CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KUSI) — Andrea Cardenas’ district seat on the Chula Vista City Council was officially declared vacant Monday night, roughly a week after she stepped down amid multiple felony allegations related to fraud.
The council called a special meeting to begin appointing her replacement. Many Chula Vista residents spoke at the meeting, asking the council to ensure they don’t get fooled again.
“Vetting of our candidates is most important. We need to avoid what happened the last time,” one speaker said.
“Please do background checks,” added another woman at the podium. “One, it protects the city when they aren’t open or honest and then here comes things where they have felonies or misdemeanors and the news is covering it and then more attention is brought in a negative light to Chula Vista.”
The council has 45 days to put in a replacement. For the next two weeks, the city will take applications just like a job posting. On March 26, the council will nominate three candidates who will then be interviewed on April 9 and the appointment made by April 11.
Mayor John McCann says the Cardenas chapter of the city council’s history was an embarrassment.
“I’m very relieved that this will be behind us,” McCann said. “With the seriousness of the indictments, we have many things to be working on and this has become a huge distraction.”
McCann adds the ideal appointee should put aside partisanship in favor of progress.
“A pothole does not have a political party and we need somebody who wants to support the city and be able to focus on the right things and not the pettiness,” McCann said.