There might not be an election in November for the Santa Barbara City Council seats representing District 6 and District 3.
When the nomination period closed Friday, incumbents Meagan Harmon in District 6 (downtown) and Oscar Gutierrez in District 3 (Westside) were the only candidates to qualify for the ballot, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
Both council members face no challengers in the Nov. 5 election.
The City Council met Tuesday afternoon to hear options regarding whether to appoint Harmon and Gutierrez to the seats instead of having an election for the districts. The briefing took less than 10 minutes. No one spoke during the public comment period.
The council members were not required to decide on Tuesday, according to City Administrator Paul Casey.
The appointments would take place at the Aug. 21 special meeting, he said.
The cancellation of the District 6 and District 3 election means no write-in candidates will be accepted, according to city staff.
Harmon began serving after the City Council appointed her to fill the seat vacated by longtime Councilman Gregg Hart, who is serving on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. She would serve a two-year term for District 6.
First elected to his District 3 seat in a special election in 2018, Gutierrez would serve a five-year term.
Santa Barbara is anticipated to save about $106,000 if the City Council appoints Gutierrez and Harmon to the position instead of placing them on the ballot in November.
The city is still holding an election in District 1, which covers the Eastside and parts of the waterfront and Funk Zone, and District 2, which covers the Mesa.
Several candidates qualified to run for those seats on the City Council.
“We will have an election in November — District 1 and District 2, there is competition there,” Mayor Cathy Murillo said. “In these two particular districts (District 6 and District 3), only one candidate has qualified, so we are faced with this decision.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.