Steven Rogers, the Town Manager of Yountville, sent an official announcement yesterday that stated, “Vice Mayor Kerri Dorman has resigned her Town Council seat effective Thursday, January 6, 2022, due to her relocation to Austin, Texas. As a result of her resignation, there is now a vacancy on the Town Council for the remainder of the unexpired term which goes through December 2022.”
The Yountville Town Council will hold a special Town Council meeting via Zoom at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 11, 2022. The first agenda item will be discussing and voting for a new Vice-Mayor. Then there will be deliberation on how to fill the vacant seat; by special election with a vote by the community or by appointment with a vote by the four Council members.
Special election or appointment? Some points to consider: So should the Town Council (with just four members) appoint a replacement for the outgoing Vice Mayor, or should they call a Special Election and let the voting community of Yountville decide? 1. the Vice Mayor’s Council seat is up for election in November 2022 (11 months away) 2. a Special Election would most likely happen in June 2022 (to coincide with the primary election for our Napa County District 3 Supervisor)(6 months away) 3. it costs approximately $700 for a candidate for all the filings to run for Yountville town Council 4. a Special election would cost the Town of Yountville approximately $41,000 to hold 5. based on the formal resignation of the Vice Mayor is there enough time to qualify for the Countywide ballot? (for the November election a candidate needs to declare by July)
We like the election process because we get to hear discussion and dialogue from the candidates and possibly learn a few things along the way. We decide as a majority of those who will be affected by the Councilmember’s decisions. There appear to be many factors coming into play here that might make it difficult for a Special Election with one of the main items being timing.
No matter how the decision is made, the person taking place of the vacant seat will have to campaign (again) for the election in Novmber.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Pease comment below and tell me what I have missed and your concerns and ideas.
The agenda will be available on Friday, January 7, 2022 before 5:00 p.m. To view the agenda packet with all the details regarding the vacant council seat, visit Town of Younville website. Click on HTML Agenda to see the agenda and related documents.This is also where you can view the meeting.
Make this a poll!
Special Election or Appointment? I choose appointment. But I’m a gambling (wo)man. I also want to see who and what is important to the council and see why they chose who they chose. I have a feeling that I know already who it would be, and I’m not mad at it ?