In an abrupt decision Wednesday night, the Imperial Beach City Council chose Council member Mitch McKay to serve as the city’s next mayor.
McKay will serve out the remaining 15 months of former Mayor Paloma Aguirre’s term, which lasts through next November. Aguirre stepped down as mayor last month after she was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, McKay pitched himself as a collaborative leader who would continue the city’s focus on curbing the cross-border sewage flows polluting the Tijuana River Valley. He said he would focus on how the crisis is hurting local businesses, as well as on public health.
The council voted 3-1 to appoint him, with Council member Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez voting against, and McKay voting for himself.
“I have no desires to undo any ordinance or any other things that we've passed in the past under different previous mayors,” McKay said during the meeting. “I want to move the city forward.”
McKay’s appointment will also trigger another appointment or special election to choose a new council member.
The decision by council members to appoint a new mayor so swiftly was controversial, particularly because the public had little chance to weigh in.
State law does allow city councils to immediately replace a mayor after they step down. But city leaders also had several other options, including holding a special election or an open application process.
A special election could have cost the city up to $400,000, according to city staff. Most agreed that was an unrealistic option because of the strain it would place on the city’s funds and because it wouldn’t take place until next April. Imperial Beach has a budget of $49 million.
“Please, please keep the money in our city,” said Shirley Nakawatase, a former mayoral candidate.
The council could also have taken applications for the role and then chosen someone from the list of applicants. That’s what Chula Vista, the county’s second-largest city, did last year after Council member Andrea Cardenas resigned amid scandal.
On Wednesday, many residents and other public speakers asked the council to take that route.
The Imperial Beach Democratic Club said council members should ask applicants where they stand on critical local issues like the Tijuana River sewage crisis and affordable housing and appoint a citizen-led committee to review the applications.
They also asked the council to restrict the appointed mayor from running for reelection to prevent any political advantage.
Others like Imperial Beach resident Rachel Orozco, simply asked the council to take their time with the decision.
“I do believe the people should have the opportunity to have a voice and to be informed,” Orozco said. “And if it’s one of you, then let us see why.”
According to his city directory page, McKay is a former aerospace engineer who worked at several companies, including Rohr Inc. and United Technologies Corporation. He has also served on the city’s design review board and a citizen board for the U.S. International Boundary & Water Commission.
The one-term council member will take charge of Imperial Beach’s highest office amid increasing economic uncertainty and a growing national spotlight on the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
Council members declined to limit McKay from running for mayor again. And McKay said he would not rule out running for reelection at the end of the term.
But he pledged that he did not have any higher political ambitions beyond the Imperial Beach City Council.
“I'll probably die in the 91932,” he said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I have no desires, no designs beyond this council here.”
McKay is set to be sworn in at the next city council meeting, later this month.
