City Council to hold hearing on amendment to filling vacancies
The Va ca ville City Council will hold a special meeting tonight to amend city code to allow at- large council seats to transition to by- district council seats.
In 2018, the Vacaville City Council voted to create a new system where council members a re elected by district rather than at large. The first district-based seats were on the ballot for the 2020 election.
On Nov. 4, Councilman Mitch Mashburn submitted his letter of resignation from the council after having been elected to the Solano County Board of Supervisors in March.
According to a staff report by City Attorney Melinda Stewart and City Clerk Michelle Thornbrugh, Mashburn’s resig nation—effective Dec. 31 — initiated a 60day period to fill the vacancy either by appointment or special election. Since Mashburn was last elected in 2018, his seat is considered at large until 2022.
Thornburgh and Stewart wrote that Mashburn and Councilman Nolan Sullivan coincidentally reside in the seats they would represent on the council: Districts 2 and 4 respectively.
“While not officially incumbents representing the districts in which they reside, both of the two remaining districts benefit from having a member on the City Council that would qualify to represent the district,” Thornbrugh and Stewart wrote. “With that backdrop, the resignation of Councilmember Mashburn potentially leaves district two as the only district without a councilmember residing in the district.”
At its Nov. 10 meeting, the council voted 3-2 to have the seat filled through a citywide special election.
Despite members of the public and certain council members requesting the seat be limited only to residents of District 2, Thornburgh and Stewart wrote that Chapter 2.60 of the Municipal Code does not allow for that.
However, staff are proposing an amendment to the code that would allow a vacated at-large seat to immediately transition to a by- district seat in a specified order, should a vacancy occur in an atlarge seat during the district transition period. Under this amendment, District 2 would be the first to transition, since District 4 is currently represented by a resident of that district. Should Sullivan’s seat be vacated afterward, the seat would be filled by appointment or special election by a District 4 resident.
“This amendment furthers the purposes of the California Voting Rights Act by implementing the districting process on an expedited basis when possible, ultimately providing for greater access and participation in local government,” Thornbrugh and Stewart wrote.
Additionally, the report’s authors outlined the process of the District 2 special election. Following the first reading and introduction of the amendment at tonight’s meeting, the item would return for a second reading and adopton at the Dec. 8 meeting. At the same meeting, a council resolution calling for a May 4 special election and calling for the Solano County Registrar of Voters to conduct the election will go before the council for consideration.
Between Jan. 11 and Feb. 5, candidates may pull, circulate and return candidate papers and nomination statements.
A write-in period will take place between March 8 and April 20, with the election being held on May 4. The results would be certified and the new council member would be seated June 8.
The council will meet at 6 p. m. tonight. The Zoom link is Cov. zoom. us/s/99569804654?pwd=T ENqcXhWcnlmYzEwbmt0 MkdkTTdWZz09, and the password is 639925. Participants may also join by phone by dialing 267- 8310333 or 301-715- 8592 or toll-free at 877- 853- 5257 or 888- 475- 4499. Participants may dial *67 before the number if they wish to keep their number from being displayed on the screen.
The meeting may also be viewed on Channel 26 or online at Youtube.com/ user/Cityof Vacaville/videos.