LAKELAND — After celebration and goodbyes, four made their final votes as Lakeland City Commissioners to adjourn their watch Tuesday, giving their still-warm seats to the four who replaced them.

Lakeland's government continued, a new majority joining the three remaining. The newbies acknowledged their predecessors and then the big crowd there for the fanfare quickly dispersed. The seven leading Lakeland were then left to proceed in front of a mostly empty room of the kind that may become familiar to them over the next four years.

Mayor Bill Mutz and Commissioners Scott Franklin, Michael Dunn and Stephanie Madden take over for Mayor Howard Wiggs and Commissioners Edie Yates, Don Selvage and Jim Malless. They joined Commissioners Justin Troller, Phillip Walker and Bill Read as the city's governing council.

If Wiggs' tenure was an era of #LoveLakeland, his brand for civic activism born during a period of intense public turmoil, Mutz said he hopes his is one of #OneLakeland.

Lakeland should become a model for civic cooperation, he said, but not one of homogeneity. Each part of the "bouquet" should add to its "exquisiteness."

"Without a shadow of a doubt I think the best days are ahead of us in Lakeland," Mutz said, as the city enters into an "innovation-laden era ahead of us."

This foundation was built in part by the four elected officials leaving the board, he said.

Of Wiggs, Mutz said he was a model statesmen, compassionate and communicative, and demonstrating Godly wisdom in his 25 years as an elected official in Lakeland.

"Thank you Mayor Wiggs for your incredibly faithful consistency," Mutz said.

As part of the turnover of power, the other newly elected commissioners highlighted those they were replacing.

But the warmest words were shared among the seven who now include four "formers."

Wiggs read proclamations gently prodding his colleagues:

• Selvage as the "commission equivocator, often arguing passionately for both sides in the same sentence."

• Malless for his tireless opposition to cul-de-sacs in city planning, and for accepting for four years his good humor for his oft-mispronounced name, "which he graciously accepted without malice."

• And Yates, who he spared the ribbing except for the complicated circumstances of her 2009 election that saw her have to requalify multiple times.

Wiggs followed each tease with appreciation for their leadership, for Selvage's sincerity and commitment to veterans and seniors' issues, Yates for her fiscal aptitude and Malless for his championship of the arts and urban planning.

Yates, as mayor pro tem, read a proclamation on Wiggs that noted the Sony Walkman was the hot new electronic craze when he took office 25 years go, ''Sleepless in Seattle'' was the hit movie, Lawton Chiles was governor and "electric cars were kids' toys."

She said in his time on the commission the city has grown, its downtown has been reborn and the quality of life through parks and projects has improved. As mayor, he elevated the office, she added.

The outgoing commissioners also had advice for the new members of the board.

Malless said he appreciated the city's staff for its "grace under fire," but also encouraged the four new commissioners to be willing to push back against staff recommendations and ideas. He said the commission also has an obligation to make its decisions as clearly as possible.

Selvage encouraged the newcomers to embrace and encourage a heightened level of civic activity coming off an election with 15 candidates vying for four seats.

He thanked his critics and his supporters through the years. "I extend my sincere appreciation for your willingness to engage these issues facing our city," he said.

And in a rare move for a modern politician, he thanked the press — traditional, digital and emergent — for its role in encouraging participation.

Yates said the newcomers need to work through their decisions with an eye on the future, to do not just what's convenient for today but sustainable for the future.

And she thanked the families of elected officials for also sacrificing for their loved ones to pursue this role.

In style, Yates' comments were brief, but she concluded that "It has been a remarkable 12 years."

As one parting gesture to the outgoing mayor, Mutz announced that January's CityMaker, an award created by Wiggs to celebrate civic-minded individuals, would be jointly awarded to Wiggs and his wife, Linda Bagley Wiggs.

The day started at 8 a.m. with a prayer meeting hosted by Mutz. Official business began at 9 a.m. and by 11:05 a.m., the new commission was off on a very light agenda.

As one of its first points of business, Walker and Troller were nominated for the position of mayor pro tem. Walker was selected in a 4-to-3 vote, with Mutz, Madden, Franklin and Walker forming the majority.

Christopher Guinn can be reached at Christopher.Guinn@theledger.com or 863-802-7592. Follow him on Twitter @CGuinnNews.