Wilson, Rivas Offer Advice to Next Appointed Councilmember

Ahead of Thursday’s special meeting to appoint a Council member in District 3, Andy Wilson and Jess Rivas, the last two people appointed to the City Council respectively, offered advice to the incoming District 3 City Councilperson.

“My advice would be to focus on reaching out to everyone in the district,” Rivas said. “Not everyone follows City Council business closely and not everyone participates in elections, so there will still likely be some folks who don’t know they have a new Councilmember, but they also need the city to function well. So go out and find them and hear what they need.”

Rivas was appointed to the City Council to represent District 5 in 2021 during the pandemic after Victor Gordo was elected mayor.

Wilson also was appointed after a mayoral election.

The City Council appointed Wilson after then-District 7 City Councilmember Terry Tornek was elected mayor. 

Rivas and Wilson later won their seats in elections. 

“It’s like boarding a moving train,” Wilson said. “Lots going on and can initially be overwhelming. Meet individually with your new colleagues and ask them for secrets to their individual success.  It can be particularly challenging juggling a regular day job. Work with your employer to compartmentalize blocks of time for Council work. It could easily become a full-time job if you don’t prioritize. However, at the beginning without knowing what’s going on it’s hard to gauge what’s important.” 

The City Council will fill the vacancy on Thursday created by the death of John Kennedy.

Kennedy died on July 21. 

The City Charter mandates that the City Council appoint a new Council member within 75 days of the vacancy.

Justin Jones, Lucious Smith and Brandon Lamar are vying for the seat.

Each applicant will be interviewed by the City Council in person on Thursday night before the mayor and the City Council deliberate on the matter.

In December, the City Council will undertake the process again to fill a second vacancy created by Kennedy’s death.

That appointment will fill the term Kennedy won in the June primary.

The City Council will have the option of appointing the same person or choosing a different applicant.

In 2024, the residents of District 3 will have a chance to choose their Council member in the general municipal election.