Former Hemet City Councilman Joe Males has taken the early lead in a special election for a council seat in that city’s the 4th District. Valley News/Courtesy photo
The court-ordered annulment of Hemet City Mayor Pro Tem Joe Males’ November 2020 election led the council to call for a special election to fill his open seat in November or earlier.The decision was made by the four remaining council members following a heated and sometimes emotional discussion at the June 8 meeting whether or not he should be appointed back on the council that night.The discussion, whether Males should be appointed to council immediately, was led by Mayor Karlee Meyer. The four council members, Meyer, Linda Krupa, Russ Brown and Malcolm Lilienthal, responded.The discussion followed many residents from Males’ former District 4 and others who, one by one, took the speaker’s podium to encourage the council to act that night to appoint Males back to the coun
