The Sunnyvale City Council officially voted this week to fill its recently-vacated at-large Council Seat 3 by appointment, rather than hold a special election ahead of the November 2022 general election. Former Councilmember Mason Fong resigned on November 14 to take a position in Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration as deputy director of external affairs for Northern California.
The appointment will save the city anywhere from $230,000 to $3 million in avoiding special election costs, according to the news announcement. The District 3 seat will remain at-large until the November 2022 election, in which the city changes to a district-based election system.
The City is slated to review eligible candidates in public meetings on January 31 and February 2 of 2022, and an appointment will take place on February 8, 2022. The selected candidate will serve for the remainder of the current term until January 3, 2023.
Prospective candidates must be registered to vote in Sunnyvale for at least 30 days prior to application.
Interested parties should submit an application by Thursday, January 20 at 4pm. See details about the process here.