Clarence Shaw's Council Seat to Stay Vacant Until Apr. 9 Elections

The next members of the City Council will be selected by Monrovia voters.

The council has the option of appointing someone to fill former Councilman Clarence Shaw's vacant council seat but decided not to on January 24. And according to a memo from City Attorney Craig Steele, the council is not legally obligated to fill the seat before the Apr. 9 elections.

Shaw resigned his seat after the filing period to run for reelection ended in January.

Under the law, the council is required to fill Shaw's seat within 60 days of its vacancy or call a special election. Once called, the special election would be required within 114 days, according to Steele's memo.

However, any special election called by the council would have fallen after the city's regularly scheduled election to fill Shaw's and departing Councilman Joe Garcia's seats.

"Obviously, there will be novacancy to fill after the regular municipal election is conducted on April 9, so scheduling a laterspecial election would have been futile," Steele wrote. "The City Council’s decisions on January 24 ensured thatMr. Shaw’s successor will be selected by the voters and seated at least two monthsearlierthanwould have occurred under the 'special election option'..."