San Diego

By unanimous vote, the San Diego City Council decided Monday not to appoint anyone to fill the 7th District seat vacated by Dick Murphy, who resigned to become a Municipal Court judge last week.

Though the race for Murphy’s seat is already hotly contested, the city received only one applicant to fill out the remaining several months of Murphy’s term--and Monday she withdrew her name, Mayor Roger Hedgecock said.

The council, by a 7-0 vote with Mike Gotch absent, decided instead to leave the seat open through the September primary and November general elections.

Until voters select Murphy’s replacement, 7th District mail, phone calls, complaints and concerns will be handled by Murphy’s administrative staff. His longtime executive assistant, John Kern, is resigning July 12 to take a public-relations job, but aide Lou Ann Holmes will supervise the office.

Policy issues for the district will be referred to the entire City Council, Kern said.