Water district board to decide on seat vacancy
RAMONA
The Ramona Municipal Water District board of directors will decide today how to fill the Division 3 board seat for the next two or four years.
Incumbent Director Thomas N. Ace, one of two candidates running for a four-year seat, won the Nov. 3 election, according to the final tally called Dec. 3 by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters. But Ace died in late October at age 73, after voting had already begun.
Ace, who had served on the Ramona water board for six years after a 28-year career with the Lakeside Fire Protection District, earned 1,766 votes while challenger Rex Schildhouse, a retired Navy officer, got 1,654 votes. Schildhouse, elected to the board in 2013, resigned the following year.
With the election certified and Ace declared the winner, San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said on Monday that it will be up to the district to decide how to proceed. Government code says the board could either appoint a replacement or call for a public election.
An appointment would fill the seat until 2022; the winner of a special election would serve through 2024.
The Ramona water board — currently made up of Jim Robinson in Division 4, Jeff Lawler (Div. 1), Jim Hickle (Div. 2) and Gary Hurst (Div. 5) — will discuss the matter at 2 p.m. today. Because of COVID-19 safety restrictions, the meeting will be held virtually. The public can listen to the meeting by phone by calling (978) 990-5000 and using access code 401324.
If the board chooses to appoint, it must do so before Feb. 6. The new appointee would serve until early December 2022, and the remaining two years of the term would be decided by the election of a new director in November 2022.
If the board decides to choose a replacement member at a future meeting, an appointment can be made by a vote of the majority.
If the board decides to hold a special election to fill the vacancy, it will mean added time and unknown costs, Vu said. By January the board could then decide whether to hold an election or appoint.