New councilmember appointed in Madera as city avoids calling $40,000 special election
After Madera City Councilmembers gridlocked 3-3 in December on who to appoint to the vacant District 1 seat, the two official nominees for the position — Rohi Zacharia and Tim Riché — got together and decided the contest themselves.
During Wednesday night’s meeting, Riché announced he was bowing out, and the council then voted unanimously to appoint Zacharia to the District 1 seat. The council had until Feb. 2 to either appoint someone by a majority vote or call a special election for the seat, which was vacated by Cece Gallegos when she was sworn in as the city’s new mayor last month. A special election would have cost the city an estimated $40,000.
“The most important thing was to make sure that the council didn’t push us to an election and kind of waste necessary money,” said Zacharia, who will be officially sworn in as the District 1 councilmember during the Feb. 5 meeting.
A special election also would not have taken place until November, leaving the District 1 seat vacant until then and the council open to a year of potential gridlocked votes on important issues. That’s what happened in 2021, when Madera councilmembers had to call a special election because they were unable to agree on an appointment for the District 5 seat vacated by Santos Garcia as he became mayor. Ultimately, Councilmember Elsa Mejia was elected in November 2021, but her district’s seat had sat “silent” for a year, she said last month as she warned against another special election.
It appeared as though the council was headed in that direction again when it failed to decide between Zacharia and Riché on Dec. 18. That night, Gallegos and Councilmembers Elsa Mejia and Steve Montes voted to appoint Riché, while Councilmembers Jose Rodriguez, Anita Evans and Artemio Villegas voted for Zacharia.
“Having a 3-3 vote, or having an even number vote, I don’t think is a wise thing for the City Council,” Riché said Wednesday as he endorsed Zacharia. “They will not move things forward on some issues.
“Three of you guys are going to get the guy that you voted for, that you endorsed,” Riché told the council. “The other three of you ... you’re going to have somebody that you can reason with and you can talk to, and I think (Zacharia) is a valuable person for District 1.”
Zacharia told The Bee he and Riché sat down to discuss their views and concerns for District 1 and the city, and they found they agreed on a lot.
“He (Riché) said he would support me and was going to hold me accountable to make sure that I stick with what we both agree are some of the things that need to be done at the city,” Zacharia told The Fresno Bee.
Gallegos held the District 1 seat since 2016 prior to winning November’s contested mayoral election. Major residential growth is expected in this northwest Madera district that will be home to Village D, a master-planned community that could add commercial storefronts, three elementary schools and more than 10,000 homes at full buildout.
District 1 is geographically the city’s largest, stretching to Avenue 14 on its southernmost boundary, past Road 22 1/2 on its westernmost boundary, past Avenue 17 on its northernmost boundary and to Pine Street on its easternmost boundary. It includes the Madera Municipal Airport, golf course and a portion on the Fresno River.
As he sought the appointment to the District 1 seat, Zacharia, 43, pointed to the governance experience that he has gained while serving on the city’s Planning Commission. He works for his family’s business, Zaks Security One in Madera and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Fresno State.
He told The Bee one of his main focuses will be the city’s public parks.
“Madera, when it was built out, really didn’t take a priority on making sure there were funds allocated, or space allocated, for green space,” he said, “so there’s definitely some areas that are lacking that.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 2:13 PM.
