More than 500 Vacaville residents signed a petition requesting that when the City Council seat for District 2 becomes vacant, the council ensures the new representative appointed is a resident of the district.
In 2018, the Vacaville City Council approved a new system where council members — excluding the mayor — are elected by specific geographic districts rather than at large. This year, the council began the process of transitioning to the new system by adding two new seats — Districts 1 and 3 — and switching two current seats — Districts 5 and 6 — from at large to by district. Districts 2 and 4 will make the switch in 2022.
However, the District 2 seat will be declared vacant when Councilman Mitch Mashburn resigns to assume his new position on the Solano County Board of Supervisors, which he was elected to in March. Since Mashburn was elected at large, the council will be considering appointments from throughout the city to fill out the remainder of his term.
Many District 2 residents believe the appointed council member should reside within the district’s boundaries. Lynn Upchurch of Leisure Town and Nancy Fletcher of Meadowlands spearheaded an effort to garner petitions demanding the vacancy be filled by a District 2 resident.
As of Tuesday, Upchurch and Fletcher were able to gather 538 signatures through drive-in events in the Leisure Town Home Association parking lot and neighborhood parks throughout the district, as well as volunteers canvassing door to door in their own neighborhoods. The signatures received were mostly from District 2 residents, although others came from residents throughout the city. Upchurch wrote in a news release that the petitions had been delivered to Mayor Ron Rowlett and members of the City Council.
“If the Mayor agrees, Vacaville would have achieved its multi-year phased plan to have a Council Member from each of Vacaville’s six Districts by January 1, 2021, ahead of schedule by two years,” the petitioners wrote in a press statement. “If the Mayor disagrees and appoints a representative from another District, District 2 residents will not have a chance to elect one of their own neighbors to the Council until the November 2022 election.”
Upchurch told The Reporter that District 2 is the fastest growing district in the city with several issues that necessitate the input of a representative who lives in the city. Among these are what to do about the Green Tree Golf Course and several new developments which have created a lot of traffic in the area.
“Those subdivisions all use Leisure Town Road and Nut Tree Road to get in and out,” she said. “Every year, (Leisure Town Road) becomes more and more of a bottleneck, especially during rush hour.”
As the district continues to grow, Upchurch said it is important for a resident to have a seat at the table.
“There needs to be somebody from— here who’s really familiar with what it feels like to sit at a stoplight or not be able to get on to Leisure Town Road,” she said.
In an email, City Clerk Michelle Thornbrugh wrote that the seat is at large in keeping with the city’s ordinance transitioning to district elections. She also wrote that if the vacancy is filled by special election — which would happen if all of Rowlett’s nominations for appointment fail — the election would be at large and the entire city would vote to fill the seat.
“However, the Council could consider District 2 residency as highly desirable in the appointment process,” she wrote.
Rowlett did not comment on the petition itself but said he appreciated that the petitioners were speaking up.
“I think it’s great that the community is actively involved,” he said.
Rowlett reiterated that per election guidelines, the city cannot discriminate against applicants that live in a different district because the seat is still at large. However, he said anyone who lives outside District 2 would be ineligible to run in 2022 as the city will move fully to a district-based system, and District 2 would no longer be at large.
“After the election in 2022, everyone will have to live in the district that they represent,” he said.
Rowlett also said if the strongest application came in from somebody from District 2, he would nominate them, although the council will still have to ratify his selection, in keeping with a policy that was approved in March. Under these guidelines, when a vacancy arises on the council, the mayor and one other council member will interview applicants and announce their recommendation at a subsequent meeting for the rest of the council to ratify. This new process has drawn criticism from residents, many of whom felt the vacancy should be filled by a special election.
During public comment at Tuesday’s council meeting, former Councilman Curtis Hunt suggested that the interview process be done publicly and with all seated council members taking part. He also reiterated that the seat should be filled by a resident of that district.
“Appointing somebody from District 2 would represent and advance the council directives as it relates to representation by districts,” he said.
At the same meeting, Fletcher said she wanted a council member who could represent the concerns of District 2.
“We want to have someone representing our district like every other district will come Jan. 1,” she said.
Rowlett said he will begin interviewing applicants once Mashburn resigns. The council will either hold a special meeting or announce when applications are open.
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October 29, 2020 at 08:12AM
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District 2 residents sign petition urging council seat to be filled by district resident - Vacaville Reporter
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