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Though the Board of Supervisors Aug. 11 meeting agenda indicated it was set to consider asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill the vacant District 5 seat following the recall of Ignacio Velazquez, the supervisors opted not to do so.
Instead, they approved a letter simply notifying the governor’s appointment secretary of the vacancy and informing the state that District 5 voters will choose a representative to fill the vacancy in the Nov. 3 general election.
“So the governor then understands the period in which the appointment would serve, should the governor wish to appoint,” County Counsel Gregory Priamos said.
Priamos told BenitoLink that Newsom has the authority to make an appointment even if the board does not request it. He also said there is no timeline for Newsom to make an appointment.
Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki, who is also a target of a recall effort, said it was “illogical” to ask Newsom to make an appointment because of the timeline.
“If somebody was to be appointed, it probably would not happen until maybe October, probably not even October,” he said. “The person who wins in November will take the seat immediately.”
Chief Deputy Clerk-Recorder Ana De Castro Maquiz previously told BenitoLink the winner of the District 5 election would fill the seat as soon as the San Benito County Election’s Office certifies the election results and that person is sworn in.
According to its candidate handbook, the elections office has until Dec. 3 to certify the results.
When the board first considered the letter to the Governor, Supervisor Angela Curro sought clarification on whether the board is required to ask the governor to make an appointment. She noted the agenda item report stated the county is “requesting that the Governor make an appointment pursuant to Section 25060.”
Priamos said the letter did not include a request for an appointment, but added it was the board’s choice if it wished to make such a request.
He told BenitoLink the agenda stated the county was to request an appointment because he used “language I had previously used with respect to several supervisorial vacancies in Riverside County as Riverside county counsel.”
Curro noted there was no copy of the draft letter included in the agenda packet.
Asked why the agenda did not include a copy of the proposed letter, Priamos told BenitoLink, “We first had to receive direction from the board as to how the letter should read.”
BenitoLink requested a copy of the letter from Priamos, who directed BenitoLink to the Clerk of the Board Vanessa Delgado. BenitoLink had not received the letter at the time of publication.
Asked if the contents of the letter changed following the board’s approval, Priamos said “it reflects the board’s direction today.”
At the meeting, Supervisor Dom Zanger, acting as board chair, also assigned committee appointments previously held by Velazquez among the current board members.
- Vice-Chair: Supervisor Mindy Sotelo
- Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: Zanger as alternate
- Council of San Benito County Governments: Zanger as primary and Sotelo as alternate
- Fire Protection Committee: Zanger as primary and Curro as alternate
- San Benito County Local Agency Formation Commission: Curro as alternate
- Governance Committee: Curro
- Housing Policy Reform Ad Hoc: Kosmicki
- Affordable Housing Ad Hoc: Kosmicki
- Library Ad Hoc: Sotelo
- Roads Committee: dissolved
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