8 people want seat left vacant by disgraced former Chula Vista Councilmember Andrea Cardenas

The City of Chula Vista is still waiting for the dust to settle on California’s Primary Election.

The March ballot should provide the South Bay city with a new City Attorney for the first time since 2022. It should also provide voters with two candidates to choose between in the November General Election for each of the District 3 and District 4 city council races.

But first, an interim appointee

While those council seats won't be filled until November, the rest of the council is in the process of finding a replacement for the District 4 seat left vacant just days before the California Primary, when then-Councilwoman Andrea Cardenas resigned amid felony charges.

“That chapter has been closed now and we're moving forward,” said Chula Vista Mayor John McCann.

Eight Chula Vistans have already applied for the vacancy. NBC 7 requested a list of the applicants but it has not yet been disclosed.

The next steps in the process are:

• March 18: City Council discusses the process for filling the vacant District 4 seat
• March 26: The council will discuss the eight applicants for the vacancy and nominate candidates.
• April 9: Candidates will be interviewed during a council meeting.
  If the Council agrees on one of the applicants, they could be sworn in that night.

The appointee will join Councilmmember Alonso Gonzalez who was temporarily appointed to the District 3 seat in 2023 after then-Councilmember Steve Padilla was elected to the California State Senate.

Both appointees will hold their seats until the November General Election when voters elect two new councilmembers.

“You're going to have somebody who's only going to be there for a couple of months,” explained McCann. “They're going to be making very important decisions.”

Chula Vista City Council races

As for what will happen in November, Chula Vista residents are awaiting the results of the California Primary Election to see which candidates will go head to head.

What is clear is that Cardenas, who sought re-election before resigning from the council, will not advance to the run-off for the District 4 seat. She has 15% of the vote and trails four other candidates, at last report.

Cardenas pleading guilty to two felonies stemming from fraud accusations tied to her political consulting business.

Chula Vista rules say no one can sit on the City Council if they are convicted of a felony. However, Cardenas had the opportunity to knock her felonies down to misdemeanors later this year, before the General Election. It appears that will not matter.

In District 3, Michael Inzunza has 50% of the vote and will advance to the November ballot. He will likely face Leticia Munguia or Daniel Rice-Vazquez, who have 18% and 16% of the vote, respectively.

Chula Vista City Attorney's Race

It’s another step in what’s been a very strange two years for Chula Vista.

In the City Attorney's race, two candidates are facing off in a special election that will determine who will represent Chula Vista in legal matters. The seat was left vacant after Simon Silva won the seat in the 2022 General Election despite dying a few weeks before Election Day.

It took nearly two years to finally elect a new City Attorney, which appears to be Marco Verdugo, although results. Verdugo has a commanding lead over his opponent, Bart Miesfeld.

On Monday, NBC 7 requested a list of the eight applicants for the vacant District 4 seat. The list wasn’t released as of Monday at 4 PM.