Poway’s District 1 Council member Brian Pepin has announced his intention to resign from the City Council, citing increased work in his political consulting career.
The decision comes as the council is preparing for a turnover in one or possibly two of the seats after the November election.
“I’m emailing to let you know that I will be stepping away from the City Council effective upon my seat being filled with a replacement,” Pepin stated in a Nov. 25 message to City Manager Chris Hazeltine. “My work in political consulting and communications consulting has expanded and grown since I joined the City Council, and I’m choosing to focus on continuing to grow my business in the coming years.”
Pepin, senior vice president of the 1892 LLC political consulting firm, said he has gained more clients since joining the national firm three years ago. He has served on the council for two years and was chairman of the city’s Budget Review Committee from 2019 to 2022.
“I love Poway, it’s where I’m raising my family,” said Pepin, who has three children ages 3 to 9 years old with his wife, Kim. “Public service is something that’s always been important to me.”
Pepin’s term is set to expire after the November 2026 General Municipal Election.
The Poway City Council is in the midst of a close election, with narrow leads in Districts 2 and 4.
In District 2, candidate Tony Blain leads the pack with 37.82% of the votes followed by candidate Vanessa Springett with 34.25% and candidate Jared Wilson with 27.93%. Blain is ahead of Springett by 262 votes.
In District 4, candidate Jenny Maeda is ahead of incumbent Caylin Frank by a razor-thin margin. Maeda has collected 50.03%, or 2,445, of the votes compared to Frank’s 49.97%, or 2,442 votes. That gives Maeda the lead by only three votes.
The county Registrar of Voters reported it has 20,000 more votes to count as of Wednesday morning. The next updated count of votes is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27.
Poway City Council members are scheduled to consider their options in replacing Pepin at their Dec. 3 meeting.
According to a city staff report, the council must take action within 60 days of the start of a vacancy to fill a vacancy. Although the District 1 vacancy technically does not exist yet, the city expects to either appoint a replacement for the remainder of Pepin’s term or call a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term by Jan. 24, 2025.
Since a special election needs to be scheduled not less than 114 days from the call of the special election, the earliest election date for a council member replacement would be November 2025, the staff report said.
A special election could cost the city roughly $175,000 to $300,000, according to a Registrar of Voters estimate provided in 2023. This is an unbudgeted cost, the staff report states.
The alternative is having the City Council make an appointment to fill the vacancy.
“Because the vacancy occurred within the second half of Council member Pepin’s term, the appointment would be for the remainder of the term,” the staff report states. “In this situation, Council member Pepin will hold the office until appointment of a replacement, and he could vote on the appointment, as is permitted in cities with a by-district method of election.”
The appointment would require a majority vote of the council at the Dec. 3 meeting or other another meeting held before or on Friday, Jan. 24.
If the council members choose an immediate appointment, they could select a replacement on Dec. 3 and the City Clerk could administer the oath of office with the new council member being seated immediately.
If the council chooses to make an appointment later, they would announce the vacancy and solicit applications, set a filing deadline for the submission of applications, and conduct a public meeting to hold interviews and make a selection.
Pepin said he does not have a recommendation for his replacement and will be flexible about leaving his office depending on what the other City Council members decide.
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