Simi Valley council appoints Joseph Ayala to fill District 1 vacancy after multi-step interview and ballot process

The Simi Valley City Council voted to appoint Joseph Ayala to the District 1 council seat at its Feb. 24, 2025 meeting and swore him into office the same day.

City Manager Samantha Argebreit introduced the agenda item and the interview process, telling the council, “The item before you is the conduct of applicant interviews for the city council vacancy in District 1.” The vacancy was created when Mayor Kavanaugh vacated the District 1 seat upon being selected mayor earlier this year. Council set the term for the appointee at two years, to run through the 2026 election cycle.

Before interviews began council members agreed rules for the process: candidates would give a one‑minute opening statement, answer two questions from each council member with up to three minutes per response, and be interviewed in a random draw order. Council also voted to exclude Robert Clarizio from participating after staff determined his application lacked the required minimum of 20 signatures; the motion to prohibit his participation passed unanimously.

Interviews proceeded through a randomized order. After the formal question rounds, council used a two‑pass paper ballot process to determine the appointee: each council member wrote a first preference on a card (the clerk read the names aloud with councilmember attribution), then council discussed candidates and—if needed—submitted a second preference. The clerk read the first‑round tallies, which produced multiple candidates receiving votes and led to further discussion.

Following discussion and subsequent ballots, the council took a final motion to appoint Joseph Ayala. The motion carried with Mayor Pro Tem Judge recorded as the lone dissent; the clerk announced the result and Ayala was sworn in at the dais. The council did not specify any additional conditions attached to the appointment. Ayala then took the oath of office and assumed the duties of the District 1 council member immediately.

What happened next

- The council’s procedural decisions included a random drawing for interview order, one‑minute opening statements, two questions per council member and a 3‑minute response limit per question. - Council required that applicant packets include at least 20 valid signatures; the packet for one applicant was ruled deficient and that applicant was not interviewed.

Why it matters

Council appointments fill vacancies that arise between elections and determine who will represent neighborhoods on land use, public safety and budget matters until the next scheduled or special election. Council’s public process in this case included timed interviews, written preference cards and public roll‑call reading of nominees to make the selection process transparent.

Quotes

“The item before you is the conduct of applicant interviews for the city council vacancy in District 1,” City Manager Samantha Argebreit said as she introduced the process and timeline for interviews.

Outcome and next steps

Action: Appointment of Joseph Ayala to the District 1 seat. Motion result: Approved; Mayor Pro Tem Judge recorded a no vote. Ayala was sworn into office at the meeting.

(For source excerpts see transcript at the City Manager’s item introduction and the clerk'read ballot tallies and the oath of office.)