The San Clemente City Council announced this week it will begin accepting applications for a new councilor to fill the vacant seat of former councilman Gene James, who resigned last month.
With his departure, officials voted to fill the seat through appointment rather than a special election, which would have cost the city $100,000 and could have only taken place in March 2024.
“I think we’ve got a council here who’s capable of appointing someone,” Mayor Chris Duncan said during the council’s May 2 meeting. “We should avoid the cost on our city if we can at all.”
Councilman Victor Cabral said finding a replacement should be easy.
“I think we’ll be able to find a suitable candidate among us, and I think we could do it rather quickly,” he said.
Councilors agreed to publish an ad in the city’s community newspaper May 11, which will give eligible applicants until noon May 15 to drop off their application or have it received via mail by 5:30 p.m.
“I’m sort of the opinion that the broader population that has an interest in becoming a city council member already knows who they are,” Cabral said regarding the narrow window for applicants.
Councilors said they will review applications and decide during their next scheduled meeting May 16 how to proceed. Possibilities include conducting interviews in a special meeting May 23 or during their regularly scheduled May 30 meeting.
James, whose term was set to expire in November, said in a farewell letter April 26 he plans to sell his San Clemente home and move to Wyoming to pursue some of his “retirement dreams.”
In the note, he said he chose Wyoming for its less restrictive water rights and rights to possess firearms.
“As I look at how the Democrats in Sacramento are determined to create a socialist nightmare for the state, I have come to the conclusion that we, in City government, have very little power to stop the progressives,” James wrote.
