Chula Vista will hold a special election next year after voters elected the late Simon Silva for city attorney, who died from cancer in September, two months before the Nov. 8 election.
The San Diego Registrar of Voters estimated the new in-person and mail-in election would cost $2 million and a mail-in-only election would cost $1.5 million.
Silva’s opponent, Dan Smith—who lost by half a point—said he sent a cease-and-desist letter to the San Diego County Democratic Party and Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas alleging they continued to promote Silva after his death and failed to warn voters about the cost of a special election.
“The Democrat party has deceived and let down its members,” Smith told The Epoch Times. “The party omitted any information that the special election would cost $1.5 to $2 million dollars, money which the City of Chula Vista can ill afford to spend unnecessarily.”
According to Smith, Silva’s campaign website and Facebook page were not updated with information about his death until after the election, and mailers and door hangers, on his behalf, continued to be distributed to households.
Smith said he plans on running again in the special election, of which a date has not yet been determined.
A Chula Vista City spokesperson told The Epoch Times city officials announced Silva’s death during its Sept. 13 council meeting and further discussed the next steps, if Silva were elected, in a Sept. 27 meeting.
“At the time of [Silva’s] passing, it was beyond the 90-day deadline to make changes to the ballot,” City Clerk Kerry Bigelow said during the Sept. 27 meeting.
The newly elected council will vote on the details of the special election during their Dec. 20 meeting—including when the election will be held.
Until a new city attorney is elected, the current City Attorney Glen Googins will continue in his role until further notice.
A spokesperson from the San Diego County Democratic Party was not immediately available for comment.
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