The Arcata City Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss options for filling the seat of Vice Mayor Emily Goldstein, who announced last week that she will be stepping down to focus on her family’s medical needs.

Her resignation is effective March 1.

The city council has three main choices to fill Goldstein’s upcoming vacancy: hold a June special election, appoint a replacement to serve until the November election or simply wait until the November election to have the seat filled as a two-year position.

Goldstein was elected in November of 2020 and her term ends in 2024.

The 5:30 p.m. special meeting will be held via Zoom. For more information on how to participate, click here and to view city council agendas click here.

Read the full city of Arcata news release below:

Vice-Mayor Emily Goldstein will be stepping down from her position on the Arcata City Council, effective Tuesday, March 1.

In a letter read aloud at the City Council meeting held on Wednesday, February 2, Goldstein shared the difficulty of her decision to resign in order to support her family’s medical needs.

Goldstein was elected to the Arcata City Council in November of 2020, and has served as Vice-Mayor since October 2021. Goldstein’s term is set to expire in November of 2024, and the City Council has 60 days to fill her vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy.

The Arcata City Council has scheduled a special meeting on Wednesday, February 9 at 5:30 PM to discuss the options they have to fill Goldstein's vacant seat.

Their options include appointing a new council member who would fill the position until the next municipal election in November 2022, calling a special election for June 7, 2022 where the candidate receiving the most votes would serve out the full remainder of the term until November 2024, or the Council may also choose to not appoint or call an election in June, which would allow the vacancy to be filled as a two-year term to be elected on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

The special City Council meeting will be held on Zoom, and all interested community members are encouraged to attend. The Zoom login information can be found here.

For more information on the Arcata City Council and to review the Council’s upcoming meeting agendas, please click here.