The Chula Vista City Council on Thursday appointed a program director at a local nonprofit to the open council seat vacated earlier this year by disgraced former Councilmember Andrea Cardenas.
Rachel Morineau, a community engagement director at SBCS, formerly South Bay Community Services, will serve as interim City Councilmember for District 4 through the end of the year. District 4 covers the southwest corner of the city.
Cardenas resigned her seat in February before pleading guilty last month to stealing $165,000 of federal COVID-19 relief aid. Morineau will serve out the remaining eight months of Cardenas’ term.
Cardenas’ replacement was chosen by City Council appointment instead of by special election because there was less than a year left in her term when she resigned.
Councilmembers made the decision after interviewing eight finalists during a planned special meeting Thursday evening.
After serving out the term, Morineau will not be able to run for City Council again until 2026. In November, District 4 voters will choose between Cesar Fernandez and Rudy Ramirez, the two leading vote getters in the March primary, to serve a full four-year term.
Morineau’s appointment brings a close to several months of chaos surrounding Cardenas.
In her application, Morineau said she had lived in Southwest Chula Vista for 27 years. She said she was a longtime nonprofit program director and coordinator and had been working on Chula Vista-focused programs at SBCS since 2005.
Councilmembers chose Cardenas’ replacement from a pool of eight finalists that also included recent City Council candidate Christine Brady, Sweetwater Union High School District board member Nicholas Segura Jr. and Daniel Zavala-Soto, vice chair of the city’s Cultural Arts Commission.
Yesterday evening, the City Council interviewed each of the candidates in a packed special meeting that lasted nearly six hours.
Like in the primary election, the issue of public trust took center stage in the discussion. Dozens of speakers said they hoped to see the interim candidate work with residents to rebuild confidence in the office.
Morineau and Segura were popular among the dozens of public speakers.
Segura also faced a number of critics, who said his appointment would disrupt operations in the Sweetwater School District since he would have to resign from his current position as a school board member.
When the candidate interviews ended, Mayor John McCann made a motion to appoint Morineau with Councilmember Carolina Chavez seconding. The City Council approved Morineau’s appointment unanimously.
Like the other three Councilmembers besides the mayor, Morineau will work a part-time role and earn a monthly salary of $5,246.
Morineau beamed as she took her seat with the other Councilmembers.
“I am what you get,” she told the audience. “A hard worker, committed, and an open door policy.”
Councilmember Jose Preciado applauded everyone who applied for the role and said the number of people who came to the meeting showed how much Southwest Chula Vista residents cared about having representation.
“I am looking forward to having a voice from District 4,” he said. “District 4 is the pulse of our city.”
