Lemon Grove leaders will appoint a fifth member to the City Council after the unexpected death last month of Sitivi “Steve” Faiai.

Residents can apply for the spot beginning Aug. 7 and the four council members should choose a candidate Sept. 16. The appointment lasts until December 2026. Whoever is chosen will have to run for election next year to stay on the council.

Faiai, a Helix High School football coach serving his first term, died of an apparent cardiac arrest July 8.

“This is a tough seat to fill,” Mayor Alysson Snow said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “I will warn any applicant: You better come in here loving the people of Lemon Grove like Steve Faiai loved the people of Lemon Grove.”

Then she added, “Come in here with that commitment for a drama-free zone.”

There’s certainly been drama on the Lemon Grove City Council. One former member once got into a fist-fight with a businessman. Another elected leader was repeatedly arrested and faced multiple restraining orders while in office. Public meetings have in recent years featured shouting matches, handcuffs, threats of censure, the middle finger and at least one racial slur.

In November, residents voted out several incumbents in favor of new faces.

That election also moved Snow, who was already on the council, into the role of mayor. Council members then chose local business owner Yadira Altamirano to finish Snow’s original term, meaning that by the end of the year two of the council’s five seats will have been filled through an appointment process, not a citywide election.

A special election would have filled the open spot for longer. Faiai’s term lasts until late 2028, and an election winner could have served the remaining time without having to launch another campaign next year, which is what an appointee must do to stay on. (Even if someone gets appointed to the council and then wins the 2026 election, they’ll still have to run again in 2028 because of how Lemon Grove’s four-year terms are staggered.)

Yet officials balked at the price tag: $250,000 to $400,000. Lemon Grove’s city manager said the money would have to be pulled from reserves, pushing that fund to perilously low levels and potentially delaying other projects in the city.

“We could use those dollars in so many other areas,” Altamirano said from the dais.

A few people who spoke during the public comment period were similarly worried about that cost. Mat Kostrinsky, a consultant with AFSCME Local 127, a union representing city workers, said dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on an election might trigger layoffs.

Council members briefly discussed whether it was possible to save money by holding a special election at the same time as a recall. Some residents are trying to kick out Snow, the mayor, partially because of her support for a county plan to build dozens of small cabins for homeless people within the city. Yet a recall is far from guaranteed — an initial attempt to gather enough signatures failed — and the potential timing uncertain.

While no formal vote was taken on Tuesday, council members appeared to unanimously support the appointment process.

A forum for residents interested in the job will be held at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Lemon Grove Community Center.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Sept. 4. Applications must be timestamped, either in City Hall or through the mail. Officials hope to release a list of possible candidates by Sept. 8.

Applicants will be publicly interviewed by the City Council and three votes are needed to choose a winner.

A new council member would likely begin their term Oct. 7.

Originally Published: August 6, 2025 at 1:21 PM PDT