A Hartnell board appointment is scuttled by residents demanding a special election.

The trustees of the Hartnell Community College District Board were faced with filling a vacancy last fall after former chair Erica Padilla-Chavez resigned and moved out of the area. They could fill it by an election, maybe during the primary on March 5 – possibly the least expensive election alternative – or they could save the cost and appoint someone to serve the rest of the term ending December 2026.

The board chose the latter, and on Nov. 21, they selected a new trustee from three applicants. Weeks later the board discovered they’re on the hook for a pricier special election that could cost over $406,000.

By law, registered voters of Area Six, represented by the vacant board seat that covers South County, had 30 days to request a special election. A group of voters took advantage of that law, and at the last minute, on Dec. 21, they presented a petition with 341 signatures to the Monterey County Office of Education.

They needed 248 signatures out of nearly 17,000 registered voters to pass. In January the Monterey County Elections department verified 283 of the signatures, 35 more than what was needed.

That meant that the board’s selection of Gonzales resident Sonia Jaramillo over two other applicants on Nov. 21 was nullified. She was interviewed during the meeting that night along with Carol Cordova Anderson and Soledad resident Monica Andrade. Jaramillo received four votes, Andrade received one. Trustee Ray Montemayor abstained, saying he believed the vacancy should be filled by special election.

Jaramillo is a former president of the Gonzales Unified School District who works for the MCOE as a senior director of the Early Learning Program. Andrade is a member of the Soledad Committee for Voting Rights, which in November successfully won a referendum of a decision by the Soledad City Council to approve a five-district map and a rotating mayor over citizens’ objections.

Andrade says she had nothing to do with the Hartnell petition, and has no idea who could be behind it. The petition lists five names as proponents – the Weekly was unable to contact four of the five, the fifth declined to speak. The petition only says that they, as registered voters of Area Six, want the Monterey County Superintendent of Schools to call a special election to fill the vacancy.

At its meeting on Feb. 6, the Hartnell board voted 4-1 – Trustee Margaret D’Arrigo voting no and Trustee Candi DePauw absent – to authorize a special election on June 4, 2024. The candidate filing period opened on Feb. 12 and runs through March 8.

Both Andrade and Jaramillo say they are unsure whether they will run in the special election. Jaramillo, who is active in other community groups, is weighing her options. “My priority is the expansion of preschool services in Monterey County,” especially South County, Jaramillo says.