Editorial Let the voters fill vacant Santa Clara City Council seat

The Santa Clara City Council is one of the most dysfunctional elected boards in the Bay Area. The last thing they should be doing is handpicking someone to fill the open seat created by Dominic Caserta’s stunning resignation, rather than letting voters decide.

But four of the six remaining council members opted Tuesday to try to choose someone to fill the seat, giving that person an unfair advantage in the upcoming November election. Mayor Lisa Gillmor said that “it’s well within our purview to appoint to the City Council.” Being technically correct doesn’t make it the right thing to do.

This is all too typical of Gillmor’s approach since she was appointed mayor in 2016. She has crafted a voting bloc — with Councilwomen Debi Davis, Teresa O’Neill and Kathy Watanabe — that rarely challenges her “my way or the highway” approach to issues. Appointing the new council member gives Gillmor an opportunity to add yet another person who defers to her.

The good news is that, while it took only four votes to decide that the council will try to appoint someone to Caserta’s seat, it takes five votes to actually make the selection. If five can’t agree, then the decision will be left to voters. To their credit, council members Patty Mahan and Pat Kolstad oppose the idea of the council making the decision. They should hold firm.

The deeply divided council needs a thorough housecleaning that would end the internal bickering that makes even the most routine council business an eyebrow-raising adventure. For the vacancy, they need someone whose ethics are beyond reproach and would adhere to basic, good government practices.

Gillmor’s and termed-out Councilman Kolstad’s positions will also be before voters in November. We hope some new, fresh faces step up and offer Santa Clara voters the opportunity to end the dysfunction that now dominates city politics.

Election 2018