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Bisbee council appoints Cesilia C. Garcia to vacant Ward I seat; city attorney outlines early-seating options
Summary
After interviewing two candidates, the Bisbee Mayor and Council appointed Cesilia C. Garcia to the Ward I vacancy by a 6-0 vote. City Attorney Joseph Estes explained a 2024 law with two pathways for filling vacated seats and the procedural requirements for early seating of a full-term winner.
The Bisbee Mayor and Council appointed Cesilia C. Garcia to the vacant Ward I council seat on June 16, approving the appointment by roll call vote (Ayes: Schumacher, Skinner, Damon, Sowid, Cline and Mayor Budge; Nays: 0).
Councilmembers interviewed two candidates, Cooper Raphael and Cesilia C. Garcia, during a public session. Before the interviews, Mayor Ken Budge announced a legal matter related to the appointment process and the Council moved into executive session for legal advice under state law. Upon returning to open session the Council waived attorney-client privilege so City Attorney Joseph Estes could explain new statutory guidance enacted in 2024.
Estes told the Council the law created two distinct pathways for filling vacancies after a primary. For an unexpired midterm vacancy (a seat with time remaining on the incumbent’s term), the prevailing candidate from the primary must be seated following the canvass of primary votes; that process is mandatory. For a full new four-year term, the statute allows early seating only if the Council adopts an ordinance expressly stating its intent to seat the primary winner early; doing so would require special meetings, two ordinance readings and a 30-day referendum period. Estes summarized that, depending on the Council's later choices, the interim appointment under consideration could last either about six weeks or roughly five months.
Following deliberation, Councilmember Anna Cline moved to appoint Cesilia C. Garcia to the Ward I seat; Councilmember Trish Damon seconded. The motion passed by unanimous roll call. Mayor Budge then adjourned the meeting at 6:57 p.m.
The appointment fills the vacant Ward I seat pending the statutory processes tied to both midterm and full-term vacancies; the Council did not adopt an ordinance at this meeting to alter the timing for seating the full-term winner.
