Political Action Group Urges Council to Appoint a Qualified Woman to District 5 Vacancy

A local political caucus leader and former councilmember called on the City Council to put a qualified woman in the District 5 seat occupied by Councilman Victor Gordo, who was elected mayor.

“We are elated at the election of Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris as the first female vice president and hope that the Pasadena City Council will share in this momentum to prepare the bench by considering appointing a qualified woman to fill the District 5 vacancy,” said former Councilmember Jacque Robinson-Baisley, who now chairs the National Women’s Political Caucus – Greater Pasadena Area (NWPC-GPA).

Such a move would be “both an acknowledgement of the historical lack of elected female leadership at the city level as well as the anticipated cost savings to the city by avoiding a special election for this limited term,” Robinson-Baisley said.

Gordo upset Mayor Terry Tornek in the Nov. 3 election. Although there remain some votes left to count, Gordo has declared victory and Tornek has acknowledged the loss in a note to the community.

Gordo will be sworn in on Dec. 7 and the City Council will have 75 days to replace him or call a special election to fill the seat.

The council has used different processes the last two times replacement council members were chosen.

To date, only eight women have been elected to the City Council since its founding in 1886. A woman was not chosen to replace either former Councilman Chris Holden, who now serves in the state Assembly, or Tornek, who relinquished his District 7 seat to assume the mayor’s position in 2015. In that election, Tornek beat Robinson-Baisley for the mayor’s seat.

Applicants seeking to replace Tornek in District 7 were required to collect 25 signatures and pay a fee. Applicants seeking to replace Holden were not required to pay the fee or collect signatures.

NWPC-GPA recently supported and endorsed Councilmember-Elect Felicia Williams (District 2) Jennifer Hall Lee (Pasadena Unified District 2), Kelly Kriebes (Sierra Madre City Council), and Caroline Anderson (La Canada Unified School District).

The National Women’s Political Caucus is a multipartisan grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political process. NWPC recruits, trains and supports pro-choice women candidates for elected and appointed offices at all levels of government.

In addition to financial donations, the caucus offers campaign training for candidates and campaign managers, as well as technical assistance and advice. The Greater Pasadena Area Caucus was originally founded in the 1970s and rechartered in 2019. GPA serves the cities of Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, La Canada Flintridge, and Glendale.

The NWPC-GPA congratulated Gordo on his victory in its statement on Monday.

“As final ballot counts continue with the L.A. County Registrar, National Women’s Political Caucus – Greater Pasadena Area formally congratulates Mayor-Elect Victor Gordo and wishes him well as he begins his term on December 7.

Members of the public are invited to join the next NWPC-GPA Working Council and General Body meeting to discuss this item and others at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 via Zoom with Meeting ID: 839 5028 0262 Passcode: 546003 or dial in +1 669 900 6833 US.

For more information, go to facebook.com/nwpcgpa.