Ridgefield City Council voted unanimously to appoint local social worker and planning committee member Katie Favela to fill its vacant seat following an interview with two candidates in an April 11 meeting.
Favela will fill the seat left vacant by Rob Achiele, who resigned on Feb. 9 following his November 2023 reappointment. Favela and Stephan Mullinax, Ridgefield’s seat on the county’s Mosquito Control Board, were the only two candidates the City Council interviewed.
Favela and her family have lived in Ridgefield for over a decade. She is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist, and currently works in her own practice. Prior to her appointment to the City Council, Favela was the chair of Ridgefield’s planning committee. As part of the planning committee, Favela recommended to the council policies that included housing construction regulations. A mother of two children attending Ridgefield schools, Favela also volunteers to cook for Ridgefield High School’s football team during the season.
Councilor Jennifer Lindsay said Favela’s knowledge and experience of local government made her a qualified candidate for the position.
“Favela has a variety of relationships within the Ridgefield community,” Lindsay said. “These will (aid) her, and the rest of the council, to connect with a broad spectrum of demographics within our community.”
Favela said, as a member, she would like to see more populations considered in council decisions. She said, while new amenities have come into city limits, not every medical or dental practitioners take insurance from low-income families.
“While that’s nothing the city has control over, it would be nice if, when we talk about bringing infrastructure in, the people that are coming to Richfield also are willing to serve a variety of people, and not just one specific population,” Favela said.
Favela said she would bring a fresh perspective to the council, as she engages with a younger population in Ridgefield.
“One of my favorite things so far we got on the planning commission is a letter that we received from a Ridgefield High School student with a concern,” Favela said during her interview with the City Council. “I was so proud that we had someone so young be so concerned about something that was going on in the city and (was) so comfortable reaching out, and I want to expand on that. I want our young people invested in what this looks like because this is their future … They are reaping the consequences of the decisions that are being made now. They are the generation that is going to have to live with this.”
Favela’s seat will be up for election in November 2025.
