City Council appoints Mitch McKay as mayor; council approves application process to fill District 3 vacancy

The Imperial Beach City Council on Aug. 20 appointed Councilmember Mitchell D. McKay as mayor to serve the remainder of the term left vacant when Paloma Aguirre resigned after being sworn in as a San Diego County supervisor. The council adopted Resolution No. 2025-044 and the oath of office was administered to McKay that evening. City Clerk Kelly told the council, “Pursuant to California government code section 34902, the city council by majority vote selected council member Mitch McKay to fill the vacant seat of the mayor.” The motion to appoint McKay was made and carried with three ayes and one no: Councilmembers McKay (voting as a member before taking the oath), Fisher and Mayor Pro Tem Seaberry voted yes; Councilmember Leyba Gonzales voted no. The appointment created a vacancy in District 3. City Manager Tyler Fultz reviewed state law on vacancies and told the council the body has 60 days to fill the seat by appointment or call a special election, citing Government Code section 36512. The council directed staff to implement an application-and-interview appointment process and returned a timeline that would keep the appointment inside the state-mandated window. McKay, sworn in at the dais, told the council and attendees, “We’ve got some real work to do,” and said he would “hit the ground running” during the roughly 15 months left in the term. Several speakers during public comment urged transparency and a district-centered process for replacing the District 3 member. Resident Lynn Fisher asked the council to limit vetting questions to Council and District 3 residents and urged earlier notice of last-minute agenda materials; another speaker urged the new vacancy be advertised so District 3 residents can apply. Council discussion produced a multi-step plan: advertise the vacancy, host an applicant information forum in early September, set a firm application deadline (council direction set it to 5 p.m. on Sept. 10), hold an initial public meeting on Sept. 17 to hear applicants, then narrow candidates and hold final interviews at the Oct. 1 meeting with an oath of office on Oct. 15 if an appointee is chosen. The council voted unanimously to direct staff to prepare that process. The council also reviewed the special-election option and staff’s cost estimate; the registrar of voters provided a preliminary range of about $125,000–$250,000 to run a special election, and the next available established election date would have been April 14, 2026. Council members said the estimated cost and short remaining term weighed in favor of appointment via application and interview. The council’s actions: adoption of Resolution No. 2025-044 to appoint McKay; a separate unanimous motion directing staff to implement an advertised application/interview appointment process for the District 3 vacancy, with a schedule to meet the Oct. 19 statutory deadline. What happens next: staff will post the application, host a candidate information session the week of Sept. 1–3, accept and vet in-person applications through Sept. 10 at 5 p.m., present qualified applicants at the Sept. 17 council meeting, and hold follow-up interviews and a final appointment vote on Oct. 1 if the council chooses to proceed that way.