BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Two local leaders are preparing to trade their seats at home for new roles in Sacramento — and that transition will soon leave two local offices vacant.
Andrae Gonzales and David Couch are set to move from local government to the state Assembly.
Gonzales currently represents Bakersfield's Ward 2, while Couch is Kern County's District 4 supervisor.
Gonzales is expected to move into the 35th Assembly District seat, with Couch taking on the 32nd Assembly District seat by December 7, leaving two local seats vacant.
So, what happens next?
I spoke with Ian Anderson, a political analyst, about why he says residents should care about local politics.
"Those heavily impacted issues like homelessness for exampe, when we talk about intervention, they're going to happen through county and city especially. Those federal and state elections all of those can do is send guidelines, funding, but those actual interventions happen at home in your city," Anderson said.
At a city level, one representative says residents can push for a new candidate soon.
"There will be four weeks where folks can put in that petition. Once they submit that petition, if it's a valid petition and the council certifies it on the 6th, then there would be a special election held between 90 and 180 days of that certification," Joe Conroy said.
As for Kern County's District 4 supervisor seat, the board has three options:
- Call a special election within 113 days without appointing someone in the interim.
- Call a special election and appoint an interim supervisor.
- Or, the board can directly appoint a successor to serve out the remainder of the unexpired term.
Gonzales recently announced that his last day in office would be November 19th.
In a statement shared to 23ABC, Gonzales says Ward 2 is the most urban and oldest part of Bakersfield. He hopes the next candidate will continue to strengthen and revitalize work in the ward.
We reached out to Couch for a statement and did not receive a response.
Both the city and county say they'll keep residents updated as the next steps take shape, and we'll follow through as the future of these seats is decided.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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