Councilwoman Wiggins announces plans to depart
Susan Wiggins, a former mayor who was first elected to the Tehachapi City Council in November 2014, announced on Jan. 16 that she plans to move and will vacate her seat.
The District 5 representative will resign officially once her plans are firm.
Wiggins grew up in Mojave and said when she moved to Tehachapi, she thought she would live here for the rest of her life, even after the death of her husWiggins. band, lifelong resident Ed But when her children and other family members — including a grandbaby who’s 7 months old — decided to move to Pennsylvania, she also decided to move there.
She said she has enjoyed her time on the council and is proud of the city.
“We do a good job, and I could not be more proud of our city staff,” she said. “Because when you say something is going to get done, it gets done. I’m really going to miss everyone.”
Wiggins ran unopposed and was reelected to a fouryear term to represent the city’s District 5 in November 2022.
City Manager Greg Garrett asked her to remain in touch with him regarding the timing of her eventual resignation. The council’s typical practice is to appoint a replacement when vacancies occur to avoid the expense of a special election.
The city is divided into five districts and whoever replaces Wiggins must reside in District 5. A map showing the districts is online at bit.ly/3HpNe98. The district includes areas south of Valley Boulevard to the city limit between Green Street and Dennison Road, in addition to some adjacent areas.
Two City Council seats will be up for election in November, including the District 2 seat, currently held by appointee Jeanette Pauer and the District 3 seat currently held by Mayor Michael Davies.
Wiggins served two twoyear terms as mayor. She was a member of the board of directors of Tehachapi Valley Recreation & Park District for four years prior to her election to the council.
In previous years, before her move to Tehachapi in 2001, she served on the boards of Mojave Unified School District and the Mojave Air and Spaceport.