WAPATO -- Eighty-year-old Ruth Cabrera is taking over a Wapato City Council seat her grandson vacated nearly a year ago.

On Monday night, the City Council voted 5-1 to appoint Cabrera, a 50-year resident and retired store clerk.

Cabrera said in a phone interview this week that she's interested in seeing some cleanup done in town and some youth activities offered.

"I love Wapato," she said. "I've lived here all these years and now it just looks ugly, it's embarrassing."

She said she'd like to help the city reopen the municipal swimming pool. The pool and parks and recreation have gone unfunded for the past four years because of the city's budget struggles.

In approving Cabrera's appointment, the City Council passed over former Councilwoman Elvia Lopez, a 34-year-old substitute teacher who had submitted an application earlier this month.

Lopez was the only one who showed interest in the seat until a Nov. 7 story in the Yakima Herald-Republic noted the seat had remained vacant for 10 months and that she had applied.

Councilman Cuco Roa, who cast the dissenting vote on Cabrera, is accusing the rest of the City Council of handpicking Cabrera for the seat. It was previously held by her grandson, Frank Rodriguez, who resigned out of frustration in January over the council's majority support of liquor licenses in town.

Roa questioned why Cabrera applied for the vacancy just weeks after Lopez was denied. He made a motion at the Nov. 2 council meeting to consider Lopez's application, but it died for lack of a second.

"You can tell they went out and recruited (Cabrera)," Roa said. "Elvia has a masters in education and was on the council before. I'm not happy at all with the decision to put (Cabrera) in."

Mayor pro tem Tony Guzman denies any handpicking by the council.

"I don't think Ruth knows half the council," he said.

Cabrera said she sought the position after reading the newspaper article about the lack of interest among local residents.

"I went on my own. Nobody coaxed me, nobody talked to me -- nada," she said. "I'm very disappointed because I don't like rumors going around like that. If Mr. Roa didn't like them putting me in, then that's his problem."

Her appointment will allow her to serve on the council for two years. She would have to run for a full four-year term in November 2011.

Two council members have said they didn't support Lopez because her first tenure on the council was too closely aligned with former Councilman Juan Orozco, whom they considered controversial.

"She didn't get on the council because no one wants her on the council," Guzman said. "The only one that wants her on the council is Cuco. People don't like her attitude."

Lopez said the seat should be hers because she applied for it first.

"They haven't heard the last from me," Lopez said, recalling what she told coun-cil members. "I told them: 'When one of your positions comes open, I'm running for your position.' That's exactly what I'm going to do."

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.