In a special meeting this past week, the City of Los Alamitos voted 4-0 to cancel the election for the District 4 Council seat after Mayor Shelley Hasselbrink was the only candidate to qualify to run for the seat during the November 8 election.
During the special meeting held on Zoom Aug. 25, Hasselbrink opened the meeting, but after introducing the special order of the day, Hasselbrink said she would prefer to let the rest of the Council make the vote.
“Just on a side note, it is legally allowable for me to participate and vote in this position,” the mayor said. Yet, “because it pertains to me and my name is peppered throughout this item, I can either recuse myself or abstain from voting,” she added.
“Either way, I’m good with it. I just…I’m big into perception. I don’t want it to look like I’m doing something for benefit,” said Hasselbrink, who decided to drop out of the meeting and let the Council discuss and vote on the item without her participation.
With that, Mayor Pro-tem Tanya Doby ran the remainder of the meeting as the Council quickly discussed the item, canceling the election and appointing Hasselbrink to another four-year term in District 4.
The council faced the option of either appointing Hasselbrink to the seat, the recommended action by city staff, or proceeding with an uncontested election. The city estimated the cost for two council elections would be between $14,501 and $17,739 whereas just one could have a price tag in the $3,000 range, according to the staff report.
Council member Ron Bates immediately moved to enact the staff’s recommended action, to cancel the election and appoint Hasselbrink.
“I’ll move the recommended action to discontinue the election and appointment of Shelley Hasselbrink the 4th District, in lieu of the Nov. 2022 election since she is the only viable candidate,” said Bates.
Council member Mark Chirco, after clarifying issues with legal advisor Michael Daudt, seconded the motion and the Council voted 4-0 to approve it.
Hasselbrink will continue to represent District 4 and her new, four-year term will begin after she is sworn in Dec. 19.
In 2018, following the threat of litigation, the council voted to transition from an at-large election system, where voters citywide elect council members hailing from anywhere in the city, to district elections, where voters elect candidates from their own districts.