After their new mayors were sworn in, Solvang and Buellton were each left with a single vacant city council seat to fill.
Solvang Mayor David Brown and Buellton Mayor David Silva both left behind mid-term vacancies as former city council members when their mayoral terms began. To avoid holding a costly special election, both governing bodies considered going the appointment route to fill Brown’s and Silva’s seats during their respective first meetings of the year.
The Solvang City Council unanimously agreed on a candidate—V. Louise Smith—to appoint during its Jan. 13 meeting, while the Buellton City Council failed to reach a consensus until agreeing to table the decision to Jan. 23.
“This obviously puts everyone in a weird position. I am against appointment in general,” Buellton City Councilmember Hudson Hornick said during the council’s Jan. 9 meeting. “I think it unfairly puts the powers in council’s hands as to who the districts want to have represent them.
“Having said that,” Hornick continued, “we did just have a mayoral election, and I note that Dave King did get 1,200 votes, and to me that is a strong signal that 1,200 people voted for King’s leadership on council.”
Prior to Hornick’s comments, Silva noted that only one candidate for Buellton City Council appointment—Buellton resident and SYV Humane Society Board Chair Carla Mead—complied with the city’s request for candidates to submit a letter of intent.
King stepped forward after Silva invited council hopefuls attending the Jan. 9 meeting to approach the dais.
“I didn’t really write something out, but … my record speaks for itself,” said King, who lost his reelection campaign to Silva in 2024.
Silva and Councilmember Elysia Lewis expressed support for Mead, while Hornick and Councilmember John Sanchez argued to reinstate King on the City Council.
“I am unwilling to appoint somebody else aside from King … absent an election if Mr. King is willing to stand up after 1,200 people voted for him,” said Hornick, who motioned for the council to delay filling the vacant seat until its Jan. 23 meeting.
Hornick’s motion also stated that if the council fails to appoint a candidate with a majority vote on Jan. 23, then Buellton will proceed with a special election to fill the seat. The motion passed in a 3-1 vote, with Lewis dissenting.
Conversely, a 4-0 vote without debate among the Solvang City Council secured Smith’s place as the council’s newest member. The longtime Solvang resident and business owner was sworn in shortly after the vote during the City Council’s Jan. 13 meeting.
“I know there are many issues facing the city of Solvang that need to be addressed. How the city spends money is always a top priority,” Smith said at the meeting. “I know 2025 is expected to be a drought year, which brings up concerns about water conservation, aging wells, and our dependence on state water, of which our allotment continues to decrease.”
Smith added that the wildfires plaguing Los Angeles “further bring to light how vulnerable communities are, and I think we now need to take a closer look at what the city has in place to ensure the safety and security of our citizens, businesses, and many visitors in a catastrophic event.”
This article appears in Jan 16-26, 2025.
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