CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The Chula Vista City Council is laying out its plans to fill the vacant District 4 seat.
The seat was officially declared vacant last month, about a week after Andrea Cardenas stepped down and pleaded guilty to felony charges.
There are a total of eight candidates seeking to fill the District 4 seat. The city council decided they will return next week to conduct their interviews and appoint a new city councilmember
“The goal is to have very transparent and open process," said Mayor John McCann.
The interviews will be held on April 4 beginning at 4 p.m.
Each candidate will have an 11-minute interview, with a 3-minute introduction and one question from each council member.
CBS 8 spoke to several of the candidates at the city council meeting about the process and the need to fill the vacancy.
“Our district has been neglected for a while and we have some serious issues there that I really want to be able to support and help," said Rachelle Morineau.
“The southwest district of Chula Vista, it had some challenges down there. I live in District 4 and those challenges are passionate to me," said Sharmane Estolano.
“It’s interesting, I’m glad that they’re moving along I think its been a long time since District 4 has had any representation," said candidate, Christine Brady.
“We’ve been ignored for quite some time, until they decided to do the district nobody really cared about the District 4," said Lupe Ruiz.
“In my 8 months of hopefully serving for them I would be able to do as much as I can and bring District 4 forward in every way," said, John Volland.
Former District 4 Councilmember Andrea Cardenas and her brother were accused of fraudulently obtaining a loan for their political consulting business. They both plead guilty to two felony counts of grand theft.
City council members have emphasized the importance of filling the city council position with someone who will serve the interest of the community.
While city leaders are not technically required to appoint someone to fill the empty District Four seat, under Chula Vista's city charter, they must make a "good faith effort" to select someone: a far less expensive alternative to holding a special election.
Whoever gets the job will serve the remainder of Cardenas’ term, which expires at the end of the year.
The person who is selected will be sworn in on April 4 following the interviews.
A formal ceremony will be held on April 9.
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