Without offering an explanation, Couper Condit tendered his resignation from the Ceres City Council on Monday, just 10 months into his four-year term. The news stunned his supporters, touched off a whirlwind of rumors and speculation throughout the community and left fellow councilmembers scratching their head.
The 25-year-old Condit, who hammered the theme of transparency during his short tenure, did not shed any light on what prompted his decision. He did not respond to the Courier when asked for a statement.
Condit is employed as the district director for state Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Stockton. Calls to the Ripon office were unanswered as of press deadline.
The resignation was delivered Monday via an email to Acting City Manager Alex Terrazas, who had no idea why Condit stepped down. The message came hours before Monday’s council meeting where the resignation was announced by Mayor Javier Lopez. Condit was a no-show and his name plate was not in place.
“I would have wished that he had been here to say why,” said Lopez after the meeting. “It’s a fair question to ask. If it was me, I would have shown up and give my explanation. I mean, I hope he has a good, valid reason.”
Condit attended the Sept. 27 and gave no indication he was going to be leaving his post. At that meeting, members rejected his request to consider an agenda item to expand the city’s conflict of interest code beyond what the state requires.
The resignation means that the council is once again minus a fifth member. The council was complete for a brief time after James “Jim” Casey was elected in August to the District 1 seat and installed on Sept. 20. The council will have the option to appoint a successor. Since Condit was also serving as vice mayor, Mayor Lopez will need to appoint a one among council ranks.
Couper’s brother, Channce Condit, resigned from his Ceres City Council seat midway through his term after winning a seat on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors in 2020.
Couper Condit is the grandson of former Congressman Gary A. Condit and great-grandson of Ceres pastor Adrian Condit.
Condit moved into District 4 about a month before the opening of the 2020 candidate filing period and went on to raise over $10,500, tapping into his family’s political connections. He won on Dec. 8 with 1,229 votes, defeating incumbent Mike Kline who was in second place at 757 votes. Others who lost were Eric A. Gonzalez with 626 votes and Daniel A. Martinez who picked up 606 votes.
In one of his statements published in the Courier during the campaign, Condit said: “If we want to be a great city we must have leaders that will put the city’s needs above their own and make tough decisions.”
After he assumed office in December, Condit was promptly appointed vice mayor.
Condit previously had been appointed to a vacancy on the Ceres Planning Commission in April 2015 and reappointed later that year. He was turned down for reappointment in 2020.
