Evan Sanders, who was appointed to fill the vacated District 2 seat on the Los Banos city council just a year ago, has resigned. It means the council will once again be operating with an empty chair.
Sanders was appointed on Jan. 8, 2025, to fill the unexpired term of Doug Begonia Jr., and spent 51 weeks as a councilmember. The Silicon Valley software manager told Mayor Michael Amabile that he had accepted a new job on the East Coast and would be leaving the state.
“It’s very unfortunate,” said Amabile. “He’s a real good guy and was doing a great job. He’s in the IT world, so he came at things from a different perspective — sometimes a perspective I didn’t even think about. He’s a kind person and he didn’t have an agenda. … He brought up a lot of really good ideas. And he’s just a really good guy to be around.”
Amabile said the city will miss Sanders’ dedication as well as his unique perspective: “At the last city council meeting, Evan was saying, ‘I feel like I’m finally getting my footing on this job.’ Then a week later, they made him the offer.”
“Over the past year, he has demonstrated his thoughtful ideas and professionalism,” said Mayor Pro Tem Deobrah Lewis. “His leadership, commitment and vision have left a lasting impact on our community.”
The council must decide how to replace Sanders, and that could prove problematic. Basically, there are three paths – either appoint a new member for the one-year balance of Sanders’ term, take part in a special election in June, or leave the seat vacant until the November election.
Such decisions are so important, said Amabile, that he believes all four remaining councilmembers must be involved.
But that presents a timing issue. The council’s first meeting of the year, Jan. 7, has already been canceled and cannot be reconvened. The next meeting will be Jan. 21, but councilmember Marcus Chavez has informed the city that he will miss it due to a previously planned vacation. Amabile said he scheduled a vacation that conflicts with the following meeting two weeks later, meaning all four remaining members of the council won’t meet again, presumably, until Feb. 18 – and that would be cutting it close for those wanting to take part in the statewide gubernatorial primary scheduled for June 2.
According to the county registrar’s office, the latest any candidate can file to run for office in that election is March 11. The paperwork would have to be pulled, returned and fees paid in about three weeks. Then, once elected and seated, a new councilmember would serve for only four months before having to stand for election again to a new, four-year term.
Even if the timing works out, Amabile isn’t certain having a special election is the best use of city resources.
“The experience of our last special election – when 400 people voted from among 5,000 registered voters – it ended up costing $100 a vote,” said Amabile. “We still, as a council, have to discuss it. … … We have 60 days to make a decision, and I want the four of us to all be there.”
The council could convene a special meeting when all members are available, but such meetings are rare.
Last year, the council went 10 months with only four members while waiting for the fifth member to be elected.
That was Mitzy Perez, who joined the council on Oct. 1 after having won a mail-in election to replace Kenneth Lambert in District 1. Both Sanders and Chavez were appointed to their council seats on Jan. 8, 2025, to fill the unexpired terms of recalled councilmembers Begonia and Brett Jones.
With Amabile, Lewis and Perez having been elected, the council is allowed to appoint its fifth member.
“I think we’re in a really good position right now,” said Lewis. “The choices we made with the two appointments – with Evan and Marcus – we’re sitting in a really good position to get things done.”
Asked who should consider volunteering, or running, for the council Lewis said experience as a volunteer is important.
“I think you need to have some experience to understand how the government works,” said the four-term councilmember. “People who want to be an elected official need to really have a love of their city and do some volunteer government work.”
As for Amabile, he wants leaders who are “open-minded.”
“It is a commitment of time, it is a commitment of duty to the city, and the person I would like to see would be open to whatever opinions might come up – at least to consider them,” said Amabile, who is in his seventh term as mayor. “They have to be able to get a no vote and still be happy see everybody the next day.”
