On 12 November 2021, the suspended ANC municipal manager Thembeka Cibane tried to preside over the inaugural council meeting. The DA objected to her presiding over the meeting at the Howick-West community hall and refused to participate as it would be illegal. The DA subsequently walked out of the meeting. Pappas and other DA councillors were sworn in at the Howick Magistrate's court later that day. On 17 November, the DA filed court papers to compel the acting municipal manager, Sandile Buthelezi, to call a first council meeting for the municipality's leadership to be elected. The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled in favour of the DA and ordered Buthelezi to convene a council meeting. On 22 November 2021, Pappas was elected as mayor, becoming the first DA mayor in KwaZulu-Natal. He is the first openly gay man to be elected mayor in the country and across Africa.
