Quick Take
In a town where mid-term resignations are rare, Capitola has seen two in five months. With tensions rising and a council seat now empty again, city leaders will soon have to decide how to move forward.
In Capitola, the beachside community of less than 10,000, another political representative has called it quits.
When City Councilmember Alex Pedersen announced his resignation Thursday, with more than 18 months remaining in his term, it marked only the third time since at least 1970 (according to historic news reports) that a member of the Capitola City Council quit mid-term — and the second since January.
An elected official choosing to not finish the job voters elected them for is broadly uncommon but for Capitola it is almost unheard of — until this year. To have two city councilmembers quit within the same five-month span is unprecedented.
In January, Councilmember Yvette Brooks announced she was stepping down as a career move: With 23 months left in her term, she accepted the position of chief executive officer for United Way of Santa Cruz County. On Thursday, Pedersen announced his departure, blaming it on what he called the “vitriol” of an increasingly aggressive pressure campaign from a local group, Concerned Citizens of Capitola, that began affecting his professional and personal life.
Before Brooks stepped down, the previous Capitola elected official to resign mid-term was Margaret Fabrizio in 2000; her reasoning echoed Pedersen’s.
According to the San Jose Mercury News in a March 31, 2000, report:
“The atmosphere was really vicious,” said Councilwoman Margaret Fabrizio, 45, who stormed out of a council meeting last week and announced she was resigning after eight years. “It’s taken a great personal toll on me. I got to the point where I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore.”
Fabrizio’s resignation came amid fallout from officials’ use of city-issued credit cards. Pedersen’s ouster came amid criticisms that he had recently bought a house outside of city limits — though he still lived in a Capitola rental — and his apparent openness to an idea to relocate a section of the proposed Coastal Rail Trail along the city’s Park Avenue. Although he said the idea had “merit,” he ultimately voted against it.
The four remaining city councilmembers will have to decide the route to filling yet another vacancy. They have two avenues: hold a special election, or vote to appoint an interim representative. In January, after some pushback from residents, the city council voted to hold an open application process for the seat. They eventually chose former councilmember Margaux Morgan, who just months earlier lost her reelection bid.
City Manager Jamie Goldstein said city staff will bring the choice between special election or appointment process to the city council in two weeks, on May 22.
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