The Copper Canyon Town Council this week appointed David Gibson to fill an empty seat on the council dais, just a few days after a second council member submitted his resignation this month.
On July 11, Rudy Castillo — a council member since 2020 who had just won reelection in May — submitted his resignation letter. Mayor Ron Robertson said Castillo didn’t give a reason for his resignation. Castillo had no comment on Tuesday.
Then on Thursday, Larry Johnson — a council member since 2021 — also submitted his resignation. Robertson said Johnson resigned over a possible conflict of interest over a new development. Johnson also had no comment Tuesday.
Robertson said during the meeting that instead of calling an expensive special election to fill both seats for a short period of time, the council decided to appoint someone to fill Castillo’s seat until the next election, May 2025, and leave Johnson’s seat vacant until the term ends in May 2025. The council chose to not accept Johnson’s resignation yet, meaning it isn’t technically official, even though Johnson was not at Monday’s meeting. It will become official late this week, eight days after the town received the resignation letter, meaning the town will only have one vacancy at a time. If there were two or more at the same time, a special election would have to be called. During the meeting, the town attorney confirmed that the town was not breaking any laws handling the resignations this way.
Robertson said he reached out to Gibson and two Planning & Zoning Commission members to encourage them to apply for Castillo’s seat.
“I felt they would be the best options for this position,” Robertson said Tuesday. “I think Dave will be a great addition to the Town Council.”
Gibson was sworn in during Monday’s meeting. His seat will be on the May election ballot for the final year of its term.
Several residents spoke during the public comment section at the beginning of the meeting, accusing the mayor and remaining council members of trying to push their own agenda and appointing someone more in line with their interests, with one resident saying the town was in “crisis.” On Tuesday, Robertson said residents should not be concerned.
“It’s unfortunate they resigned. They’re both great people, and they’re friends of mine, and they had their reasons,” Robertson said. “The town is financially strong, sound and solid, and people should not worry.”
During the meeting, Robertson said there will be lots of “opportunity for change” among town leadership because four seats — his, Dale Andrews’, Gibson’s and the vacant seat — will be on the ballot in May 2025.
