Dateline Norwalk — For the second straight City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Cheri Kelley and Councilman Leonard Shryock once again voted for legislative gridlock. Inexplicably, they voted against the appointment of a Councilperson to fill the seat vacated by Marcel Rodarte.

On June 30, Mr. Rodarte resigned to take the Executive Director’s position with the California Contract Cities Assn.
Opposition of the two Council members could spur a lawsuit against the city.

Clearly frustrated, Councilmen Mike Mendez and Luigi Vernola tried to negotiate an appointment process, but Ms. Kelley and Mr. Shryock would have nothing to do with it.

Ms. Kelley made the motion to block the appointment. Mr. Shryock immediately seconded it.

Mr. Vernola told Hews Media Group-Community News that “it does not make any sense. They are not making an effort. We either have to appoint or hold a special election. What do they want to do, cost the city thousands of dollars? It would cost nothing to appoint a candidate.”

Mr. Vernola himself was appointed years ago, and he later successfully won re-election.

“I was not asking to appoint one person,” he said.

“Council should accept resumes or applications and interview qualified individuals to fill the vacant position.

“Many capable people are out there.”

Mayor Mendez said that “it would be nice to give someone an opportunity. But the other two don’t agree. They have the right to vote that way. But what could it hurt to consider appointees instead of costing the city money?”

Gordon Stefenhagen, former mayor and councilman, was mentioned in both conversations. Messrs. Vernola and Mendez agreed Stefenhagen would an excellent choice.

“Seamless,” said Mayor Mendez.

“And he would not run in March.”

California Government Code 36512 provides that the Council must, within 60 days of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election. A person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy holds office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent.

If the City Council chooses to fill the vacancy through a special election – or to make appointment more than 60 days after the vacancy – the special election must be held on the next regularly established election date, not less than 114 days from the call of the election.

Government Code section 36512 provides the city council with another option. The Council may choose to adopt an ordinance to govern the process for filling a vacancy.

Three Choices

The ordinance may adopt any of the three following approaches for filling vacancies:

1. It may require that a special election be called immediately to fill every City Council vacancy. The ordinance must provide that the special election will be held on the next regularly established election date, not less than 114 days from the call of the special election.

2. It may require that a special election be held to fill a Council vacancy when petitions bearing a specified number of verified signatures are filed. The ordinance must provide that the special election shall be held on the next regularly established election date, not less than 114 days from the filing of the petition. A City Council that has enacted such an ordinance may also call a special election without waiting for the filing of a petition.

3. It may provide that a person appointed to fill a vacancy on the City Council holds office only until the date of a special election which shall immediately be called to fill the remainder of the term. The special election may be held on the date of the next regularly established election or regularly scheduled municipal election to be held throughout the city not less than 114 days from the call of the special election.

Because a decision has not been made, any new vote between July 1h and Aug. 29 will push the election to the next established election date, which is March 7, and the city’s regularly scheduled election. Consequently, the March ballot could now list three City Council seats; two full four-year terms and one two-year term.
A final option is for a person or organization to file a lawsuit and compel the Council to act.

Mr. Hews may be contacted at www.loscerritosnews.net