Coachella Mayor Floats Idea of How to Fill City Council Vacancy
Mayor Frank Figueroa
COACHELLA — It’s been almost two months since former Mayor Steven Hernandez resigned as mayor of this city and the City Council has yet to decide how to fill a vacancy on the five-member board.
Mayor Pro Tem Frank Figueroa was officially appointed the new mayor of Coachella on April 22 during the regular City Council meeting. His term will run through November, which is the remainder of former Hernandez’s term. There was no discussion on how to fill Figueroa’s seat.
The April 29 meeting was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Councilmember Yadira Perez could not attend, Figueroa told Uken Report. He chose to cancel the meeting because the Council was set to discuss the budget, and the mayor said he believes all Council members should be present when setting the budget.
That meant once again not discussing the City Council vacancy until the Council meets on May 13. Figueroa said it is a priority.
Without a full complement of the Council, important decisions are on hold, including hiring a city manager.
Figueroa said the Council can certainly consider all options as to how to fill the Council vacancy, but the option is leaning toward is the one Cathedral City used when filling a recent vacancy.
The City Council chose to seek applications and appoint someone to fill the vacancy thereby foregoing a cost-prohibitive special election. Councilors also agreed appointing someone from the city at large to fill the seat would be more expedient.
To help the City Council make its decision, each applicant was asked to answer a series of six questions.
The list was narrowed, the finalists answered in-person questions from the Council, and one was selected. She was sworn in that same day and began working.
