RANCHO PALOS VERDES : Special Vote to Fill Council Seat
A split City Council could not agree on a candidate to fill a vacant seat and now must declare a special election that could cost the city up to $70,000.
Tuesday was the final day allowed by state law for the council to appoint a fifth council member to fill the seat vacated by Steven T. Kuykendall when he won election to the state Assembly in November. It was the council’s second failed attempt to appoint someone for the term that ends in November, 1995.
If the council calls the special election on June 6, the next available date, the city might be able to share the cost. The Los Angeles Community College District, which is holding an election in April, holds runoff elections in June. The district has had a runoff every year since 1985, said City Clerk Jo Purcell.
Fifteen candidates applied for the open position. Councilwomen Marilyn Lyon and Susan Brooks said they would only vote for Planning Commissioner Kim Wang to replace Kuykendall.
Mayor Lee Byrd and Councilman John C. McTaggart offered lists of up to six candidates they would vote for. But at the council’s last meeting, Byrd and McTaggart refused to vote for Wang.
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