CITY OF SIMI VALLEY
MEMORANDUM
January 27, 2025
TO: City Council
FROM: Office of the City Manager
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION REGARDING MAYORAL VACANCY, CONSIDERATION
OF MAYORAL APPOINTMENT, AND EVALUATION OF NEXT STEPS
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council discuss the unscheduled vacancy of the seat of Mayor, due to the untimely passing of Mayor Fred D. Thomas, consider whether the City Council will make a Mayoral appointment from the current City Council Members or a member of the community, and discuss next steps.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
As a result of the untimely passing of Mayor Fred D. Thomas on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, the position of Mayor is now vacant. Government Code Section 34902(a) states, “In the case of a vacancy in the office of the mayor for any reason, the council shall fill the vacancy by appointment. If the council fails to fill it within 60 days, it shall call an election to fill the vacancy to be held on the next established election date to be held not less than 114 days thereafter.”
FINDINGS AND ALTERNATIVES
The Government Code provides specific direction on how to address a vacancy in the position of Mayor and requires that City Council first attempt to appoint a person to the seat. It should be noted that the appointment can be made from the City Council or a member of the community. If the Council chooses to appoint from the community, it can either use the candidate criteria that was previously established in 2018 or develop new criteria.
If the vacancy is not filled by appointment within the 60-day time frame, (March 22, 2025) a special election must be held on the next established election date not less than 114 days thereafter. Special Election dates are typically March and November. Staff has reached out to the Ventura County Elections Division to confirm the next Special Election date and the estimated cost.
If the Council fills the vacant position of Mayor by appointing a current Council Member, the next step will be for the City Council to fill the vacancy that will be created on the City Council by either appointment or special election. Note that unlike the mayoral seat, there is no requirement that Council first attempt to fill a Council seat by appointment.
AGENDA ITEM NO.
9A
2 Option 1 - Filling Council Seat by Appointment
In the event the City Council chooses to fill a possible City Council vacancy via appointment, the Council can implement selection criteria to be used to consider candidates seeking to fill the vacancy. In 2018, the City Council established the following selection criteria for candidates:
• Must be a City of Simi Valley resident;
• Must have been registered to vote in the November 2018 general election; • Verifiable current experience of a minimum of three years (may be non-consecutive) volunteer, unpaid service in a Simi Valley charitable organization, service club, including church and youth groups, sporting organizations or similar community service.
• Applicants must submit an Application Package
As part of the Application Package, applicants were required to submit the following information:
• Nomination Paper signed by no less than 20, and no more than 30, registered voters – Official Filing Form
• Statement of Economic Interests Form 700
• City’s Code of Ethics and Conduct Form
• Cover Letter – Not to exceed five pages
• Resume – Not to exceed two pages
• Recognition of Sequestration and Non-Use of Technology During the City Council Interviews (*Created by staff following the City Council’s direction to sequester candidates and not allow them to watch other candidates being interviewed*)
During that appointment process, a total of 22 individuals picked up Application Packets and a total of 17 packets were returned by the deadline. Of those packets returned, 15 applicants met all criteria set by the City Council. Per the City Council’s direction, the applicants were sequestered in a room away from the City Council Chamber, and were not permitted to use technology to listen to or watch the meeting and be made aware of the questions and other candidates’ responses prior to their interview.
While this was the process followed for the most recent appointment to fill an unscheduled City Council vacancy, there is no prescribed or mandatory selection criteria defined in State law. Therefore, the City Council may choose to consider all, some, or none of the criteria used in the past. However, in order to seek elective office in the City of Simi 3 Valley, a candidate must be a registered voter residing within the City limits, hence these qualifications should be maintained in the event that the selected candidate wishes to run for election to the appointive seat at the next election.
Due to the City’s transition from an at-large election system to a by-district election system and the requirement that Council Members reside in a particular geographic district within the City, if a vacancy is created by appointing an existing City Council Member to the position of Mayor, the vacancy created would likely need to be filled by a resident from the corresponding district.
Regardless of which District a community member may be appointed to, the appointee would only serve until the time of the next General Municipal Election in November 2026.
For example, per Government Code 36512(b)(2) if the vacancy in the Council seat occurs within the first half of a term of office (Districts 1 and 3) and at least 130 days prior to the next General Municipal Election, the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold the office until the next general municipal election. If the City Council appoints a community member to fill a vacancy to complete the second half of a term (District 2 or 4), the person shall hold the office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent.
Option 2 – Filling Council Seat via Special Election
In the event the City Council chooses to fill the unscheduled City Council vacancy via a special election, GC Section 36512(b)(1) states that, “If the council calls a special election, the special election shall be held on the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call of the special election. A person elected to fill a vacancy holds office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent.” Dates for regularly scheduled elections are established in the Elections Code, and specify that elections conducted in odd-numbered years are held in March and November. As stated earlier in the report, staff has contacted the Ventura County Elections Division for a date in November for a special election and associated cost if that is the City Council’s direction.
Historical Approach
Since the City’s incorporation in 1969, vacancies have occurred in a City Council seat a total of eleven times. On two occasions, special elections were held, and on nine occasions, the vacancy was filled by appointment. The table on the next page details the history of the City Council’s actions taken to fill unscheduled vacancies.
4 Year Reason City Council Action
2018 City Council Member Elected to Mayor Appointment (Litster) 2004 City Council Member Elected to Mayor Appointment (Foster) 1998 City Council Member Elected to Mayor Appointment (Sojka) 1991 Resignation Appointment (Piper)
1986 City Council Member Elected to Mayor Appointment (Davis) 1981 Resignation Special Election*
1980 Resignation Appointment (Bender)
1979 Filled Recalled Council Members Seats Special Election** 1974 Resignation Appointment (Richards)
1971 Resignation Appointment (Marohn)
1971 Resignation Appointment (Smith)
*Seat was filled during the April 13, 1982 election, which was the City’s General Election at that time **During the recall election, residents voted for a special election to fill the seats vacated during the recall.
The following alternatives are available to the City Council:
1. Discuss the unscheduled vacancy of Mayor and determine whether the Council will appoint one of its own members or a member of the community for the remaining term of office;
2. Make an appointment to the position of Mayor;
3. If applicable, discuss next steps to fill a vacancy created on the City Council;
4. Provide staff with further direction.
Staff recommends Alternative Nos. 1 through 3.
SUGGESTED MOTIONS
I move to appoint a member of the current Council to the position of Mayor for the remaining term of office, select ________ as the appointee and fill the vacancy created on the City Council by (appointment and accept the established candidate criteria from 2018 or special election).
OR
I move to appoint a member of the community to the position of Mayor for the remaining term of office, accept the established candidate criteria from 2018, and move to conduct the candidate interviews at an upcoming City Council Meeting.
5 SUMMARY
As a result of the untimely passing of Mayor Fred D. Thomas on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, the position of Mayor is now vacant. Government Code Section 34902(a) states, “In the case of a vacancy in the office of the mayor for any reason, the council shall fill the vacancy by appointment. If the council fails to fill it within 60 days, it shall call an election to fill the vacancy to be held on the next established election date to be held not less than 114 days thereafter.” The appointee would serve as th e Mayor for the remainder of the Mayor’s term and until that seat is up for election at the next election cycle. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council discuss the unscheduled vacancy of the seat of Mayor, consider /make an appointment of one of its members or a member of the community to the position for the remaining term of office, and discuss next steps.
____________________________________
Samantha C. Argabrite
City Manager
Prepared by: Samantha C. Argabrite