Gibson Announces Plans to Resign His Baldwin Park City Council Seat

Councilman Richard Gibson has announced that he will resign his seat as of June 10, City Clerk Linda Gair said last week.

Gibson’s planned resignation comes after that of City Manager Ralph Webb and two department heads but is not related to the recent personnel changes at City Hall, Mayor Leo King said.

Gibson, who commutes nearly 180 miles a day to his job in Ventura as a teacher and navigator for the California Air National Guard, indicated he wants to move closer to work, King said.

Attempts to reach Gibson were unsuccessful.

“I think Mr. Gibson is a good council person,” King said. “We may have differed philosophically on some issues, but I like him as an individual.”

Term Ends in 1992

Gair said Gibson approached her about three weeks ago to discuss his plans to resign. Gibson, 36, is serving his second term, which ends in April, 1992.

“He wanted to time it so that the city is the least impacted by it,” Gair said.

She said that at their June 21 meeting, council members are scheduled to decide whether they will fill Gibson’s unexpired term by election or appointment.

King said he did not know which way the council will go.

“This thing is just upon us,” King said. “We haven’t really given it a lot of thought.”

Appointment or Election

If council members decide to appoint a replacement, they could select a candidate Gibson defeated in 1988.

Terry Hughes, who lost to Gibson by 20 votes, no longer lives in the city and therefore is ineligible to serve, Gair said. But George Archibeque, the third-place finisher, may be a potential appointee, she said.

If the council calls an election, it will be on the November ballot, Gair said. A consolidated election would be half as expensive as a separate municipal election, which costs $18,000 to $20,000, she said.

Candidates could file for office between July 17 and Aug. 11.

During his five years on the council, Gibson has served as a city representative to the Mid-Valley Community Mental Health Council and as an alternate to the Independent Cities of Los Angeles County. He is the city’s representative to the San Gabriel Valley Association of Cities Committee and the Foothill Transit Zone.