Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 5.A
Meeting Date: December 10, 2025
From: Tracey R Hermosillo, City Clerk
Title: Procedure for Filling the District 3 Vacant Seat on the City Council RECOMMENDATION:
To consider the options for filling the vacant City Council seat in District Three (3) and to provide direction to staff on how to proceed.
BACKGROUND:
With the passing of Councilmember Mark Carnevale, a vacancy now exists on the City Council in District Three (3).
Under California law, the election of Council Members and the filling of vacant Council seats are considered municipal affairs for which Charter Cities may enact special local rules. The City’s, voter adopted, Charter includes Section 606 relating to the filling of Council vacancies.
Section 606 states:
“In the event that a Council seat becomes vacant, for whatever reason, prior to the expiration of the term, the City Council may hold a special election to fill the vacancy, or it may appoint a qualified individual to fill the vacancy. If the Council appoints a qualified individual to fill the vacancy, the appointment shall adhere to the following: If the vacancy occurs less than six months after the most recent Council election, the candidate from the election receiving the next highest vote total shall be appointed by the City Council. If there is no next highest candidate, or if the next highest candidate declines the appointment, or if the vacancy occurs more than six months after the most recent election the Council shall appoint a qualified elector to fill the remaining term, except that if a regularly scheduled election will occur prior to the end of the term then the appointment shall only be until that next regularly scheduled election.”
Section 606 does not provide any specific time frame for which the City Council must take action to call a special election or to fill a vacancy. However, section 400 of the Charter indicates that where the Charter is silent on a subject and State law includes provisions related to a matter that do not conflict with the Charter, then the City will apply State law as to that matter. Government Code section 36512(b) provides that the City Council take action to call a special election or to appoint a qualified individual within 60 days from the seat being vacated. There is no option of doing nothing. Government Code section 36512 states that the Council “shall” decide to appoint or call an election within 60 days of the vacancy. The word “shall” in the Government Code means a mandatory act or duty that must be performed.
Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations states that “shall” means a necessary act for which there is no alternative.
DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to the City Charter and Government Code, the City Council has the following two options to consider for filling the vacant seat in District Three (3):
(1) Call a Special Election to fill the vacant seat in District Three (3); or (2) Appoint an individual to serve the remainder of the term, which will be up for re-election on November 3, 2026.
Special Election
The Council may decide that the vacancy will be filled by holding a special election. Since the vacant seat is in District Three (3), it will need to be a by-district special election for District 3 only. That Special Election would be called to be held on June 2, 2026 (state primary election) to fill the remainder of the term, which is up for election on November 3, 2026.
If the Council decides to fill the seat by election, then it will be operating with only four councilmembers for 7 to 8 months until sometime in July 2026 when the Riverside County Registrar certifies the election results and the City Council then declares the results. The remaining term for the elected individual would only then be approximately four and one-half months.
Appointment
Both the City Charter and State law expressly authorizes the Council to fill Council vacancies by appointment, and both provide the Council with discretion on what process to follow to make the appointment. The only requirement is that the person appointed be a “qualified elector.” Under the Election Code a “qualified elector” is a U.S Citizen, over the age of 18 and registered voter in an election precinct in the State. Applying the rule on a local level, the person would also need to reside in District 3 of the City and registered to vote in the same.
The City Council could simply take nominations from the dais at a regular, agendized Council meeting and then make an appointment; however, many cities allow for a more open/transparent procedure. Typically, a short period will be allowed for qualified electors to submit a statement of interest / application to the Council for consideration, followed by a public session during which the Council, as a whole, publicly and briefly interview each candidate, and conclude with Council deliberation, nomination and then appointment of a single candidate by majority vote of the entire membership of the Council.
Should the Council decide to appoint rather than call a special election, the following is the recommended schedule:
December 29, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. - Deadline to Submit Statement of Interest (no filing fee) to the City Clerk’s Office. Letters should be submitted via email at [email protected] or hand delivered.
January 7, 2026 – 2:00 p.m. – Call a Special Meeting to be held for Council to do the following:
Interview Candidates
Council Deliberation
Nomination and Appointment of Candidate to fill the Vacant Seat in District Three (3) Staff recommends the City Council discuss the options provided to fill the District Three (3) vacant seat and provide direction to staff on how to proceed. Whether by special election or appointment, the City Council must take action on how to fill the vacant seat within sixty (60) days of the date the seat is deemed vacant, which was November 16, 2025. It should be noted that filling the vacancy by appointment is the least expensive and most expedient process. It also provides for an open process and a fair opportunity for public participation but ensures equitable representation of the community and is consistent implementation of the intent of its Charter.
FISCAL IMPACT:
If the Council decides to fill the vacancy through appointment there is no anticipated fiscal impact. If the Council decides to fill the vacancy through a special election, then the City will incur a cost to be estimated by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, which could be up to approximately $45,000, which is not in the current budget.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS:
None