Citrus Heights appoints new mayor, vice mayor for next 3 months

By Sara Beth Williams–
As of Wednesday night, Citrus Heights has a new mayor and vice mayor.

The City Council on Sept. 11 voted unanimously to appoint Jayna Karpinski-Costa as the new mayor and MariJane Lopez-Taff as the new vice mayor. Karpinski-Costa was previously serving as vice mayor, and Lopez-Taff was serving as a council member.

Up until this month, the mayoral seat was held by Bret Daniels, who was serving a four-year term on the Citrus Heights City Council after having been reelected in 2020 for the district 1 seat. Daniels announced his resignation to the City Council at the end of August, and his resignation was official as of Aug. 31.

According to the city’s website, one of the City Council members is typically appointed by a majority vote from fellow council members for a period of 12 months. The new mayor and vice mayor were elected after Daniels served only 9 months as mayor. Daniels previously served as Vice Mayor in 2023.

Due to Daniels’ resignation at the end of August, the City Council District 1 seat was left vacant, which prompted the City Council to nominate a new mayor.

In the case of a vacancy, the Council is also mandated to either fill the vacancy with an appointed individual or conduct an election within 60 days of the vacancy. On Wednesday, the council voted unanimously to keep the district 1 seat vacant until the Nov. 5 election occurs.