councilmembers were sworn in to their offices and given Certificates of Election, following their successful campaigns last November.

New Issaquah Councilmembers Mark Mullet and Tola Marts were sworn in to four-year terms by Assistant City Clerk Randy Reed in front of an audience of family and friends.

Mullet, who ran unopposed, assumes the council position 1 seat, replacing John Rittenhouse.

Marts, who defeated Nathan Perea, will take council position 7 seat in place of longtime Councilman Dave Kappler.

The new councilmembers will assume committee assignments previously held by Rittenhouse and Kappler until the committees are reorganized by Traeger and Butler in February.

“It was fun,” said Mullet at the end of the meeting, which lasted half-an-hour. “I’m excited to be here. I plan on being in Issaquah for the rest of my life.”

Mayor Frisinger and Councilmember Eileen Barber also ran unopposed last fall, while Councilmember Maureen McCarry defeated former Issaquah Chamber of Commerce head Joan Probala.

The new members also took their first votes on bolstering city restaurant foodwaste recycling, sponsoring another year of the Sustainability Film Series, offering support for a state legislation on safely disposing of expired or left-over medicine and sending a tree ordinance amendment to committee for further discussion.

Audience comments also addressed several issues not on the agenda, such as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before meetings or the proposed Park Pointe development EIS.