This measure, if adopted, amends City of San Buenaventura Charter Section 705(c) on the filling of City Council vacancies.
A vacancy can occur when a Council Member resigns or is otherwise no longer able to serve. The current Charter requires Council to appoint someone to fill the vacancy until their successor is elected at the next municipal election. If Council fails to fill the vacancy, then a special election must be called to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term, unless it is less than eight months before a municipal election.
The proposed amendment does two things. First, it would remove the requirement for Council to order a special election to fill a vacancy if they fail to appoint someone. Instead, Council would be required to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.
Second, the person appointed by Council would serve on the Council until the next consolidated election in Ventura County rather than until the next general municipal election.
The proposed amendment could result in residents of a District being represented by an appointed person for a longer period of time than under the current Charter. However, under the proposed amendment, the amount of time an appointed Council Member would serve until a person is elected in the next consolidated election in the County is not likely to exceed one year. From 2013 to 2023 (excluding 2019), the County held at least one election each year and in eight of those years held 2-5 elections annually.
The proposed amendment could result in savings to the City of over $100,000 each time there is a vacancy because the costs of a consolidated election run between $30,000 to $50,000. Whereas, a stand alone special election is estimated to cost $160,000.
Source: Measure Q Impartial Analysis