12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 12-18, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Despite its small size—or perhaps because of it—there’s rarely a dull moment in Del Rey Oaks politics. When Scott Donaldson edged out Alison Kerr in November to become the city’s mayor, it left the City Council with some unfinished business: Donaldson, who had been a council member with two years remaining in his term, left a vacant seat. Monterey faced a similar situation when Dan Albert Jr. lost his bid for mayor, vacating his council seat. City Council quickly filled it through an appointment process that saw 11 qualified applicants, and in a 4-0 vote, the council appointed Gino Garcia on Dec. 12. On Jan. 5, Del Rey Oaks City Council discussed how to go about filling that seat and the process became a point of contention. City staff offered two potential options, one being to appoint someone through a process at the council’s discretion, the other to put it out to the voters in a special election that wouldn’t occur until Nov. 7. Several members of the public showed up to the meeting to express their support for appointing Kerr to the open seat. Newly elected councilmember John Uy made a motion to directly appoint Kerr, which was seconded by councilmember Kim Shirley (both are Kerr supporters). Newly elected councilmember Jeremy Hallock said he couldn’t support the motion, noting a direct appointment of Kerr was not on the night’s agenda. “I’m not prepared to move forward this evening without a deeper dive there,” he said. Shirley said she was concerned the council would end up in a split 2-2 vote and not be able to decide on a candidate, adding that it would “warm her heart” if Kerr were appointed. “I’d like to see us all work together,” she added. But Donaldson expressed similar sentiments as Hallock, and felt it was important to open up the application process before appointing someone. After Uy’s motion failed, Hallock made a motion to accept applications until Jan. 18. That motion was later amended, at Uy’s suggestion, for the council to convene a special meeting in order to decide on a rubric by which to judge the applicants, as Uy expressed concern members would otherwise vote for their friends. “I want a set of criteria,” Uy said. “I want to know, as a councilmember, how I am going to choose the right councilmember.” That special meeting was scheduled for Jan. 11 at 6pm, after the Weekly went to press. While Shirley had expressed concern in the meeting about the council having a split vote, City Manager John Guertin says he’s confident the council will be able to come to a consensus on this matter and others. “My experience of all of these folks they put the best interest of the city first,” Guertin says. “When I got this job I was told there would be a 3-2 split, but the majority of business we got done the last few years was with unanimous votes.” After the rubric is established, the council will consider the applicants at a Jan. 24 meeting. Kerr says she is not yet sure whether she will apply. Even Number With a four-person council, the process to fill a vacant seat in Del Rey Oaks might get interesting. By David Schmalz “You want someone who’s got the ability, and who’s got the experience to do the job right off the bat,” said DRO Mayor Scott Donaldson at a Jan. 5 meeting. NEWS “I want a set of criteria.” DANIEL DREIFUSS 26200 Carmel Rancho Blvd 831-626-7555 Open 9-6 Daily TheRawConnection.com OFF FROZEN RAW FOOD 20% IN-STORE ONLY THRU JAN 31
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