The Hemet City Council last week voted unanimously to appoint Constance “Connie” Howard-Clark to the District 1 seat following the resignation of Councilmember Carole Kendrick.
“Believe me, this was a tough decision because there were so many good candidates tonight,” Mayor Jackie Peterson said following the vote to appoint Howard-Clark on a motion by Kendrick.
According to her application, Howard-Clark has been a member of the city’s Planning Commission since November 2023, has volunteered with the City Building Department and was the treasurer for Kendrick’s city council campaign. She is currently a computer information tech at Hemet True Value.
During her interview with the council, she identified four areas as the city’s top priorities: economic development, infrastructure, housing and public safety.
“Let’s get to prioritizing and doing what we can for the city [and] for the citizens,” she said when asked how she would work through prioritizing the city’s limited financial resources.
Last month, Kendrick notified the city that she would be resigning from her seat effective May 9. With an estimated cost of $34,000 to hold a special election this November, the council decided to move forward with an appointment until the city’s next general municipal election in November 2026.
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“After the election, the appointed person shall continue in office until the elected individual has been qualified to fill the vacancy,” City Clerk John Paul Maier said at the May 8 special meeting. “The elected individual shall then serve the remainder of the unexpired term.”
Kendrick was previously appointed to the District 1 seat in June 2023 following the death of Councilmember Karlee Meyer that April. Kendrick was subsequently elected to the seat last November with 60% of the vote and was chosen to serve as Mayor Pro Tem earlier this year. Her term was not set to expire until December 2028.
Before joining the council, Kendrick, who has lived in the city since 1999, served on the city’s Community Development Planning Division and as a chair of the Infrastructure Commission and was a member of the Western Riverside Council of Governments’ Investment Oversight Committee and the city’s inaugural Youth Council Ad Hoc Committee.
“Carole has a true passion for planning, and we’d like to present her with a small token of appreciation for her years of public service,” Peterson said, as a staff member brought out a replica street sign bearing the words, Kendrick Hollow. “We also want to wish her the best as she plans new memories with her baby grandson and her family.”
Other applicants interviewed by the council included Robert Galletta, Dana Hill, Lori VanArsdale, Carlos Michel, Norm Kyriss and Paul Gray.
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