"It's not a 'charge' to be my friend," Beys says. "I am very well respected and well liked. You have to remember that people voted for me so the consensus is on my side."

"He's a good person to pick up where I left off," Beys adds. "He's very inclusive and thorough in everything he does."

Beys compares himself to Gabay in one respect. "We're among the first council leaders to actually have an idea and an ideal for the council," he declares.

But Gabay's performance has not been entirely stellar, Anger says. "He's developing crisis skills and growing into his position well, but he also has a hard time expressing himself when he disagrees with people," Anger says.

Gabay emphasizes that he carefully weighs his actions as president, even to the point of markedly diverging from standard Beys procedure.

"I've been deliberately avoiding making real controversial appointments, something I think past administrations have become known for," says Gabay.

Judging from the treatment of his predecessors, criticism will be directed his way sometime during his term, Gabay concedes.

But it won't plague him throughout his term, he hopes. "I'm sure I'll be bashed, but in the end I can see people saying, 'Maybe he's made a couple mistakes, but he's okay'" Gabay predicts.

"We've made our mistakes in the past, we've had our conflicts, but I'm almost willing to guarantee that we're going to see a big change this year," Gabay says.

"People are getting fed up with the politics of the past," he adds. "I hope we're not going to see any scandals, and certainly not as many as last year."

Gabay says he has tenacity to run the council and insists, in time, he will assuage the fears of wary council members like Anger.

"I don't give up easily and I'm not about to give up on the U.C.," Gabay says.