Local News in Brief : Irvine : 4,100 Sign Petition for Special Election

Petitioners have filed more than 4,100 signatures aimed at forcing a special election to fill a vacant City Council seat, city officials said.

The petitions, collected by backers of Councilwoman Sally Anne Miller and filed with the Irvine city clerk, seek to block Cameron Cosgrove from filling the council seat of City Councilman Larry Agran, who last month was chosen as the city’s first directly elected mayor.

By law, Cosgrove, as the first runner-up in June’s council race, would fill Agran’s seat. But voters last month also approved Measure D, which calls for special elections to fill vacant council seats when enough voter signatures are submitted.

For Measure D to apply to the June 7 election, the final vote tally for Measure D must be validated by state officials by July 15. However, City Clerk Nancy Lacey said it was unlikely the deadline would be met because the certification of the election results could come no sooner than next Tuesday.

“I’m not at all optimistic that will happen,” Lacey said.

Meanwhile, in a continuing recount of the council race, Cosgrove gained four votes Wednesday, while Miller gained three, according to the county registrar of voters office. Assistant Registrar Rosalyn Lever said ballots had been counted from only 10 of Irvine’s 110 voting precincts by late Wednesday.

In the initial vote last month, Cosgrove trailed Miller by 106 votes, coming in third in the race for two council seats.