The results of the special election for County Supervisor, District 2, indicate that the current Mayor of the City of Costa Mesa, Katrina Foley, will be sworn in to that seat this month, after the election has been certified by the Orange County Registrar of Voters. This will create a vacancy in the directly elected Mayor position in Costa Mesa.
A vacancy in the directly elected mayoral position is governed by California Government Code Section 34902(a), which provides, in part, “In the case of a vacancy in the office of the [elected] mayor for any reason, the council shall fill the vacancy by appointment. If the council fails to fill it within 60 days, it shall call an election to fill the vacancy to be held on the next established election date to be held not less than 114 days thereafter. A person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent.”
Given the critical role of the Mayor for the City, an item will be placed on the City Council meeting agenda on Tuesday, March 16th to discuss the process by which the City Council will appoint the new Mayor.