Rialto City Council Rejects Motion to Draft Ordinance Addressing Vacancies

The Rialto City Council on Tuesday voted down a motion to draft an ordinance intended to streamline the process of filling vacant council seats. 

The motion to draft the ordinance failed by a narrow 3-2 margin, with Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott and Councilmembers Andy Carrizales and Edward Montoya Jr. voting no. 

Residents who supported the highest vote-getter approach argued that it would bring greater transparency and fairness to the process, reducing the potential for partisan maneuvering or lengthy appointment deliberations. 

After the vote, residents criticized the council for misunderstanding the community’s concerns about their proposal.

“You all wanted to make the next highest vote-getter about Ana Gonzalez,” resident Brenda Parker said. “It was not about her. It was about the next highest vote-getter, period, no matter who it would have been.”

The proposed ordinance sought to establish a clear protocol for filling vacancies. Under its terms, the seat would automatically go to the next highest vote-getter from the most recent election. If that individual was unavailable, the position would pass to the second or third highest vote-getters, presumably ensuring continuity while respecting voter preferences.

Currently, the ordinance defaults to state law, which requires the Council to fill a vacancy through appointment or special election if a vacancy occurs within the last two years of the term. 

If a vacancy occurs within the first two years, however, “You have to go to a special election,” said City Attorney Eric Vail. 

Under a potential highest vote-getter scenario, Ana Gonzalez—a candidate in November’s city council election—would have been the person appointed to the seat. Gonzalez told KVCR in December that she would continue to fight for a seat on the council regardless of the outcome. 

But on Tuesday, Gonzalez, visibly distraught and speaking through her tears, emphasized the community’s feelings of disenfranchisement. 

“I stand before you, perhaps naively, again, but with hope,” Gonzalez said as she regained composure, “hope that this council will listen to its constituents, who have patiently waited for their voices to be heard and be respected.”

Following Montoya’s appointment to fill Baca’s vacant seat last week, long-time Rialto resident Charmaine Chapman Moorehead claimed that the process was “orchestrated.”

“You disenfranchised my vote,” Moorehead said. “Ana Gonzalez got 7,209 votes, and I was one of them. The way you guys selected and appointed . . . with all due respect to you. Mr. Montoya, it was just a disgrace.”

Councilmember Scott didn’t respond to The Frontline Observer’s requests for comment. But Scott said at the council meeting it didn’t make sense to appoint the runner-up from the previous election if that election occurred three to four years prior. 

“The policy of the city has always been to appoint or go to a special election,” said Scott. 

While many residents expressed their support for the ordinance, Roberto Solese was less sure. 

He explained that appointing the runner-up from the previous election may not be the “appropriate action to take,” because “a lot can happen” between election cycles and voter sentiment may have changed. 

“The current system of interviewing and appointing people has not steered us too far off,” Solese said. “Should we do anything, I’d probably say special election, but, if not, leave the system as it is in place.”

This article was originally published by our media partners, The Frontline Observer.