Vacant LE City Council Seat Filled Tonight

The Lake Elsinore City Council is expected to fill a vacant seat on its dais tonight.

During the open session of the regularly scheduled Lake Elsinore City Council meeting tonight at 7 p.m., four applicants will be publically interviewed by the entire City Council for consideration of appointment to the vacant seat.

Genie Kelley, Peter Weber, Rick Morsch and Jerry Carlos are among the four applicants.

The short list of four was narrowed from a long list of 15 who were all publically interviewed on Aug. 19 by a City Council subcommittee comprised of council members Melissa Melendez and Brian Tisdale. ( to read more about the Aug. 19 interviews.)

Originally, two applicants were selected during the Aug. 19 meeting, but the number was increased to four on Aug. 26 after some residents complained that the short list should include more names. (to read more about the Aug. 23 complaints.)

The four applicants to be considered Tuesday night all have public service experience.

Morsch, who has served on the city's planning commission since July 2010, owns an engineering firm and has lived in the city for eight years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Carlos, a retired Riverside County Sheriff's Department deputy and current coach for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District and Perris Unified High School District, owns his own company and has lived in the city for 12 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the University of California, Riverside.

Kelley served on the Lake Elsinore City Council from 1995 to 2008 and is currently a teacher with the Lake Elsinore Unified School District. She has lived in the city for 27 years and holds a master’s degree in education and curriculum from Azusa Pacific University.

Weber served as the city’s treasurer from 2004 to 2008 and currently works as a manager with ReadyPac Inc. He has lived in the city for eight years and holds a master’s degree in accounting from California State University, Fullerton.

The four are vying for the seat left vacant when then-Mayor Amy Bhutta

Click here to read tonight's City Council agenda.