Update: An earlier version of this article contained information added by our editor stating that the vote violated California's Brown Act. The City has disputed this and indicated that a public vote was held. Our earlier report was based on a text from a Councilmember indicating that the vote was "anonymous" after ECM's editor asked whether the vote was unanimous. An anonymous vote during a public meeting would be illegal. Please see correction note below this article for full details.
By Jessica Brodkin Webb
Miriam Raftery contributed to this report.
February 5, 2025 (Lemon Grove) –Lemon Grove’s City Council last night appointed Yadira Altamirano to fill the seat left vacant after Allyson Snow was elected as Mayor in 2024. She was previously appointed to finish City Council Member Matt Mendoza’s term from late 2019 through December 2020.
To members on the dais, Altamirano recalled her arrival in Lemon Grove as a young child who did not speak English but felt safe walking to and from school, playing in neighborhood parks and navigating city streets.
Since then, the businesswoman said, she grew to appreciate where she was raised and chose to come back and raise her own children in the small city.
“My desire is to make an impact and make Lemon Grove as I remember it when I was little,” Altamirano said.
Answering questions posed by Snow and city council members, Altamirano said her top focus points would be improved safety, infrastructure projects and city repairs.
“Our youth are our future,” Altamirano said, and emphasized her desire to clean up the city is rooted in wanting to restore the Lemon Grove she remembers from her own youth. Her application indicated her goals include reopening the city’s rec center.
She also said she wants to see time dedicated to community service projects, and suggested residential buildings could be cleaned up to illustrate a sense of pride in Lemon Grove.
When Council members asked about her experience, she suggested she might be a wiser choice than other candidates, as this will be her second go-round on the dais.
Her first time on the Council coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many operations including City Council meetings were handled remotely. She did not address how that experience would inform her ability to affect change under current, post-pandemic practices.
When pressed for suggestions on what she might do to enhance the city, she cited La Mesa’s car show and farmers market as examples of events which bring the community together, but reiterated the city’s need to clean up its appearance so events are attractive to residents. On her application, she mentioned bringing back the Old Times Parade as a goal.
Altamirano landed this second appointment to City Council over candidates Kenneth Davies, Robert Holaday, Cody Littleton, Oyuki Littleton, Minola Manson, Robert Rael, Seth Smith and James Stout. Jay Bass withdrew his application before last night’s Council meeting, which included interviews with all applicants.
After the interviews, Councilmembers were asked to place marks next to up to three candidates whom they would be willing to have serve on the Council. Altimirano received three votes, the most of any applicant. A subsequent vote was held publicly, with a motion and second, according to the Mayor, with Altimirano receiving a unanimous vote of all four Councilmembers.
The next Lemon Grove City Council meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Lemon Grove Community Center.
Correction: An earlier version of the article indicated that the vote was held anonymously, which would violate California’s Brown Act prohibiting secret votes on any agendized item in a public meeting. The Brown Act information was added to our reporter's original article draft, due to a text from a Councilmember to our editor stating that the vote was “anonymous” and that each councilmember could vote for “up to three.” This text was in response to our editor's text asking who voted for or against the appointment, which was not in our reporter’s draft. The Councilmember’s text also included a photo of the vote tally for each applicant, without any Councilmembers identified on the vote tally. That tally showed three votes for Yadira Altamira.
Mayor Snow and a city legal representative have both since advised that a second vote was held in public and seconded (after the initial tally), and that this vote was public and unanimous, with all four Councilmembers supporting Altamirano's appointment.
Lemon Grove does not videotape its Council meetings, unlike all other East County cities, nor are email addresses for staff listed on the city’s webpage, making it difficult to verify information or obtain answers to question in a timely manner after a meeting. In this case, ECM sought information from the only city representative we had contact for after hours, since our editor wanted to post the news about Altamirano's appointment before leaving town for three days. ECM regrets the error.