Council Seat May Stay Vacant for Months Until Special Election

With Assemblywoman-elect Juanita McDonald expected to resign from the Carson City Council Monday morning, there were strong indications this week that political differences would stymie any appointment to fill her post, forcing a special election.

Two council members--Sylvia Muise-Perez and Kay Calas--say they strongly favor holding a special election, arguing that an appointment to the five-member panel would undermine the right of voters to select their representatives.

The other two members--Mayor Michael I. Mitoma and Pete Fajardo--express reservations, saying that without an appointment, McDonald’s seat would remain vacant at least until June--the earliest a special election could be held. But, they say, they are nevertheless leaning toward an election only because they believe no prospective appointee could capture the necessary three votes to gain a seat.

“The way it’s shaping up it looks like an election,” Councilman Pete Fajardo said, adding that he does not plan to make a final decision on the issue for another two weeks.

The council vacancy is a result of McDonald’s election Nov. 3 to the state Assembly’s 55th District, which includes Carson, Wilmington and Compton. The council has 30 days from the time McDonald tenders her resignation to either appoint somebody--any Carson resident at least 18 years old--or call an election.

At the City Council meeting tonight, McDonald plans to announce that she will resign at 11:59 a.m. Monday--a minute before she is sworn in to her Assembly seat in Sacramento, McDonald said. She will have a ceremonial swearing-in after tonight’s meeting.

McDonald’s replacement--elected or appointed--would serve the remainder of her term, which expires in April, 1994.

Mitoma said his principal concern with having a four-member council is that if two members are absent, the council would lack a quorum to meet because three members must be present for the council to conduct business.

Mitoma said he would consider any proposal for an appointment--McDonald, he said, has hinted that her son, Keith, who managed her winning Assembly campaign, would make an ideal choice. But the mayor said he doubted the votes could be mustered.

Councilwomen Sylvia Muise-Perez and Kay Calas said they would move for a special election because they believe voters should have a say in who serves on the council.

As for the months the council would operate with a vacant seat, Calas said: “That’s a concern, but I feel strongly that it should be up to the people.”

Four years ago, Calas voted for the appointment of John Anderson to fill a vacancy created by the death of Councilman Thomas G. Mills. Now, she said, her views have changed on appointments.

Asked about her 1988 vote, she said: “We live and we learn.”

“Ever since I have been in politics I have been in favor of the people selecting their representatives,” said Muise-Perez, who voted against Anderson’s appointment. Previous vacancies were filled by special election during her 10-year tenure on the council, according to city records. Said Muise-Perez: “They didn’t elect me to appoint people.”

McDonald said she believes her son, Keith, 29, would make a good council member because he has shown political savvy in running her campaign and working as a field deputy for the Clinton-Gore presidential campaign.

“He’s certainly bright enough and has the background as my campaign manager,” she said.

Moreover, she said, his appointment would help address concerns in the city’s African-American community that the council will no longer have an African-American once she steps down.

“The community, especially the African-American community, feels that seat must be filled by an African-American,” McDonald said.

Keith McDonald said he would be honored to serve on the council, but added that he could not say if he would accept until the time comes. He said he has made no decision about running if a special election is called.