Members of the Birmingham City Council were sworn in Tuesday with three new members and two new leaders.

Sonja Smith, Josh Vasa and Brian Gunn raised their right hands for the first time to be sworn into office with their fellow councilors.

Smith was flanked by her father, Marcellus Smith Jr., and her mother, Sundra Shealey Smith, as she took the oath of office. She admitted being nervous, thinking to herself “don’t mess up.”

“I was excited and proud and a little emotional,” she said. “I was just excited, feeling a lot of love and warmth.”

Wardine Alexander was the lone council member nominated to be president, by former President Darrell O’Quinn, and she was elected unanimously.

Alexander nominated LaTonya Tate to be president pro tempore and Crystal Smitherman nominated herself for the position before Tate was elected with all but one vote. Smitherman later said she is not disappointed.

“Nope,” she said. “I’m just ready to serve.”

The council took a 10-minute break after the elections, and O’Quinn took the seat at the far end of the dais when the council reconvened. He said he felt some relief in no longer being the council president.

“I’m kind of looking forward to having a few less responsibilities in that regard,” he said. “I think it’s good to have a rotation of folks in leadership. Wardine Alexander comes with a lot of experience. She was an excellent pro tem for me as president, couldn’t have asked for better.”

O’Quinn said he and Alexander “led as a team” during his tenure as council president.

“We were both involved in all of the decision-making on behalf of the council, and I expect that she will carry that forward with Councilor Tate as her pro tem,” he said. “The pro tem position is an important position. It’s not just a backup to the president. It’s a co-leadership position. I wanted Wardine to be involved in all of the decision-making. Every time that we had an opportunity to weigh in on an issue, I sought her opinion.”

Tate said she was somewhat aware of the possibility of her becoming pro tem. That notion did not leave her anxious.

“No. I just want to work closely with the president and the administration to make sure that we’re driving changes in all nine districts,” she said.

Tate stopped short of saying some council districts have not experienced positive change.

“I think all nine districts have been served to the best of the ability of all the people that held those positions,” she said. “Now, what we can do going forward is to continue the progress that we have, (work) with the administration to continue to serve all the districts and go after public and private dollars.”

Tate acknowledged the federal government shutdown and the Trump administration in saying that new game plans must be employed.

“We’ve got to change the way we see things, which means we’ve got to get more partners and more people involved in the process,” she said, “going after more grants and again, philanthropy, public and private dollars to fulfill the needs of the community.”

Also being sworn in to resume service on the City Council were Clinton Woods, Hunter Williams.