City Council still can't agree on mayoral replacement

Menifee City Council members (from left) Matt Liesemeyer, Lesa Sobek, Greg August and John Denver couldn't agree on the selection of a new mayor at Wednesday night's meeting. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Menifee City Council members, who stressed the importance of being unified in carrying on Neil Winter's vision following his death a month ago, were anything but unified on Wednesday night.

For the second consecutive council meeting since Winter's May 19 death created a mayoral vacancy, the council failed to reach a decision regarding his replacement. That indecision killed any chance of a public election for mayor in November. It also now requires that the council appoint a mayor by July 18 -- end of the 60-day period mandated by law -- to avoid a much more expensive election in March 2019.

Assistant city attorney Ajit Thind -- filling in for city attorney Jeffrey Melching, who is on vacation -- repeated the same staff report Melching provided to council members at the June 6 meeting. That referred to Government Code 34902, which states, in part, the following:

In the case of a vacancy in the office of the mayor for any reason, the council shall fill the vacancy by appointment. If the council fails to fill it within 60 days, it shall call an election to fill the vacancy to be held on the next established election date to be held not less than 114 days thereafter.

Melching's original staff report, as re-stated by Thind, actually gave council members three options: Appoint a new mayor by July 18, do nothing and force an election in March 2019, or adopt an ordinance that would allow for an election in November. Following those options, Melching presented his interpretation of the government code, stating that "the City Council has a duty to fill the vacancy by appointing an individual to serve out the balance of Mayor Winter’s term."

Asked to confirm that statement Wednesday night, Thind said, "We have interpreted the word shall as duty."

The ensuing discussion among the four council members quickly revealed that Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Sobek and council members Greg August and John Denver favored an appointment, while council member Matt Liesemeyer stood by his previous stance that the people should be allowed to decide in an election. Yet even though three of the four favored an appointment, none could come up with a nominee that received a majority of votes.

The first motion was made by August, who nominated Sobek to serve as mayor for the remainder of Winter's term through November 2020. His request for a second to his motion was met with silence. As Thind was starting to declare it a failed motion, and as August whispered to Sobek, she finally seconded the motion herself. It resulted in a 2-2 vote because of "no" votes from Liesemeyer and Denver.

Thind said there is no law preventing a nominated appointee from seconding a motion for his or herself.

"It's not a conflict of interest," he said after the meeting. "There’s barely any additional income in the office of mayor. It is not a government 1090 violation because that only relates to contracts.

"This kind of thing happens. The government code specifically provides that the city council can appoint someone to fill the mayor’s role. It certainly doesn’t say it can’t be one of them."

Following the failed motion, August then made a motion to appoint Robert Karwin, a current City of Menifee planning commissioner. Sobek seconded that motion but again, Liesemeyer and Denver voted no. August then made a motion to appoint Bill Zimmerman, a former planning commissioner, current member of the Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission, trustee for Mt. San Jacinto College and a previous city council candidate. The motion failed to receive a second.

At that point, with no further motions, the item was continued until the next council meeting. Because there is only one meeting in July due to a holiday and vacations, that date is July 18 -- too late for an ordinance to require a November election and the last day an appointment could be made before a March 2019 election is automatically put into place.

According to the staff report, a mayoral election held in November would've cost between $37,000 and $47,000. To hold a special election in the next possible election cycle -- March 2019 -- the cost would be an estimated $200,000 or more.

Thus if someone on the council doesn't given in and change their vote or propose a successful motion at the July 18 meeting, a $200,000 election will be held in March and the city council will remain four members for the next nine months.

Is such a change of heart possible?

"I don’t know," Liesemeyer said after the meeting, insisting he continues to believe an appointment is the wrong choice. "The three of them have to get together and figure together who to agree on. But you can’t legally do that."

By law, council members are not allowed to meet outside council chambers to discuss issues.

In a poll of readers conducted by Menifee 24/7 earlier this month, 72 of 100 respondents said they preferred an election to choose the next mayor. Other social media sites have shown similar results. Sobek and August said their personal conversations with residents indicated otherwise.

"My personal experience has been that it has been about a 5-1 margin to appoint," Sobek said during the meeting. "In my recent conversations, it seems there is a misunderstanding about the city mayor. The role is ceremonial. The city manager runs the day to day operations."

After the meeting, August agreed with Sobek.

"My results are the same as Lesa's," August said. "It has been pretty high in favor of an appointment."

Asked if he disputed the validity of the Menifee 24/7 poll and other comments on social media, August had this response:

"It depends on how you guys frame the question. If they talk to someone with experience and who knows some of the answers, they’re probably going to answer the question differently."

August was then asked whether he believed the council members could come to an agreement on an appointment July 18 before triggering a $200,000 election.

"I think the fact we’re going to look at spending $212,000 to $220,000 could have an impact on people’s decisions," he said. "I could be wrong."

Denver also stated during the meeting that he favored an appointment, saying, "If you elect someone who was not already on the council, how long is it going to take the person to learn the job? How long did it take Mayor Winter?"

Although he is termed out as a council member in November, Denver could serve as mayor if appointed because that is considered a separate council position. August and Liesemeyer have stated they would decline an appointment, leaving only Sobek and Denver among current council members. Denver was not nominated Wednesday night and did not second anyone's motion.

"It's not right," Liesemeyer said about the failure to pass an ordinance allowing for a November mayoral election. "I’ve had a few people who said 'just appoint, get it over with and keep moving forward,' but everyone else I talked to, read on social media, spoke to randomly on the street, said, 'You’ve got to let that go to an election.'

"We should never be in a position where we as the council choose our leader. Lesa, when you came on council it was because you were voted in by the people. It's been proven time and again that the people make good choices.

"My stance is nothing personal against the three people who were nominated tonight. I think they all would be great at the job. But it needs to be decided by the people, not us."