The Imperial Beach City Council appointed Councilmember Mitch McKay as mayor on Aug. 6, 2025, voting 3-1 after more than an hour of public comment and legal briefing on the city's options for filling a mayoral vacancy.

City Attorney Lyon opened the council’s discussion by outlining the legal framework: “A vacancy in the office of the mayor is filled pursuant to Government Code section 34902, which says the council shall fill the vacancy by appointment,” he told the council, adding that if the council fails to appoint within 60 days it must call a special election. That 60-day deadline runs from July 22, 2025, making Sept. 20 the statutory cut-off.

The council’s decision settled a debate between residents and advocacy groups who urged a special election or an open application-and-interview process and others who argued the city cannot afford the estimated $250,000–$400,000 cost the registrar provided for a standalone special election.

Public commenters urged both sides. Advocate Erica Lowry said the appointment is “the most prudent choice” because the city’s “small discretionary budget” would be strained by an election. In contrast, David Mering and others argued that only a special election gives the whole city a direct voice. Truth, a frequent public speaker, urged a unanimous vote for McKay and said he had “the professionalism required” to lead the city through its immediate priorities.

Mayor Pro Tem Carol Seaberry moved to appoint Councilmember Mitch McKay; Councilmember Jack Fisher seconded. The vote was: Ayes — Seaberry, Fisher, McKay; No — Matthew Lebo Gonzalez. The council directed staff to place a certificate of appointment and the oath of office on the next regular meeting agenda; once McKay is sworn in his council seat will be vacant and the city will have a new 60‑day window under Government Code section 36512 to appoint or call an election for that council seat.

City staff and the city attorney emphasized timing and fiscal consequences during the discussion. Attorney Lyon noted the county registrar’s estimate and that a special election called under state election law would likely be scheduled for April 14, 2026, under the next established election calendar. Council members raised concerns about cutting city services or dipping into reserves to fund two special elections potentially required to fill both the mayoral vacancy and a subsequent council vacancy if a sitting councilmember is appointed mayor.

McKay, a long-term local resident and district-elected councilmember, accepted the appointment at the meeting and described his priorities. “I want to focus on the next 15 months to get things to get us back on course,” he said, citing transboundary sewage and the local business impacts as immediate priorities. He also said he had no present plans to run for mayor in 2026 but did not make a formal pledge not to run.

The council’s appointment process and the debate over using public input or holding a special election featured repeated calls from residents for transparency. Multiple speakers asked for an ad hoc citizen committee, public interviews with applicants, and posting of scoring rubrics if the council uses an application-and-interview route; those procedural options remain available to the council for filling McKay’s soon-to-be-vacant seat.

The council scheduled the formal presentation of the certificate of appointment and the oath of office for the next regular meeting; staff said they will also return with a timeline and options to fill the council vacancy that will be created if McKay takes the oath.

Details recorded in the meeting: the resignation creating the vacancy was submitted July 22, 2025; state law gives the council 60 days (deadline Sept. 20, 2025) to appoint or call an election; county registrar cost estimates for a special election ranged from $250,000 to $400,000; the next established election calendar date relevant to scheduling a special election would be April 14, 2026.

The council’s appointment takes effect when McKay is sworn at the subsequent meeting; until then he remains a councilmember. Staff will return with calendar items and the procedural options to fill the council vacancy that will result from the mayoral oath of office.