Council to appoint new member
Applications will be accepted until Jan. 21
The Ukiah City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint a new member to its board rather than hold a special election to replace Council member Maureen Mulheren once she joins the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors next month.
“I suggest that we give time for the public to give input, so we can do what the public wants us to do,” said Council member Josefina Duenas, who became the newest addition to the fivemember board after earning the second-highest number of votes in the Nov. 3 election (1,947), not far behind incumbent Doug Crane (1,994).
Nearly a dozen letters of public comment were submitted to the council regarding the upcoming vacancy, more than half of which were advocating for the appointment of Cameron Ramos, who at 18 was the youngest candidate vying for the two open seats in November. Ramos received 1,129 votes.
Many of the letters also advocated against the council appointing the candidate with the third-highest number of votes, Jenny Kimbler, describing comments she made in a since- deleted Facebook post regarding the shooting of Breonna Taylor and the protests that followed as alarming and inappropriate.
“K imbler’s comments make clear that she either doesn’t understand our Constitution and workings of our criminal justice system, or more likely, that she explicitly supports different standards for different people,” wrote Ed Donovan, who endorsed his fellow candidate Ramos. “Such beliefs go beyond left and right; they are utterly disqualifying for government leadership.”
An email to Kimbler requesting comment Thursday was not returned. Kimbler received 1,754 votes, 29 more than incumbent Steve Scalmanini (1,725).
With Mulheren recusing herself from the vote, the council voted unanimously to appoint a new council member rather than hold a special election at a potential cost of $30,000. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 21, from anyone interested in the seat who is eligible to vote within the city of Ukiah, and the council will “review and discuss the applications at its Jan. 28 meeting.
The council made slight changes to the application template suggested by staff Wednesday, and City Manager Sage Sangiacomo said “the goal is to release the application this week, then the deadline for turning them in would be Jan. 21. After that, the goal would be to then (make the applications available to the public so they can) provide comments at the meeting when the council undergoes the interview and consideration process, which will be conducted in full view of the public.”