Menifee officially has a new city council member.
At last week’s meeting, Ben Diederich took his oath of office before taking his seat at the dais as the newly appointed representative for District 2.
“Thank you for having the faith in me to move forward with this, and I look forward to doing good things for the city of Menifee,” Diederich said. “I think we’re on a great trajectory, and I look forward to help continue that and augment that.”
The council previously discussed the District 2 vacancy, created by the election of former District 2 Councilmember Ricky Estrada as mayor, at the Jan. 15 meeting. At that meeting, the council considered statements of interest provided by nine eligible residents, seven of whom spoke in front of the council, including Diederich.
“I love Menifee, and I love to serve our community,” Diederich wrote in his statement. “That is what drives me to serve the residents by being on council, both two years ago and today.”
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Diederich has served on the planning commission and previously ran for the District 2 seat in 2022 coming in second with 1,917 votes. Estrada, who felt Altie Holcomb would be a good appointment to his former seat, won that race with 3,348 votes.
“It’s very important that we help carry out the vision of the District 2 residents that I helped represent,” Estrada said. “You know, Menifee residents elected me by 20% in that election…so I think it would be beneficial for my replacement to carry that on.”
Ultimately, the council voted at that meeting 3-1 to appoint Diederich to the seat with Estrada voting against.
“Congratulations, Benjamin Diederich,” Estrada said after the vote. “The council looks forward to working with you and building a better Menifee.”
Diederich is set to serve for the remainder of the term, which goes through December 2026.
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