photo credit: City of Cotati
Former Cotati city council member Kay Rivers (left) with former San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

City council members in Cotati are weighing how to fill a seat on the city's governing body.

That's after an unexpected resignation earlier this month.

In a letter handed to Cotati's city manager on January 21, council member Kathleen "Kay" Rivers cited personal and professional reasons for her immediate resignation.

It was a surprise to the council said Sylvia Lemus.

"She's a teacher, she also has a family," Lemus said. "So I think it was just a lot, and she just decided to resign."

Lemus and Rivers joined the council at the same time. They were the only two candidates who applied to fill two vacant seats in 2022, both were subsequently appointed.

Rivers' resignation means the four remaining council members will decide whether to again appoint a new member to fill the vacated seat, or hold a special election to fill the position.

"I know there'll be a lot of questions and community inputs," Lemus said. "I think I want to wait and see what's presented, and the public will be present as well [at the January 28th meeting]. So ultimately, just making sure we do the best thing for the city."

Estimates on the cost of a special election range from $17,000 to $76,000.

According to reporting in the Press Democrat, in her resignation letter Rivers thanked her fellow council members, noting pride in the council's work during her tenure to protect and expand housing in Cotati, among other efforts.

Lemus said she and Rivers worked together to highlight the many colors and faces of Cotati's community.

"I am definitely going to miss working together," Lemus said. "I think we worked to really bring the community into city council, and to recognize the community. We started, you know, actively recognizing communities. Black History Month, AAPI Month, Juneteenth Celebration, Pride Month, Latino Heritage Month. So we really want to make sure that we didn't miss these opportunities that came up."

Rivers, one of the few out LGBT politicians in Sonoma County, did not respond to a request for comment on her resignation.