(Cypress, Calif.) — During a special meeting held on Nov. 28, the Cypress City Council appointed resident Rachel Strong to the at-large council seat vacated by former Council Member Scott Minikus. Following the Council’s 3-1 vote, Strong took the oath of office to begin her service. The appointment came after the individual first selected to the seat withdrew from the process, prompting the City Council to convene a publicly noticed special meeting to meet the Nov. 30 legal deadline to fill the vacancy.

Strong, a small business owner and former Senior Citizens Commissioner, will serve for the remainder of Council Member Minikus’ current at-large term, which concludes when the District 5 Council Member elected in November 2026 is sworn in. By making this appointment, the City avoids the need for a special election, a process that could have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and would not have occurred until April 2026.

“Meeting the legal deadline to fill the vacancy required the Council to convene on an atypical date. I’m grateful to my colleagues and our City staff for working as a team to meet the deadline, and I’d like to thank our residents who remained engaged throughout the process,” said Mayor David Burke.

“I am excited to have such a well-respected, local business owner joining the Council. Ms. Strong was the next runner-up when she ran for a council seat in 2022, so I know she has support throughout the community. I’m looking forward to the energy and fresh ideas that she will bring to the group,” Burke added.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Cypress City Council will be held on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025.

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