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Politics & Government

Council to Weigh Options for Filling Vacant Seat

With the recently announced resignation of Council Member Joe Mosca, the City Council must now decide how to fill the vacant seat.

Sierra Madre City Council Member Joe Mosca’s recent announcement that he will be resigning from his seat on the Council means that as of Nov. 8, the city will be short one elected official. For that reason, the Council will begin discussions of how to handle replacing Mosca at their next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

According to California election law, the Council has three options for filling the seat including appointing someone to fill the seat, calling a special election, or waiting until the next regularly scheduled election in April of 2012.

While the option to appoint a new council member would leave a considerable amount of power in the hands of the remaining four members, the special election option carries with it restrictions regarding when such an election can be held. According to state law, 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.”

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State law also requires the decision regarding the empty seat that it be decided no more than 60 days from the effective date of the vacancy, in this case that date being Nov. 8, 2011.

Regardless of whether the seat is filled by appointment or election, the new council member will serve the remainder of Mosca’s term. Elected in 2010, Mosca’s four-year term won’t expire until 2014.

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While Sierra Madre’s bi-annual elections typically rotate between either two or three seats potentially changing hands, the potential for a special election in April means three seats – a majority of the five-member council – will be up for grabs for the second time in two years and will occur again in 2014.

Having both been elected most recently in 2008, Mayor John Buchanan and Council Member MaryAnn MacGillivray are the only members whose terms will expire in time for the 2012 election.

After that, the 2014 election will also have the potential for a majority turnover, with the terms of Council Members Nancy Walsh and Josh Moran expiring alongside that of Mosca’s replacement.

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