Home Antioch Tonight: Antioch City Council to Discuss Filling City Council Vacancy

Tonight: Antioch City Council to Discuss Filling City Council Vacancy

by ECT

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With the passing of Antioch City Councilman Gary Agopian on July 28, the Antioch City Council will now discuss the vacancy on the city council.

Per state law, the Council has 60 days to address the vacancy:

  1. Call a special election to fill the vacant seat, which would arguably not require the City Council to do anything further because the seat is already up for the regular election on November 4 and the City Council has already called for that regular election; or
  2. Appoint a person to fill the City Council vacancy until the election results in November are certified and the elected Council Member seated.

The staff report explains the state law which says when a vacancy occurs in an elective office, the City 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. 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.

According to the staff report, 114 days after the July 28, 2014 vacancy date means, that a special election could not occur before November 19, 2014—after the regular election on Nov, 4 when Council Member Agopians seat was already scheduled to be filled. The California Government Code does not address this specific timing situation, but common sense reading strongly suggests that the regular election in November 2014 should fulfill the statutory option of having a special election that would not occur until 2015.

The staff highlights the council may decide to make an appointment with or without a formal application process. Accordingly, any council member can make a motion to appoint a specific person, which would need to be approved by at least three votes.

The council also has the option of an application process which is how Tony Tiscareno was selected to fill a seat vacated by Wade Harper when he became Mayor of Antioch.

If the council decides to appoint, the person would only hold office for the remainder of the seats term which would be the end of November or early December when the election results are certified and a new Council Member is seated.

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5 comments

Marty Fernandez Aug 12, 2014 - 8:01 am

Out of respect for Gary and since it is so close to an election they should leave it empty.

Concerned Antioch resident Aug 12, 2014 - 2:20 pm

Common sense would dictate that the position should remain vacant through the election in November. Should the council appoint someone, that person would not have enough time to acclimate before the election (unless that person had previously been on the council). And should the council appoint a person who is a candidate on the November ballot that would be an unfair advantage to the other candidates. Will common sense prevail???

Julio Aug 12, 2014 - 4:05 pm

NO, common sense will not prevail. There is none up there. They will appoint their pet which we all already know is because the person would have an unfair advantage in the election.

Chuck Aug 12, 2014 - 5:57 pm

The word ” Shall” kind of ties their hands. They could be respectful and choose from the candidates that are planning to run for office. A special election would be very expensive.
They could also appoint someone who has no plans to run and just fill the seat to avoid the cost of a special election.

vp Aug 12, 2014 - 9:22 pm

Agopian’s seat should be left empty until the election. IT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE TO APPOINT Tony Tiscareno. Accepting campaign contributions from Seeno should not be allowed. We want Council members who have the City of Antioch’s agenda at heart, not their own personal and Seeno agendas. DO NOT RE-ELECT TONY TISCARENO.

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