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ATWATER -- Wednesday night's special City Council meeting in Atwater was a mixture of politics, emotions and legal explanations.
The special session of the Atwater City Council was held to decide how to fill the empty seat of Joe Rivero. Rivero died Nov. 6.
The council had a list of options to choose from.
The first option, which they ultimately chose, was to wait until the two newly elected council members, Joe Rivero, son of the councilman who died, and Gary Frago, are sworn in on Dec. 2, then begin the interviewing process for an appointee.
The second option was to appoint someone during Wednesday's meeting, therefore disallowing Lesa Rasmussen, a sitting council member, from being appointed.
The third option called for a special election, which would have cost the city up to $25,000.
The fourth option would have entailed passing an ordinance governed by certain constraints that would fix the rules for filling empty seats in the future.
Before the council deliberated or voted on which action to take, Rasmussen, who still holds the seat she lost in the Nov. 4 election, recused herself from the meeting. She plans to apply for the empty seat once her term runs out on Dec. 2.
More than 40 people filled the council chambers on Wednesday night, including much of the Rivero clan.
Some in the audience called for a special election and others wanted the city to fill the seat as quickly as possible by appointment.
The younger Rivero, who will be sworn in Dec. 2, told the council that he would like to see the voters decide on who fills his father's empty seat.
"I believe it should have been left up to the voters of Atwater," he said, in regard to his desire for a special election.
His brother, Jeff Rivero, agreed and said he would be vying for any position, elected or appointed, filling his father's seat. "I would like to be appointed in my father's position," he said with a shaky voice. "We are willing to sell our house and move to Atwater to fill his position."
Mike Teater, an Atwater resident, said he thought the city shouldn't spend a bunch of money on a new election, they should just appoint someone to fill the seat.
Sylvia Bullock, another resident, agreed. "I certainly feel the council should fill the seat by appointment," she said.
The undertone of many of the public comments had to do with two vying forces: Rasmussen's political future and the legacy of the elder Rivero.
Todd White, a resident of Atwater, pointed out that the city's residents had spoken in the Nov. 4 election.
"The city spoke. They said, 'We don't want those two people running our city,'" he said, alluding to Eileen Duddy and Rasmussen, who came in third and fourth respectively.
Applications for the open seat can be found at city hall and are due at 5 p.m. Dec. 2.
Interviews will be held by the council on Dec. 3. Each candidate will be given five questions by the council and then allowed an opening and closing statement.
If all goes according to plan, a new City Council member will be seated on Dec. 3.
Reporter Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at (209)385-2484 or jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.
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