Who wants to be a Livingston council member? City’s staff to find out

In one of their first acts as a new board, Livingston City Council members took steps this week toward filling a seat left vacant after an election winner resigned this month.

Mayor Jim Soria, who ran unopposed, and Councilmen Juan Aguilar Jr. and Arturo Sicairos took their oaths of office in Livingston on Tuesday. Aguilar and Sicairos were the first- and third-highest vote-winners, respectively, for the three-seat race.

Sicairos, a real estate agent, is in his second term and Aguilar, a Stanislaus County social worker, is a newcomer to the council.

The council voted 4-0 to speak with the other four candidates on the November ballot to gauge their interest in serving in the open fifth seat. Sicairos suggested the seat should be given to the next-highest vote-winner willing to serve.

The fourth-highest vote-winner was Alex McCabe, who was serving on the council until his term ended Tuesday. He has told the Merced Sun-Star he would be the “most logical” appointment because of where he finished in the election.

McCabe was appointed in 2015 after Councilman David Mendoza resigned after moving out of town.

The candidate to get the second-most votes in November, Wapinder Kang, bowed out of the race after the election. As a police officer in Livingston, he was not able to hold both jobs at the same time.

So the new council was tasked with filling the seat, which will be open for election again in 2018, according to the city. The council has the option to appoint a replacement or hold a special election.

Several members of the council spoke against a special election, noting the city has struggled economically in recent years and should be frugal with tax dollars.

Mayor Pro-tem Gurpal Samra said a special election could cost at least $30,000.

“I think we can find better use for that money somewhere,” he said.

City Attorney Jose Sanchez said a person must be an adult citizen who is registered to vote and lives in the city to be appointed.

The council could make an appointment during a January meeting.

The new council also said goodbye to outgoing Mayor Rodrigo Espinoza, who won his bid for the District 1 seat for the Merced County Board of Supervisors. He begins with the county Jan. 3.

His win was seen as a good omen for the city of Livingston. As City Clerk Antonio Silva put it, “We’re not losing a mayor, we’re gaining a supervisor.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Who wants to be a Livingston council member? City’s staff to find out."