With the unexpected resignation of Hollister City Councilman Roy Sims on March 6, after fewer than four months service to District 4, the city is in search of his replacement, announcing this week that it will be accepting applications through 5 p.m. on April 7.
City Manager Bill Avera said the council is asking anyone who resides in District 4 and is interested in being considered to submit a letter of interest along with a résumé to the city clerk by the deadline. Applicants will be interviewed on April 17, beginning at 4 p.m., before the regular city council meeting.
“They’ll make their selection and later that evening there’ll be an item on the agenda for them to actually appoint the person,” he said. “The appointee will be a council member until November 2018, at our next scheduled general election.”
To qualify to serve as a council member, a person must be a resident of the district and be at least 18 years old. In commenting about someone as young as 18 being chosen, Avera said some communities have done well with younger people on their city councils. He said he thinks a potential candidate should understand the role of local government and what their duties and responsibilities would be as a council member.
“The one thing that gets missed a lot is how much time council members have to dedicate to doing city business,” Avera said, “and it doesn’t pay real well.” Avera said council members receive a stipend of about $400 a month along with health insurance coverage.
There is a precedent to appoint the next council member rather than have a special election, which would cost $40,000 or more, Avera said.
“We have done a few by appointment in the past when seats were vacated,” he said. “This one will be the longest period of time, about a year-and-a-half, to have an appointee.”
Regarding the point that the person chosen to replace Sims will have the advantage of incumbency during the 2018 general election, Avera said someone who commits that amount of time should not be prevented from running for election, especially if they’ve done a good job.
“It may be an unfair advantage, but the goal is that we get the best people available,” he said. “I don’t want to disqualify somebody just because they’ve been doing it for a year-and-a-half. That’s just my personal opinion, but I think some council members have said they want to appoint someone who wouldn’t run, just for that reason. I’m not sure that’s going to stick.”
Avera said what will be of particular significance during the 2018 general election is that for the first time, four council seats will be up for grabs.
“That’s unprecedented,” he said. “There’ll be the Klauer and Luna seats, the mayor’s seat, and the District 4 seat. The only one not running will be Ray Friend. That election, for District 4, will only be for a two-year term; then it will get back on the normal four-year cycle.”
The interviews for all who have submitted their names for consideration will be conducted in a public forum before the regular council meeting on April 17.
“The council will ask the candidates questions and they’ll probably have 15 or 20 minutes to answer,” Avera said. “Then, we’ll most likely go into closed session, they’ll deliberate it, and then come out and appoint the person.”
Avera said March 21 that at least four people have shown an interest in being considered for the seat. Two confirmed applicants are Tim Burns, who ran against Roy Sims, and Keith Snow, who has run for the mayor’s seat three times. Avera said if that number of applicants should increase substantially, the interviews might have to begin as soon as 2 p.m.
Applications must include a cover letter and a résumé, and may be submitted via email to CityClerk@Hollister.ca.gov or in person at the City Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 375 Fifth St. in Hollister. Interested parties may also telephone the City Clerk, Tom Graves, at 831-636-4300, ext. 16 with questions.
You must be logged in to post a comment.