Coronado will soon be led by a new mayor and two new City Council members — but the results of the November election are set to shake up the city’s leadership even more in the coming months.
Councilmember John Duncan was elected mayor, beating out his council colleagues Casey Tanaka and Mike Donovan. But because he’s served only half his four-year term, one of the new council’s first tasks will be to decide how to fill the vacancy he creates.
State law gives it two options: a council appointment or a special election.
The mayor and four council members must determine whether to proceed with an appointment or special election within 60 days of the vacancy. And they seem to be moving quickly — a city spokesperson said they will decide when they meet Dec. 17, the same day the newly elected officials will be sworn into office.
There are signs that the city could be divided on the decision.
“My feeling right now, short of any discussion or dialogue on that, would be that we would appoint somebody,” Mark Fleming, who just won a council seat, told The San Diego Union-Tribune, citing the costs of a special election.
“I would hope the City Council could come to an agreement on who could be assigned to those remaining two years,” he added.
Duncan said he is also inclined toward a council appointment.
Other council candidates — such as Christine Mott and Laura Wilkinson Sinton — said they would prefer a special election, since it would put the decision in the hands of Coronado voters.
With ballots still being counted, Sinton currently has the third most support in the at-large race for two open council seats, only about 70 votes behind Amy Steward.
“The fact of the matter is that free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democracy, and it reshuffles everything depending on who’s elected,” Sinton said on election night.
Steward could not be reached before publication but previously said she would comment once election results were final.
Coronado was required to hold a special election for council vacancies until 2021, when the city code provision was repealed and the council voted to follow state code, which offers the two options.
If the city holds a special election, any eligible candidates could run — including those who lose the November election, if they so choose.
There is a timeframe for a special election, though — state law requires it to be held at least 114 days after the call for it. The city spokesperson said the council would contact the county Registrar of Voters to determine possible dates.
If the council decides to appoint a new member, it’s at the city’s discretion to determine how they are selected. But the council must appoint someone within 60 days if they go that route.
Duncan said on election night that he thinks it should be an application process, followed by a public hearing, before the council votes on who to appoint.
“I don’t want to force someone in; I want to put someone in that the community is like, ‘OK, that makes a lot of sense,’” he said.
The new council member, whether selected by appointment or through a special election, would serve the remainder of Duncan’s term, which ends in late 2026.
