SANTA CLARA — Lisa Gillmor smiled confidently, looking sharp and focused as she took the dais Wednesday night. Twenty minutes later, she was unanimously appointed as the city’s next mayor.

“I will return your trust by governing collaboratively,” a somewhat emotional Gillmor told her colleagues. “The next chapter in Santa Clara’s history will be a great one written by many hands in this room.”

Gillmor takes the reins from former Mayor Jamie Matthews who stunned the city by quitting unexpectedly one day after Santa Clara pulled off a successful Super Bowl. Sources have said the political infighting over the San Francisco 49ers, the Levi’s Stadium and other development projects led to Matthews throwing in the towel.

But on Wednesday night, harmony was the theme of the council meeting. The City Council spent the first 10 minutes praising Gillmor and making a commitment to get along in the future. Even Gillmor’s longtime critic, Councilman Dominic Caserta, appeared ready to bury the hatchet.

“I really believe this is an opportunity for us to come together and I believe Lisa can lead us in doing that,” Caserta said. “It’s not that we’ll always agree on everything, but the cooperation is something I look forward to.”

Gillmor, who was appointed to the council in 2011 to fill Matthews’ seat and then elected in 2012, received plenty of praise from residents who called her the “smart choice” who can bring a divided council together.

“This is the first City Council meeting I’ve attended where I haven’t tensed up,” said Burt Field. “I feel like our city is ready to launch forward.”

Moments after being sworn into the mayor’s office, Gillmor said transparency will define her administration. “We can’t make decisions in a backroom,” she said. “We need to do it in the public and that will be my style.”

And amid a civil grand jury investigation into the financing of Levi’s Stadium, Gillmor said she’ll call for an independent audit to ensure no general fund dollars are being used to support the operation or maintenance of the stadium — one of the cornerstones of the voter-approved measure that opened the door to building the stadium.

Political observers say Gillmor’s leadership style will vary from Matthews because she’s positioned herself as a deliberate and thoughtful decision-maker. Gillmor, who will finish the two years left on Matthews’ term, said her top priority will be ensuring that the city has the basic core services in place to handle the rapid growth the city’s experiencing.

Kevin Moore, a former councilman and longtime resident, applauded Gillmor’s commitment to the youth, citing her role in bringing the soccer park to the community. He also said Gillmor’s understanding of contracts because of her experience as a realtor will be a major advantage.

“Lisa Gillmor is the number one choice,” Moore said. “She’ll be an outstanding mayor and I think Lisa will bring people together. It’s time the city works together.”

The next hurdle for Santa Clara is finding someone to fill Gillmor’s now-vacant seat. City officials haven’t discussed the next steps, but will likely appoint a candidate after conducting interviews.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at 408-920-5705. Follow her at Twitter.com/ramonagiwargis.