Residents of Merced’s District 2 have until Nov. 21 to apply for a vacancy on the city council, following the recent resignation of Ronnie De Anda.
In a 5-1 vote Monday night, the six-member council decided to begin the process of appointing an applicant to fill the District 2 council seat.
The council majority said it favored an appointment as the faster, cost-effective option, compared to a special election. Council members have until Dec. 3 to appoint a replacement for De Anda.
An 85-year-old retired postal worker, De Anda was elected in 2022 to a four-year term that had been set to end next November. His last day as council member was Oct. 31.
District 6 Council Member Fue Xiong cast the lone dissenting vote against the resolution.
“I’m on the other side, I think that we need to have an election,” Xiong said, after the council heard public comment. “As Jesse (Ornelas) mentioned previously, democracy isn’t easy. It’s not convenient,” he added.
Ornelas, a former District 1 council member and current program director at Youth Leadership Institute, spoke in support of a special election.
“To hear that the cost of it is something that should deter us from having an election, that’s just absurd to me,” Xiong said.
A vote-by-mail special election, according to the Merced County Registrar of Voters, would cost the city between $50,000 and $60,000.
District 2 covers southeast Merced, a region community members and residents say is already underrepresented. It includes the area south of 13th Street, the Merced Regional Airport and Wardrobe Avenue.
“The lack of care and concern for the people there is very alarming,” LaTanya Ri’Chard, a former District 2 resident, wrote to council members in support of a special election.
A special election, she said, would be a fair chance for District 2 residents to choose someone to represent them.
If council members don’t appoint someone within 30 days from the last council meeting, the process for filling the vacancy could move into a special election.
Council members will meet 6 p.m. Dec. 2. for a special meeting to consider applications for the vacant District 2 seat. Interviews and a possible appointment will be held Dec. 2, according to the City Clerk’s Office, with mandatory attendance.
Residents of District 2 can apply in person at the Merced Civic Center at 678 W 18th St. or online at CityofMerced.Gov.