The Chula Vista City Council on Thursday filled the District 4 council seat vacated by the resignation of former council member Andrea Cardenas.
The decision to appoint Rachel Morineau came after nearly six hours of public comment, interviews with the eight candidates, and deliberation between council members.
The eight candidates included Christine Brady, Sharmane Estolano, Megan Moore, Morineau, Guadalupe Ruiz, Nicholas Segura Jr, John Volland, and Daniel Zavala-Soto.
Morineau was selected in a unanimous vote and sworn in to office immediately. She will hold this temporary position until after the November general elections, where Cesar Fernandez and Rudy Ramirez will face off for a full term of service.
Morineau is a 27-year Chula Vista resident and currently works with the South Bay Community Services as its Community Engagement director. She also sits on the San Diego County Social Services Advisory Board as a County District 1 representative since 2021.
Mayor John McCann made the first motion to appoint Morineau, followed by Council member Carolina Chavez. The vote was unanimous at 4-0.
Morineau said she was thankful to everyone and that this is an “amazing opportunity” for her.
“On the real, I am what you get,” she said. “All you get from me is a hard worker, committed, and an open-door policy. Depend on me. Your encouragement was a big piece of this…Let’s get to work.”
In her application, Morineau said as a long-term community leader in the community, she has the long experience of working with community resident leaders, Chula Vista city staff, council members, current and former mayors, as well as state and federal representatives in strategic planning and community building.
“I have a strong pulse in our community and will continue to advocate for better roads, bike lanes, safe parks and walkable streets, the homeless, more jobs, food equity and age-friendly communities,” she wrote. “As council member, I want to work towards bringing in more business and creating more employment opportunities for our residents.”
