At its January 8 meeting, the Lafayette City Council will discuss next steps on how it will fill a future vacancy on the City Council.
The move comes as Councilmember Teresa Gerringer announced in December that she will resign her position on the Lafayette City Council effective January 23, 2024 due to family reasons. Her City Council term expires in November of 2026.
In her letter of resignation, Gerringer said:
“It has been my honor to serve the residents of Lafayette for almost 23 years, first as an elected member of the Lafayette School District Governing Board and for the last five years as an elected member of the Lafayette City Council.
Thank you to the residents of Lafayette for allowing me to represent and work with them, my colleagues on the Council, the excellent Lafayette City staff, the business community, the schools, students, parents, and teachers, and the many committed volunteers and community organizations, all who work together to protect and enhance the quality of life in Lafayette.
Public service, leadership, solving problems, and helping others has been the most fulfilling professional and volunteer work that I have done.”
According to the staff report, The City Council must fill the vacancy within 60 days and the person appointed to fill the vacancy on the City Council holds office until the next regularly scheduled municipal election.
The next regularly scheduled municipal election will be November 5, 2024. Therefore, the City Council should appoint a person to fill the vacancy until the November 5, 2024 election. That election will include 4 Council seats, a two year term, and three, four year terms.
Staff is recommending that the City Council announce the vacancy this evening and direct the City Clerk to advertise the position for two weeks and accept applications until one week prior to the first scheduled interview. This was the process and timing followed during the last vacancy. We also recommend setting two dates in February to schedule interviews and ultimately adopt the resolution to fill the vacancy on the City Council within 60 days of January 23rd, which is March 23rd.
Staff also recommends that the Mayor and Vice Mayor prepare a set of interview questions for Council’s consideration and approval at the January 22nd meeting.
Recommendations
- Announce the vacancy on the City Council.
- Direct the City Clerk to advertise the position for two weeks and accept applications until one week prior to the first interview.
- Direct the Mayor and Vice Mayor to draft interview questions for consideration by the Council at the January 22nd meeting.
- Schedule two interview dates for candidate interviews and ultimately adopt the resolution to fill the vacancy.
Lafayette City Council Meeting
Jan 8, 2024 at 7:00 pm.
Lafayette Library & Learning Center-Don Tatzin Community Hall
3491 Mt. Diablo Boulevard Lafayette, California
Staff Report – click here
