Agenda Item No. 7
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: December 12, 2022 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: David Hale, City Attorney
SUBJECT: Direction on Procedure for Filling Vacant Council Seat
RECOMMENDATION
Receive information about options for filling a vacant Council seat and provide policy direction to staff for filling the seat vacated by incoming Mayor Karen Bright.
BACKGROUND
Given the November 8, 2022 election of Council Member Karen Bright as incoming Mayor, her seat will become vacant and the Council will need to consider options to fill that seat pursuant to Government Code Section 36512. This staff report will outline these options for the Council’s consideration and policy direction.
Section 36512 (b) states that “if a vacancy occurs in an elective office, the Council shall, within 60 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy”. Pursuant to Section 36512(b)(1), if the Council should choose to hold a special election, the special election is required to be held at the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call of the special election. If a regularly established election date is not within 114 days from the call of the special election, the Council may hold a special election at any time. The person elected to fill a vacancy holds the office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent.
Council Member Bright’s seat is an at-large Council seat elected in November 2020 and an appointment by the Council would allow the person appointed to serve out the unexpired term of Council Member Bright’s seat until December 2024. As part of the transition to Council district elections, the Council has previously provided direction to seek to fill vacant at-large Council seats with an individual from within the district of the vacancy (Attachment 1 shows a map of the Council districts). Council Member Bright lives within District 4 and therefore this Council direction would extend to filling this vacancy with an individual from District 4 unless the Council provided alternative direction.
In addition to the Council’s ability to appoint or to hold an election for the vacancy, Section 36512 (c) allows the Council to adopt an ordinance that would allow any of the following:
(1) Require a special election be called immediately to fill the vacancy. The election would be held on the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call for the special election.
(2) Require a special election be held to fill the vacancy when petitions bearing a specified number of verified signatures are filed. Again, the special election would take place at the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call for an election.
Staff Report: Procedure for Filling Vacant Council Seat Page 2 December 12, 2022
(3) Enable the person appointed to fill the vacancy until the date of a special election, which must be immediately called to fill the remainder of the term. Again, the special election would take place at the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call for an election.
Unless Council desires to adopt an ordinance that would define a different procedure than Section 36512 (b) enumerated above, the Council may either appoint an individual for the remaining term of Council Member Bright’s seat or may call for a special election since the next regularly scheduled election is more than 114 days from Council’s call for an election. As previously mentioned, either process would focus on individuals within District 4.
Historically, the Council has appointed the successor to the vacated Council seat. There are no requirements within the statutes that define a specific process for how the Council may decide to appoint the successor as this is a policy decision of the Council. The Council has carried this out previously in one of the following ways with the year listed:
• Each Council Member nominated a candidate and the Council at large voted for the appointment. (2007, 2008)
• Council received letters of interest from the public and interviewed each applicant in open session before voting for the appointment. (2013)
• Council accepted applications from potential nominees and interviewed each applicant in open session before voting for the appointment. (2019, 2021) Other potential options include selecting the candidate who received the most votes below the candidates elected to the Council or making a direct appointment of a specific individual.
Following Council’s direction, staff will prepare the necessary procedures for filling the vacant seat. If the Council wishes to appoint a successor to the vacant seat, staff recommends that the Council make this appointment at the January 9, 2023 Council meeting given the extent of policy items planned for Council consideration in early 2023 and to encourage the new Council Member to attend the League of California Cities’ New Council Member Academy in February.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact related to this item.
ALTERNATIVES
The City Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Receive information about options for filling a vacant Council seat and provide policy direction to staff for filling the seat vacated by incoming Mayor Bright.; or
2. Provide alternative direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.
Attachments
1. District Map
3 2
4 1
Pismo State
Beach
Pismo State
Beach Golf
Course
Mentone Basin
Park
16th Street Park
Grover Heights
Park
Costa Bella Park
Ramona Garden
Park
Cabril
o
Hwy
Margarita Ave
HHuston St
u
b
er St S 4th St
N 4th St
El Cam Real
Grand Ave
Front St
Oak Park Blvd
16th
St
Anita Ave
Newport Ave
N
1st
St
N 2nd St
Ocean View Ave
13th
St Ramona Ave
Beckett Pl
Highland Way
N
8th St
Nacimiento Ave
N
5th St
N
3rd
St
Baden Ave
Mira
Mar
Ct
Laguna Ct
Park Ln
S
an
S
or e
nto
Ct S
O
a
k
P
ark
Blvd
The Pike
N 13th
St
Park View Ave
S
1 6th
St
T
a
n
n
er Ln
Messina
Ct
B
arc
a
St
Mentone Ave Lyn
e
St
Calvin Ct
P
ark Dr
S
3rd
St Saratoga Ave S 5th St
Ritchie Rd
C
o
urtlan
d
St
Atlantic City Ave
N
6th
St Longbranch Ave
Rockaway Ave
N
7th
St S 10th
St N
9th
St S 14th
St Brighton Ave
B
alb
o
a
St Seabright Ave
N 10th
St S 11th
St Nice Ave
Trouville Ave
C
a
pitola
St Shanna Pl
Saint John Cir
Farroll AveDriftwood St
Stinso
n
Ct D
ove
r
Ct
S 6th
St Manhattan Ave S 8th St
S
7th
St S
9th
St Total Population Deviation: 9.5%
Most Latino District: 3 (30% CVAP)
City of Grover Beach
2021/22 Transition to
District Elections
National Demographics Corp., Jan. 14, 2022
Proposed Election Sequence:
2022: Districts 1 & 2
2024: Districts 3 & 4
Plan 901
©2021 CALIPER
Category Field 1 2 3 4 Total
Total Population 3,271 3,348 3,075 3,045 12,739
Population Deviation 86 163 -110 -140 303
Pct. Deviation 2.70% 5.12% -3.45% -4.40% 9.51%
Hispanic/Latino 26% 28% 40% 31% 31%
NH White 62% 60% 48% 57% 57%
NH Black 1% 2% 2% 1% 1%
NH Asian/Pac.Isl. 6% 7% 7% 7% 7%
NH Native Amer. 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
Total 2,233 3,028 2,398 2,301 9,960
Hisp 17% 17% 30% 18% 21%
NH White 73% 74% 55% 78% 70%
NH Black 3% 4% 1% 0% 2%
Asian/Pac.Isl. 7% 5% 13% 4% 7%
Native Amer. 0% 2% 2% 2% 1%
Total 2,203 2,215 1,758 1,998 8,174
Latino est. 18% 16% 25% 22% 20%
Spanish-Surnamed 17% 15% 23% 21% 19%
Asian-Surnamed 2% 2% 3% 2% 2%
Filipino-Surnamed 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
NH White est. 79% 77% 71% 77% 76%
NH Black 2% 4% 2% 0% 2%
Total 1,829 1,867 1,420 1,694 6,810
Latino est. 15% 15% 22% 20% 18%
Spanish-Surnamed 15% 15% 21% 19% 17%
Asian-Surnamed 2% 2% 3% 2% 2%
Filipino-Surnamed 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
NH White est. 79% 77% 71% 77% 76%
NH Black 2% 4% 2% 0% 2%
Total 1,312 1,328 940 1,187 4,767
Latino est. 11% 13% 18% 17% 15%
Spanish-Surnamed 11% 13% 18% 17% 14%
Asian-Surnamed 2% 2% 2% 1% 2%
Filipino-Surnamed 1% 1% 2% 2% 2%
NH White est. 83% 78% 75% 79% 79%
NH Black est. 1% 4% 1% 0% 2%
age0-19 18% 22% 33% 21% 24%
age20-60 53% 57% 52% 51% 53%
age60plus 29% 21% 15% 28% 22%
immigrants 14% 8% 7% 8% 9%
naturalized 59% 50% 53% 48% 53%
english 92% 86% 63% 84% 80%
spanish 5% 9% 29% 14% 15%
asian-lang 2% 1% 7% 2% 3%
other lang 1% 4% 0% 0% 1%
Language Fluency Speaks Eng. "Less than
Very Well" 3% 1% 16% 5% 7%
hs-grad 52% 51% 58% 47% 52%
bachelor 19% 21% 18% 26% 21%
graduatedegree 12% 13% 8% 10% 11%
Child in Household child-under18 20% 25% 42% 27% 29%
Pct of Pop. Age 16+ employed 62% 72% 60% 68% 66%
income 0-25k 12% 14% 13% 18% 14%
income 25-50k 19% 15% 25% 24% 20%
income 50-75k 21% 20% 30% 14% 21%
income 75-200k 46% 42% 31% 31% 37%
income 200k-plus 2% 8% 2% 13% 6%
single family 82% 66% 67% 73% 72%
multi-family 18% 34% 33% 27% 28%
rented 36% 54% 59% 43% 49%
owned 64% 46% 41% 57% 51%
Household Income
Education (among those
age 25+)
Immigration
Age
Language spoken at
home
City of Grover Beach - Plan 901
2020 Census
Total Pop.
Citizen Voting Age Pop
Housing Stats
Voter Registration
(Nov 2020)
Voter Turnout
(Nov 2020)
Total population data from California's adjusted 2020 Census data. Citizen Voting Age Population, Age, Immigration, and other demographics from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey and Special Tabulation 5-year data. Turnout and Registration data from California Statewide Database ("Latino" figures calculated by NDC using Census Bureau's Latino undercount by surname estimate).
Voter Turnout
(Nov 2018)