On Wednesday, the Oakley City Council agreed to appoint Aaron Meadows and Anissa Williams to the council versus holding an election.
The move was approved in a 2-1 vote with Councilmembers Hugh Henderson and Shannon Shaw in favor and George Fuller dissenting — Meadows and Williams recused themselves from the discussion.
The appointment of Meadows and Williams comes as the nomination period had come and gone without either being challenged. By not having an election, allowing possibly a write-in candidate to emerge, the city now saves up to $45,000 in costs.
Even with the cost savings, Councilman George Fuller urged they continue on with the election and allow write-in candidates.
“The candidate statements have been filed, there are a lot of issues that are involved and I am sure the people would like to look at the candidate statements that will be available to review them,” stated Fuller. “I am sure councilmember Meadows would like to get in one more time that he has been 6 generations with his family in Oakley and I am sure councilmember Williams would like to get her statement in that she single-handedly got E Cypress corridor got funded.”
He wanted to allow members of the community to petition as a write-in candidate.
Councilmember Hugh Henderson disagreed saying they had the ability to save between $28k-$44k to the city.
“If there had been people interested and discussion of a write-in, I could see discussion with that, but not seeing anybody showing any interest. I can’t see spending the money to run the election. I would support appointing the two members,’ said Henderson.
Vice Mayor Shannon Shaw explained in her campaign she was happy to have a write-in campaign and didn’t want to be appointed.
“I feel like because these two candidates did get uncontested and have already been elected at one point, I would support doing the appointment to save the city a significant amount of money,” said Shaw.
The council voted 2-1 with Fuller dissenting to cancel elections in District 1 and 3.
District 5 Race
While there will be appointments in District 1 and 3, the District 5 race will go on like any other city council race where incumbent George Fuller faces two challengers:
- Cristina Pena Langley, a teacher
- Oleskii Chuiko, Oakley Planning Commissioner
Meadows & Williams Recuse Themselves
City Attorney Derek Cole advised there was an economic benefit to Meadows and Williams even though neither had an opponent because they receive a stipend. In response, Meadows and Williams recused themselves from the discussion.
Election Costs
According to the staff report, District 1 has 5,649 voters and District 3 has 5,736 voters. The estimated cost of the election is $2.50-$4.00 per registered voter, therefore the estimated cost is $14,122.50-$22,596 to hold the election for District 1 and $14,340-$22,944 for District 3 – for a total of up to $45,540.
As of the close of the nomination period, staff had not been contacted by anyone expressing interest in being a write-in candidate for any of the districts.
2022 Election, District 4
In the 2022 election, District 4 moved forward with an election where Shannon Shaw was the only person on the ballot – due to another candidate having insufficient minimum signatures and was ultimately not qualified. The council then moved forward with an election to allow the write-in candidate campaign to occur. Shaw won in a landslide with 89.65% of the vote
2024 Election
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