CAPITOLA >> The Capitola City Council selected Susan Westman, a former city manager and current member of the Planning Commission, to fill a vacancy behind its five-member dais.

The decision was by way of a 3-1 vote at the council’s Thursday meeting, with Councilmember Melinda Orbach voicing the sole dissenting opinion.

Westman, one of 13 candidates who applied for the role, breezed through the appointment process after she was quickly identified as the favorite candidate by Mayor Joe Clarke and Councilmembers Gerry Jensen and Margaux Morgan, with little hesitation or debate.

“I think my resume and my experience and my involvement in the community in being a current planning commissioner would allow me to hit the ground running and help Capitola move forward,” Westman said as she made her case to the council prior to the vote. “We’re all lucky to be here and we want to make certain that it’s a community that continues to be welcoming for all kinds of people — young families who move in, people who want to retire, people who are renters, people who can afford to buy. We need to work together to make certain that we continue to be that kind of community.”

Westman will finish the term of former Councilmember Alexander Pedersen who abruptly resigned from office May 8, citing his recent home purchase and plan to move to Santa Cruz, as well as what he called a campaign of legal harassment and intimidation from a local advocacy group as reasons for his departure.

His four-year term, assumed now by Westman, will expire in December 2026.

According to her application, Westman has more than 40 years of experience working with and for local governments. In addition to her tenures as city manager and a planning commissioner, Westman also spent many years serving as Capitola’s community development director.

In the room Thursday, Westman received significant and enthusiastic support from the viewing public, including several family members and former city councilmembers.

“I’ve worked with Susan Westman for many years,” said former Councilmember Jacques Bertrand. “Every time I talk to Susan, I learn something new.”

Orbach had a different perspective. She believed, in an effort to promote the values of representative democracy, that it was important not to simply select the individual with the most experience, but the person that could represent the values of the citizens that put Pedersen in office.

This was especially true for Orbach when it came to the issue of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and its high-profile passenger rail project, which passes directly through Capitola. Pedersen had been serving on the commission as the city’s representative when he resigned.

Because she believes Pedersen was generally supportive of the commission’s current approach to the rail-trail planning efforts, Orbach said she didn’t believe it was appropriate to select anyone for the vacancy that endorsed, donated to or worked as an advocate for Greenway.

Greenway was the local group that inspired the 2022 Measure D Greenway Initiative that sought to establish a trail on top of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, where a passenger rail project is currently being studied.

The measure was defeated by voters countywide with 73% voting against and 26% voting in favor.

Earlier that year, Westman undersigned a guest commentary written in the Sentinel by Greenway members that argued for a trail on the rail line, and she’s also still listed as a Greenway endorser on its website.

“I’m committed in working in good faith with whomever the majority chooses,” said Orbach, who ranked Peter Wilk as her first choice to fill the vacancy.

“But tonight, I have to use my vote to stand up for the residents of our community who are being disenfranchised by this decision and whose votes in the last several elections are being disregarded.”

Before the public comment period began, which featured speeches from several candidates, Orbach asked Clarke if she could ask one of the candidates some questions, but she didn’t say who. Clarke said the council could ask questions if the vote came to a draw, but that it wouldn’t be fair to single out one candidate and not the others, and Orbach agreed to that proposal.

Orbach attempted again to publicly question Westman after it had become clear she was the choice but was denied by Clarke.

Westman’s appointment marked the second time the council had gone through the process of filling a vacancy since the start of the year.

Westman also applied for the opportunity to fill the seat left empty by former Mayor Yvette Brooks in January but was passed over for Morgan.

“I think it’s important that we all work together, we hear from all our citizens, that we’re capable of making compromises, that we work with our staff and other agencies outside of Capitola who are involved in the city to make things happen,” said Westman, “and continue to have our community be one of the best in Santa Cruz County and, personally, I think in California.”

After Westman took her seat, the council unanimously agreed to make Morgan the city’s vice mayor this calendar year.