Salinas City Council decides to fill a vacancy in District 3 by appointment.

Dozens of people showed up at Salinas City Hall on Tuesday night, April 23 to talk about elections even though it is not yet election season. But District 3 residents organized—they received text messages and shiny flyers motivating them to show up to the meeting and urge City Council to approve an election, rather than appointment process, to fill a forthcoming vacancy for District 3. Messages included phrases like, “Don’t let the city council take away our voice! Tell the council no appointment!" and encouraged them to call and email their representatives. 

Inside the council chambers, District 3 residents carried shiny signs with messages that read: “No appointment. Our district. Our vote."

The preferred option among District 3 residents who spoke up was to leave the District 3 seat vacant until November, and then hold a special election (combined with other elections on the same ballot) in November.  

District 3 City Councilmember Steve McShane, midway through his fourth four-term term, announced earlier this month that he is resigning effective May 10. 

Per city code, City Council was left with two options to fill the remainder of his term (two years and seven months): appointment or election. 

On April 23, City Attorney Chris Callihan explained those options. A temporary appointment and followed by an election in November would come with a price tag between $102,000 to $146,000; a stand-alone special election (before the November election) would cost between $233,000 to $349,032. One downside to a months-long vacancy, he said, was that a 3-3 tie would mean a measure fails. 

For nearly an hour, Salinas residents, mostly from District 3, voiced their preferred choice. Many were in favor of leaving the seat open until November. Some favored a standalone election while a few opted for the temporary appointment. 

Some residents were against the most expensive option, the standalone election, they considered those funds could be use to increase the quality of life and repair potholes and sidewalks. (September is the earliest a standalone election option could happen. “I'm not so sure that's money well spent for the time difference [with the November election],” Interim City Manager Jim Pia said.) 

Despite a vocal preference for election, Salinas City Council disagreed and opted for an appointment.

The council voted 4-3 to move with a temporary appointment, followed by an election in November for the remaining two years of the term. McShane, along with Mayor Kimbley Craig and Councilmember Tony Barrera, cast opposing votes. 

Several councilmembers, including Craig and Rocha talked about fiscal responsibility. 

Craig said, "$100,000 to $145,000 for a November election is money well spent.” 

“While the special election would be for District 3, the special election would be funded by the entire city of Salinas and all the residents of the city of Salinas,” Rocha noted. 

McShane made a motion to keep the vacancy and have a November election, seconded by Craig. 

Anthony Rocha made a substitute motion to make an interim appointment and consolidate the District 3 election with the November ballot. 

The 4-3 decision to appoint was not well-received by the public in the chambers. Adam Pinterits, a former District 3 resident, wasn’t surprised by the council’s decision. “Not only am I disappointed, but I think it's fair to say that the majority of voters in District 3 are disappointed,” he says. 

“I'll be paying very close attention to the appointment process. And in particular, I think it is essential that the residents of District 3 be heard in the appointment process,” Pinterits says. “I would hope that they can do the right thing, and listen to the voters of District 3 when it comes to this interim appointment that they're going to make.”

The application process to fill District 3 appointment opened today, April 24. The last day to apply is May 10.

Whoever is appointed will serve during some big decisions coming for Salinas: Critical matters in the upcoming months include the budget and a potential rent stabilization ordinance.

This story has been updated. A previous version of the story misstated Adam Pinterits last name was Pinteres. He is also not a District 3 resident as previously stated.