City Council's Holly Blair is out as fellow council members vacate her seat due to absences

Blair’s dismissal is the first time a Lemoore council member has ever been forced to vacate his or her seat.

According to Chapter 10 (Vacancies) in the Rules of Procedure, if a council member is “absent from five consecutive regular meetings without good cause” the remaining council members can vacate the seat of the absent council member.

“Tonight, this will be her (Blair) fifth consecutive meeting she’s missed,” said Lemoore City Manager Nathan Olson, who added that the city would begin taking applications for Blair’s and Chad Billingsley’s council seats.

Olson added that the council could conceivably appoint two new council members at its Aug. 6 meeting.

Blair, who currently remains in the Kings County Jail, and faces a number of serious charges, has not attended a Lemoore City Council meeting since May 7. While council members Tuesday night employed the city's Rules of Procedures, California's government code also mandates that if a council member is absent without permission from all regular city council meetings for 60 consecutive days, his or her office becomes vacant.

When it was all over Tuesday night, the council was left with just three members. It was also Billingsley’s final council meeting. He submitted his official resignation earlier that night. The first-term council member took a job recently in Denver with Leprino Foods.

Billingsley’s final council meeting may have been bittersweet for the longtime Lemoore resident and first-term council member who was elected just last November. “Even though my time here was short, I want to leave on a positive note,” he said. “I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

The Council also paved the way for those who would like to fill the two vacant seats. The City will begin accepting applications for the two vacant positions and hopes to appoint two new council members at its Aug. 6 meeting.

The Kings County District Attorney’s Office, on July 8, filed four additional charges against the first-term council member following her second arrest on Saturday (July 6). Police arrested Blair on charges that included suspicion of spousal battery and criminal threats.

Blair’s pretrial conference and a preliminary hearing are scheduled for Aug. 6 at 8:15 a.m.

Lemoore police initially arrested Blair following a June 5 high-speed chase that ended at the intersection of Lemoore Avenue and Cinnamon Drive. The DA’s office initially charged Blair with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon (her car), one count of evading a police officer and three misdemeanors. Superior Court Judge Michael Reinhardt later issued a pair of criminal protective orders mandating that Blair stay at least 100 yards away from the Lemoore Police Department and that she also remain clear of victims in the June 5 incident.