For the second time in 10 years, the San Mateo City Council will make a mid-term council appointment and it plans to require in-depth applications and hold a public meeting before filling Councilwoman Carole Groom’s soon-to-be vacant seat.

Three councilmembers met Friday in a special meeting to discuss the process for appointing a replace to Groom’s seat, which will become vacant once she resigns to take her new position on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. The council, consisting of Mayor Brandt Grotte, Councilwoman Jan Epstein and Councilman John Lee, chose to model their appointment process after the county, which recently appointed Groom to fill the seat of newly elected state Assemblyman Jerry Hill.

The major shuffle brought a handful of possible candidates to City Hall Friday, raising questions of who will actually pull papers and who might throw their support behind others.

The council is assuming Groom will resign her seat between the end of the year and the first Board of Supervisors meeting Jan. 6. The city charter requires the council to appoint a new councilmember within 30 days of the seat becoming vacant. The council plans to place the application material on its Web site Monday and begin notifying the public of the vacant seat via public notices and e-mails. Applications will be due Jan. 14 with a public meeting to hear from candidates Jan. 21 and an appointment made on Jan. 22, according to a plan presented by Grotte.

Grotte will be the sole deciding vote if the four-member council cannot agree on an appointment, according to the city’s charter. The last time a mayor made an appointment to the council was in 2000.

“I believe this is an important enough issue that I want to stay away from being put in that position,” Grotte said.

There are at least nine possible candidates, seven of whom attended Friday’s meeting. Possible candidates include longtime resident and labor activist Rich Hedges, former council candidate Anne Arnold, Community Relations Commissioner David Lim, former planning commissioner and council candidate Karen Herrell, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Charlie Dreschler, former planning commissioner and council candidate Bertha Sanchez and planning commissioners Fred Hansson and Robert Gooyer.

Some candidates were already considering running for office in November, when three seats currently held by Groom, Epstein and Grotte are up for re-election. Epstein is facing term limits and Grotte, in his first term, is presumed to be running again. An appointment to the City Council next month will allow that person to run as an incumbent in November.

Herrell, who sought in 2000 appointment to the seat left vacant by the death of councilman Gary Yates, said she is considering applying for the position again only to serve as a placeholder until the November election. Candidates should “have a level playing field” in November, Herrell said.

“It’s time to bring in the next generation of leadership,” Herrell said.

Herrell indicated she was pleased with the council’s chosen process for this appointment. The council has an inconsistent pattern of choosing replacements in its last two appointments.

In 1998, John Lee was appointed to City Council to fill the seat vacated by Jerry Hill who was elected to the Board of Supervisors. The council chose Lee in part because he was the next highest vote getter in the 1997 election. That year councilman Gary Yates and councilwoman Sue Lempert were re-elected to council. Jan Epstein was elected to the seat previously held by a termed-out Paul Gumbinger.

Lee ran again in 1999 against Herrell and incumbent Claire Mack. Lee and Mack won the two seats.

In 2000, the council appointed Gumbinger as a placeholder to Yates’ seat. Herrell, a planning commissioner, advocated for the seat because she was the second highest vote getter to Lee the previous year. Fellow planning commissioner Groom was also seeking the seat. The council deadlocked on the decision and, as dictated by the city charter, Mayor Epstein chose to appoint Gumbinger as a placeholder until the next election.

Later, Groom applied to run during the general election and Herrell did not. Groom was unopposed, the council canceled the election and appointed her to the seat. She ran as an incumbent in the 2001 election.

This time, the council will have a defined application process that allows the council to chose a replacement based on a candidate’s resume instead of other factors.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.