The Corpus Christi City Council yet again needs a new member. This time, the council seeks to replace Carolyn Vaughn, who represented District 1, including Downtown and North Beach, until Feb. 27, when she stepped down to accept an appointment to the Nueces County Commissioners Court.
Vaughn was sworn in as a county commissioner March 14 to represent Precinct 1, which includes northern Nueces County, Downtown Corpus Christi, Calallen and Bluntzer. She was appointed to fill a seat vacated by Commissioner Mike Pulsey who resigned to run for county judge.
Pulsey will face Port of Corpus Christi Commissioner Barbara Canales for the judge’s job in the General Election in November. Pusley is the Republican candidate, Canales the Democrat.
Vaughn is a candidate for Pulsey’s remaining term on the commission, which is also in the November ballot. A Republican, she will face Democrat Robert G. Hernandez.
While candidates play musical chairs, the City Council began the process to select yet another new member to replace Vaughn. Most recently, Debbie Lindsey-Opel was appointed to replace at-large council member Joe McComb when he became mayor after a special election last May. McComb replaced newly elected Mayor Dan McQueen, who resigned after 37 days on the job.
Before that, in 2015, the council appointed Michael Hunter to fill an at-large position that was vacated by Lillian Rojas, who moved to San Antonio for a new job.
The process begins with a call for prospects, who must turn in an application, résumè and financial report by April 6.
Council members will review the applications individually April 13-16 in preparation for an executive discussion during the April 17 regular meeting. The applicants will be whittled down to about four at that time.
Public interviews are set for April 24. After the interviews, the council adjourns to executive session, where they will make a final decision. That decision will be announced in an open meeting the same day. The candidate chosen will be sworn-in April 25. A ceremonial swearing-in will take place May 8.
Last year, four candidates were considered for the seat, ultimately given to Lindsey-Opel. The other three candidates were Kamiesh Bhikha, John Martinez and Sylvia Tyron Oliver. At the time, McComb urged the three not to give up on their goal of community involvement. He pointed out that he had applied unsuccessfully for the seat that was given to Hunter in 2015. He went on to be the highest vote-getter in in the 2016 race for an at-large seat. During the special election in 2017 for mayor, he defeated seven other candidates without a runoff.