By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to keep the District 1 City Council seat vacant until the Nov. 5 election.
During discussion at a Wednesday City Council meeting, the four current members of the council agreed there was “no need” to appoint someone to fill the vacancy at this time. Jayna Karpinski-Costa, who was voted in as mayor during the Sept. 11 meeting, also noted that the board positions held by former Mayor Bret Daniels were being filled by other council members.
“There’s a great election underway and viable candidates for the district,” newly appointed Vice Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff said preceding the vote.
“We’re pretty good together,” Karpinski-Costa said of her fellow council members. Councilmember Porsche Middleton agreed, stating that “we can handle this.”
Preceding the decision to leave the District 1 seat vacant until Nov. 5, Councilmember Tim Schaefer nominated Karpinski-Costa to become Mayor and Lopez-Taff to become Vice Mayor. The vote to approve both was unanimous.
Due to Daniels’ announcement of resignation at the end of August, the City Council District 1 seat was left vacant, and council members were mandated to either fill the vacancy with an appointed individual or conduct an election within 60 days of the vacancy.
If the City Council chose to appoint a replacement, according to the city, the appointment would have to take place no later than Oct. 30, after an application and interview process. Any appointed person would only hold office until the Dec. 11 council meeting, at which point the successfully elected candidate would take over.
According to the city, since the vacant District 1 seat is already scheduled to be filled at the Nov. 5 election, “it is not necessary for the City Council to call a special election for this purpose.”
In his resignation announcement to the City Council, Daniels requested that the council leave his seat open and “let the citizens decide” who the next council member for District 1 will be through the Nov. 5 election process.
