A new mayor and a newcomer joined the Lompoc City Council on Tuesday night, but efforts to fill the fifth seat proved trickier after one candidate failed to get enough votes and the four members ultimately decided to solicit applications.
Mayor Bob Lingl, incumbent Dirk Starbuck and newcomer Victor Vega took the oath of office in the middle of the meeting at Lompoc City Hall.
But attempts to fill the remaining two years on Lingl’s council term proved thornier.
City staff said the council has 60 days — until Jan. 31 — to either make an appointment or call for a special election, a costly alternative that also would leave the seat vacant until at least June.
“There is not a standardized method that we have to follow,” City Administrator Patrick Wiemiller said.
Ultimately, the council agreed to accept applications and a one-page résumé from candidates through next Tuesday, Dec. 9, and then set a special Saturday meeting to conduct interviews and pick the new member. That meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 20.
Wiemiller reported that county officials estimated a special election would cost the city $166,000. An all-vote-by-mail balloting would be less — approximately $72,000 — but couldn’t be held until August, city officials said.
The price tag surprised council members.
“I’ll just mention it’s a whole lot more money than I initially thought it was going to be and that’s certainly going to sway my opinion on a special election, and the time frame, too, “ Starbuck said. “Going out until August is really ridiculous on a two-year term.”
The three others echoed concerns about the expense and delay, ruling out holding a special election and instead considering how to appoint someone to fill the seat.
Some speakers encouraged the council to pick the third-place vote-getter in the Nov. 4 election where eight vied for two seats on the council. But that person, Ann Ruhge, a retired educator and former councilwoman, had both detractors as well as supporters.
“This is the most reasonable decision. … This will not be popular to everyone but avoid a delay the void right now,” resident Terry Hammons said. “Do the right thing.”
Another resident, Pam Wall, agreed, adding that Ruhge’s experience would allow her to jump into the job quickly.
“We do not need to be entertained,” Wall said, referring the city’s rocky history at handling vacancies. “We need to be led.”
A motion to pick Ruhge failed on a 2-2 vote with Lingl and Councilman DeWayne Holmdahl favoring her appointment and Vega and Starbuck opposed.
Lingl noted that whatever method was used would prompt criticism and said many people in the community believed Ruhge “is the logical choice to fill the seat.”
Holmdahl noted Ruhge carries some political baggage, but also has wide experience from various stints serving the city.
Starbuck argued that the third-highest vote-getter isn’t the fair representation since people were only picking two council members.
“Mathematically, it’s insolvable,” Starbuck said, adding he researched modern voting and spoke with college representatives. “There is no logical formula to assume who the third-highest vote-getter is because of the fact you voted the top two so that’s kind of taken off the table.”
He noted that the Lompoc Unified School District board has appointed people to fill twice as many vacancies as the City Council without generating controversy. He obtained the school district policy for filling the vacancy and suggesting the city use the same procedures to be “the most fair, the most transparent, the most expedient.”
The procedure the council intends to use sparked 60 minutes of discussion as the members mulled how many questions to ask during candidate interviews and how to rank what they expect to be multiple candidates. Holmdahl, a wine judge, suggested using the same process as is used to pick the best bottle
Lingl won the job of mayor by besting incumbent John Linn in the Nov. 4 election. The win set the stage for the new council’s first action — filling the fifth seat.
Also in the Nov. 4 election, Starbuck was re-elected to another term and Vega earned the second-place in the field of eight candidates.
Vega replaced Councilwoman Ashley Costa chose not to seek another term on the council so Tuesday marked her final meeting. On Tuesday night, she and Linn were presented with plaques for their service to the city.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.