Castaic town council spot open
All open seats on the Castaic Area Town Council that were up for election have been filled, save for one, according to council President Jessica Chambers.
No applications were submitted for an open seat on the council representing Region V, the seat previously held by Councilman Hal Neff.
Applications to fill his seat will be accepted in January 2019, with more details to be announced, Chambers said.
The election to determine the leadership of the five Castaic regions was originally supposed to be held Nov. 10 at the Castaic Library. But due to the fact that there were no opponent applications for Regions I, II, III and IV, the election was cancelled.
Chambers said only one application each was submitted to fill the open seats of Region III Councilman Lloyd Carder and Region II Councilwoman and Vice President Bonnie Nikolai, both of whom who did not seek re-election.
Their replacements will be Castaic residents Douglas Roberts, a Farmer’s Insurance agent in Castaic, and Erik Larsen, Chambers said.
Chambers herself, who represents Region I, and Bob Lewis, who represents Region IV, ran for re-election unopposed.
The 10-member council has elections every two years, with each term lasting four years. Thus half of the council is up for re-election at a time, while the other half finishes out their term.
Once candidates are elected in November, they take office in January, Chambers said.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the council to make the community better,” she said. “I look forward to continuing that work.”
Nikolai said she is stepping down as vice president because she will be expecting her fourth child in April and wants to devote time to motherhood.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed serving my community,” she said. “Being on the council is a profound learning experience. I have gained a lot of knowledge and friends along the way. And I know the next person taking my seat will do a good job, because I don’t believe somebody who does not love this community would be on this council. It’s a labor of love, and I’ve been honored to do it.”