CAPITOLA >> The Capitola City Council changed course Thursday for how it planned to fill a recent vacancy, electing to open the process up to applications from the public instead of selecting from two candidates that participated in the Nov. 5 election.

The council unanimously agreed last week to select either Margaux Morgan or Enrique Dolmo Jr. to replace former Mayor Yvette Brooks, who resigned Monday midway through her four-year term to become CEO of United Way of Santa Cruz County. The council reasoned at the time that while Morgan and Dolmo failed to garner enough votes to claim either of the two open seats in November, they cared enough to run in the first place and had displayed some level of support in the community through the democratic process. Plus, the financial cost of running a special election was too high.

On Thursday, some on the council said they’ve continued to get feedback from residents that a more open process is desired.

“I continue to hear community outcry about more community involvement in the process,” said Councilmember Gerry Jensen, who made the motion that established the new process.

Alongside his colleagues’ unanimous support, Jensen proposed an open application process to fill the position that was posted on the city’s website Friday. In addition to confirming basic qualifications such as age, residence and voting registration status, the application has four open-ended questions about the applicant’s motivations for serving on the council, leadership experience, challenges the city is facing and vision for the future.

The council decided to set the application deadline for 5 p.m. Jan. 23 so that all materials can be posted with the agenda ahead of its meeting the following Thursday. The local legislators plan to meet Jan. 30 to review all the applications and make an appointment. According to the city’s website, applicants must attend the meeting in person.

Though he ultimately supported the change, Councilmember Alexander Pedersen initially appeared reluctant to move away from the process established last week. Pedersen said at the Jan. 9 meeting that because Morgan was the next highest vote-getter outside of the top two from November, she deserved to serve out the remaining two years of Brooks’ term.

“We’ve heard from, what, a dozen people, 20 people, in opposition. We’ve heard from probably just as many in favor,” Pedersen said Thursday. “I just don’t think it would be fair to all those who voted in the most recent election to do anything other than honor those votes.”

Originally, the council planned to use its Thursday meeting to publicly interview both Morgan and Dolmo with three to four questions before making a selection. But according to the meeting agenda, Morgan was unavailable for the meeting due to a previously scheduled conflict, prompting staff to recommend that it reschedule the process for Jan. 27 and follow that up with a Jan. 30 swearing in. Instead, the council used Thursday’s meeting as an opportunity to reconsider the process altogether.

The effort to adjust the appointment was primarily driven by Jensen and supported by Vice Mayor Joe Clarke. But after almost 40 minutes of public comment and council deliberation, Pedersen and Councilmember Melinda Orbach, whose perspective was similar to Pedersen’s, voted in support of open applications.

Brooks, who had served on the council since 2018, was by far its most tenured member prior to her departure. Orbach and Jensen are only a few weeks into their first term, while Pedersen and Clarke took office in 2022.

The application is available online at cityofcapitola.org or it can be submitted in person to the city clerk’s office in city hall at 420 Capitola Ave.