History has been made in Tracy, California, with the induction of a second Latina on the city council. Local realtor and former school trustee Juana Dement was sworn in Tuesday, filling the vacancy created by Robert Rickman’s election as mayor.
Dement was among 15 applicants for the position. She will finish out the remaining two years left on Rickman’s term. She joins another Latina Republican, Veronica Vargas, on the dais.
Council members were immediately impressed with Dement’s knowledge, particularly about housing affordability issues.
“You could tell that she was coming from a place of knowledge that would be beneficial to the council,” Councilwoman Rhodesia Ransom said. “What really impressed me was that she was the only candidate that was able to go in depth on what it means to measure our outcomes.”
Dement’s appointment leaves two vacancies on the Tracy Unified School District Board of Education. She had just left the board as required by law when another school board member, Kelly Lewis, abruptly resigned citing a busy schedule. The board has voted to hold a special meeting to appoint replacements until the November 2018 election. Interviews will be held on Jan. 31; the deadline to submit an application is Jan. 25.