Richard Gratton Fills City Council Vacancy

The Covina City Council has filled the vacancy created by Robert Biancardi’s resignation last month by appointing accountant and 33-year Covina resident Richard Gratton.

The council voted 3-0, with Councilman Chris Lancaster absent, to appoint Gratton. He was sworn in immediately and took his place on the council. The seat he is filling will be subject to the July 13 recall election that applies to all five council members.

However, unlike the other council members, Gratton will be eligible to run for the council in a special election this fall if his seat, which will appear as Biancardi’s on the ballot, is recalled. Biancardi resigned for personal reasons.

Gratton, 64, is best known around City Hall for his role on a citizens panel that spent two years reviewing the issue of whether the city should dismantle its Fire Department and contract with the county fire district for fire and paramedic services.

Gratton, whose wife worked as a fire safety specialist with the Covina Fire Department for 18 years before retiring in 1991, was the only member of the citizens panel who opposed contracting with the county for fire services. He then led a petition drive to show council members the public sentiment against the proposal.

In another vote Tuesday night, the council directed city staff to quit negotiating with the county over the proposed county fire contract. Council members indicated that they would vote against the idea at their June 1 regular meeting. Council members, as well as numerous community activists and the head of the firefighters union, said at the meeting that it would be too risky to contract with the county at a time when the county department faces major budget cutbacks.

City Manager John R. Thomson estimated that Covina would save only about $25,000 a year by contracting with the county for fire services.