San Fernando council picks Joel Fajardo as mayor after tie-breaking draw; Victoria Garcia named vice mayor

The San Fernando City Council selected Council member Joel Fajardo as mayor on a tiebreaking draw Tuesday evening after initial roll-call voting produced a tie and one abstention.

Nominations opened during the council’s annual reorganization, with Victoria Garcia and Joel Fajardo among those nominated for mayor. A council member asked whether abstentions were allowed and one member said they would abstain, producing a 2–2 split. Staff and the city attorney advised that the council should adopt a tie-breaking procedure before proceeding.

The council voted unanimously to adopt a name-in-a-bag method: the clerk placed equally folded names in a bag, shook them, and drew one. The clerk announced that the draw selected Council member Joel Fajardo as mayor. The council congratulated Fajardo, who took the dais as mayor.

Fajardo pledged to use his brief term to help the council “find areas where we can all have common ground” and to focus on infrastructure, public safety and fiscal matters. “I will make good on my promise to make nearly all of our city events,” he said, noting a preexisting work commitment the following Wednesday.

Victoria Garcia was the only nominee for vice mayor and was appointed by unanimous motion when no further nominations were offered.

The council had been advised that mayoral and vice mayoral terms selected at this meeting run for one year and will conclude in July 2026. The staff report included several tie-breaking options and noted the city council procedure manual does not specify a formal tie-break method; the council chose the name-in-a-bag approach as a formal process for this occasion.

The council moved on to staff communications and community announcements and adjourned at 7:13 p.m.