The Lake Elsinore City Council last week decided to appoint Planning Commission Vice Chair Michael Carroll to the vacant District 4 seat.
“I don’t take this role lightly, and I’m certainly here to be a steward of District 4,” Carroll said at the October 28 meeting. “I appreciate you guys as council members, mayor, mayor pro tem, for the sacrifices you have made, and I understand they’re great sacrifices, and I’m here to stand beside you and make those sacrifices as well.”
Carroll was among six District 4 residents who applied to fill the seat vacated by former Councilmember Natasha Johnson upon her election to Assembly District 63 earlier this year. He was also the highest recommended candidate by the subcommittee, composed of Mayor Brian Tisdale and Mayor Pro Tem Robert “Bob” Magee.
“We interviewed all six applicants in person, and each of them brought a special skillset and talents along with a willingness to serve their community,” Magee said. “While every candidate was qualified, we felt that we needed to narrow it down to just the top two so that we could provide our colleagues with a choice and not simply a mandate of one.”
The subcommittee also included a recommendation for Timarie Wooley, who currently serves on the city’s Measure Z Citizens Committee.
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“We have multiple candidates, and we’re blessed with multiple candidates who are very, very well qualified for this job,” Councilmember Steve Manos said. “I suspect that we’re going to have a very contentious election in the not too distant future, and that is a testament to the quality of people that are applying.”
Other applicants were Nicole Dailey, former Lake Elsinore deputy city manager; Jason Devor, planning commissioner; Lisa Orr, vice chair for the Measure Z Citizens Committee; and Everardo Tello, a resident.
“It was an extremely tough decision, extremely tough,” Tisdale said. “I’m just hoping that as long I’m on the council, I don’t have to do this again.”
Because of the difficult decision in front of them, Manos said that his opinion was that the city should hold a special election and let the residents of District 4 decide who should fill the seat, an opinion shared by Councilmember Timothy Sheridan.
“I do not believe that the council should substitute our judgment for the residents of District 4,” he said. “This is a democracy, it’s not up to us to sit here and select one person over five others who are qualified as well to sit on this dais. I believe the people that should do that are in District 4.”
Despite the concerns of Manos and Sheridan, the council moved forward with nominating applicants to fill the role. Tisdale and Magee nominated Carroll, while Manos nominated Dailey and Sheridan abstained from making a nomination.
Carroll is set to be sworn into office at the council’s November 18 meeting and will hold office until the November 2026 election. Whoever wins the November 2026 special election will hold the seat for the remainder of the term, which goes through December 2028.
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