Democracy Inaction

Imperial Beach councilman Fred McLean died of cancer on Sunday, May 24. Three days later, former mayor Diane Rose was appointed by the city council to fill his seat, despite the fact that an ad had been placed in the Imperial Beach’s Eagle & Times newspaper inviting applicants to apply for the position by June 4.

City clerk Jacqueline Hald said the City saw the recent difficulty faced by the Poway City Council when filling the vacant seat left after the passing of former mayor Mickey Cafagna last month: “…two special city council meetings, four hours of interviews, and two hours of back-and-forth squabbling,” according to Dorian Hargrove.

“Basically, we learned from them,” said Hald.

Diane Rose, who served eight years on the council and eight years as mayor of I.B., was attending the May 27 council meeting and agreed to temporarily fill the seat.

Hald said that the city would wait until a November 2010 special election to offer McLean’s seat; it will be a two-year term, completing McLean’s four-year term that ends in 2012. Having a special election now, according to Hald, would cost about $130,000.