It took an unusual Friday night meeting, but the Solvang City Council ended its stalemate over filling a vacant seat.
Karen Waite, the first runner-up in last November’s election, was selected to fill the fifth seat, and was immediately sworn in as the newest member during the hour-long special meeting Friday.
The action culminates nearly six drama-filled weeks since former councilman Hans Duus resigned amid financial woes, including the foreclosure of his house and a move to Santa Maria.
Following the Aug. 28 resignation, the four remaining members have split — Mayor Jim Richardson and Councilwoman Joan Jamieson on one side, Councilmen Ryan Toussaint and Neill Zimmerman on the other side.
The deadlock ended with Richardson, Jamieson and Toussaint voting in favor of appointing Waite to serve on the council.
Zimmerman abstained from voting after saying he believed a special election would be the fairest option.
The council was divided over whether to follow a protocol adopted in 2009 — and renewed in 2015 — to appoint the first runner-up of the most recent election or possibly the second runner-up to avoid a contentious process.
Waite had missed getting a seat on the council last year by a handful of votes.
State code only says a council must make an appointment within 60 days, Oct. 27 for this situation, or call for a special election.
Zimmerman and Toussaint opposed following the council’s protocol and pushed for either accepting applications or holding a special election.
After Tuesday night’s special meeting ended with more tied votes and failed motions, another special meeting was set for Friday night.
City Manager Brad Vidro said that if the council chose to solicit applications, an Oct. 17 deadline would have to be set so they could be included in the agenda package for the Oct. 23 meeting, four days before the 60-day deadline expires.
“I put that timeline in there because as you know the 60-day clock is running,” Vidro said.
A meeting on the eve of what for some is the start of the 3-day holiday weekend didn’t deter turnout, as approximately 50 people filled the audience with more than a dozen speakers, most favoring Waite’s appointment.
“I’m hoping that we can all play in the sandbox together, get this thing going and move forward,” said Hank Homburg, saying he supported the appointment of Waite.
After taking a seat on the dais, Waite, 53, a businesswoman and longtime Santa Ynez Valley resident who has been active in public and community service, thanked those in the audience for their support.
“I would like you all to have full faith in knowing that I will do the best job I possibly can on this council,” she said.
With the fifth seat filled, the council is expected to assess whether to keep or revise the policy for handling vacancies during a future meeting.
Waite’s first regular council meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday.
— 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.