Earlier this month members of the San Fernando City Council voted 3-1 in favor of holding a special election on March 5, 2024, to fill the vacant council seat left following the passing of Councilmember Cindy Montañez. The much-loved councilmember died on Oct. 21 after battling an aggressive cancer.
Mayor Celeste T. Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Mary Mendoza and Councilmember Joel Fajardo voted for the special election during their Nov. 6 meeting. Councilmember Mary Solorio voted against it. The March 5 date will coincide with the statewide presidential primary election. The winning candidate will serve the remainder of what would have been Montañez’s four-year term, which ends in November of 2024. The estimated cost of the special election will be approximately $65,000.
Whoever is voted in as the fifth councilmember has the potential to play a pivotal role, particularly if issues arise that could evenly split the vote among the existing four councilmembers. In those situations, as it has been the case in the past, the person who wins the fifth seat could be a tie-breaking vote.
Nick Kimball, city manager for the City of San Fernando, said he believes that any councilmember could provide a potentially tie-breaking vote at any given time depending on the resolution or ordinance, adding that “all five elected officials [will] all play pivotal roles.”
“They’re all elected to be a voice of the community [and] many of our councilmembers have different constituencies throughout the city, so it’s important that voters get out there and vote for the candidate that best reflects their viewpoints, their policy stance,” said Kimball.
“The person [elected] will be very influential – as are all the councilmembers – on what the future of the City of San Fernando will look like going forward. Their vision for the city is going to be critical to how we will operate over the next five or 10 years, so this is definitely an important election.”
The winning candidate will be elected by a simple majority vote. At press time, two potential candidates had pulled papers for a possible City Council run: Sylvia Ballin, former mayor of the City of San Fernando, and Sean M. Rivas, who is on the Planning and Preservation Committee and chair of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley. Current councilmembers are already behind the scenes weighing in on the two candidates. Typically, their support goes to the candidate they believe will vote in sync with them.
Nomination papers can be obtained from the office of the City Clerk during the official nomination period, which closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8. Each potential candidate who submits completed paperwork also needs to provide 20 verified signatures of local residents.
While there isn’t a city fee to submit the paperwork for City Council candidacy, the city collects the estimated LA County fees for those who want to include a candidate statement in the sample ballot booklet – $500 for a statement in English, or $1,000 for both English and Spanish.
Those interested in running for City Council are asked to schedule an appointment to receive information regarding nomination papers by calling the Department of the City Clerk at (818) 898-1204. For more information, visit the city website at SFCity.org/Elections.