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The San Ramon City Council has kicked off the application period for potential candidates to succeed Mark Armstrong in the council’s District 2 seat, which is set to be filled by early January.
The council voted unanimously at a special meeting Wednesday to fill the seat by appointment for the remainder of the term Armstrong had previously been elected to, which extends through the end of 2026. The seat became vacant after Armstrong was elected and subsequently sworn in as the city’s new mayor.
The other option to fill the seat was to call for a special election, which would have been a lengthy and costly process with the seat remaining empty through at least May.
Applications are now open through 11 a.m. on Jan. 3, after which the council will select up to eight applicants at their Jan. 6 meeting to move forward with interviews on Jan. 10, with the council set to select an appointee at the conclusion of that meeting. The new councilmember is set to be sworn in on Jan. 14.
In addition to expediting the process of filling the vacancy, the council opted for the appointment process over a special election in no small part due to cost, with the price tag for a special election estimated at $159,335 and $210,033 – money that they said the city couldn’t spare, given its financial struggles in the current fiscal year.
In response to several public comments that evening supporting the appointment process versus a special election but noting the advantage that sitting office holders have while running for election, the council said they would ask that their new member refrain from using the term “incumbent” should they run for election, and instead refer to themselves as the appointed councilmember.
However, after a discussion with city staff, they noted that they can’t formally require that the appointee not seek reelection to the seat, nor can they formally forbid them from using the term “incumbent.”
The meeting marked the final one of the year for the City Council, which is set to return to the dais next month to review applications and proceed with next steps in the appointment process.
Applications are open to registered voters and U.S. citizens living in District 2, which includes the southwestern quadrant of the city.
More information and applications are available here.
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“the price tag for a special election estimated at $159,335 and $210,033 – money that they said the city couldn’t spare, given its financial struggles in the current fiscal year.”
There didn’t seem to be any concern about the financial struggles when they were handing out pay raises to everyone.