Murrieta City Council To Choose Its Next Member On Monday

MURRIETA, CA — Murrieta City Council applicants looking to fill the seat of outgoing Mayor Scott Vinton will get their chance during a special meeting Monday.

Six applicants will be interviewed by Murrieta City Council members starting at 2 p.m. at City Hall. The candidates are vying for Vinton's District 5 seat that becomes vacant Dec. 21. The mayor announced earlier this year that he was stepping down for personal reasons.

The public is invited to watch the interviews in person or via live streaming.

According to city documents, the six applicants are:

• Thomas Beamish, a Murrieta resident for the last six months. He has prior civic experience, including sitting on the La Habra City Council and the city's Planning Commission.
• Daniel Brienen, a 10-year Murrieta resident who currently works for Microsoft.
• Cindy Gagliano Warren, an 8-year Murrieta resident who currently serves on the Murrieta Traffic Commission and owns her own business.
• Jimmie Jackson, a 17-year Murrieta resident who is a member of several organizations and was a business owner.
• Jennifer Mejares Pham, a 32-year Murrieta resident and business owner who has served on several boards and committees, including the Murrieta Valley Unified School District Measure E Oversight Committee.
• Zach Zauss, a 20-year Murrieta resident who attended Vista Murrieta High School and has been involved with local organizations. Zauss is employed by Temecula Valley RV.

Read the full applications here.

Monday's interview process will allow each applicant three minutes to introduce themselves and another 12 minutes will be spent answering questions posed by sitting City Council members.

Following all interviews, each sitting City Council member will “vote for one” applicant via a paper ballot. The City Clerk will collect the ballots and announce the results.

If the results constitute a majority, that candidate will be sworn in and seated at the Dec. 21 regular City Council meeting.

Vinton resigned Aug. 31. Under state law, the city had a 60-window to appoint his replacement. If no majority consensus is reached Monday, a special election must be called to fill the seat. The estimated cost of running a special election, outside of city staff time, is approximately $38,000 to $48,000, according to city documents.

In a unanimous vote in September, council members opted to appoint Vinton's replacement rather than hold a special election. The process included inviting residents in District 5 to apply for the position.

Whoever is selected to the District 5 seat will serve out Vinton's remaining term that expires December 2022. The new council member will have the opportunity to run for election next year if desired.

Murrieta City Council members earn an annual salary of $13,610.40, according to the city.

Vinton is serving out his mayorship but is leaving office a year early because he is moving out of state with his wife, according to his resignation letter. He was elected by voters to the Murrieta City Council in 2018. He ran unopposed and received 4,542 votes, according to the election results. He was appointed by his colleagues in December 2019 to serve as Mayor Pro Tem, and in December 2020 to serve as Mayor.