Council Interviews Prospective Commissioners
From the Library Commission to the Planning Commission, residents stood up to be interviewed for the chance to play a bigger role in the City.
Council Interviews Prospective Commissioners
This week the City Council interviewed candidates looking to claim a seat on one of the four Commissions that make policy and financial recommendations. The initial applicants were whittled down to the final few who were called in for rapid-fire 10 minute interviews with the full Council on Tuesday.
The Commissions are bodies of residents appointed by the City Council that make financial and policy recommendations to the Council, which is the only body which can take any official action. Although the Commissions themselves can’t take direct legislative action, the City Council privileges their input on a variety of matters and tends to bend their ear to the Commissioners.
The four Commissions with seats up are: the Library Commission (2 vacancies), the Personnel Commission (1 vacancy), the Community Services Commission (6 vacancies), and the Planning Commission (1 vacancy). The Library Commission advises Council on the varied library policies that may need addressing. The Personnel Commission mostly looks over and changes job descriptions, but they can also be involved in employee grievance matters.
The Community Services Commission (CSC) is the biggest commission by numbers (17 members) and primarily advices Council on allocating local and Federal funding resources to different non-profit agencies and community services throughout the City. However, given the broadness of their Mission in the bylaws, they have recently played a larger role in City politics, including encouraging Council to make a formal apology to the former residents of Russell City and their descendants, as well as pushing for support of the Reparations Task Force. They’ve also recently engaged with the Police Department about the Captain’s Advisory Panel (CAP), seeking to make reforms to that body.
The Planning Commission (PC) is, in terms of resources allocated, the most important Commission of them all. A frequent pathway to serving on the City Council (Andrews, Bonilla Jr., Roche, and Goldstein all served on the PC directly before being elected/appointed to Council), the PC conducts public hearings on proposed developments, zoning actions, and subdivisions as well as making policy recommendations for zoning, planning regulations, design review, and the General Plan. They help decide how the City is built and have historically had a lot to say about developments, and even what businesses can operate in the City. They, along with community members, were instrumental in preventing an Amazon last-mile fulfillment center from being built near Clawiter Road.
The Interviews
I’m gonna level with y’all, I didn’t watch all the interviews. They started at 4pm and ran ‘til after 11pm. I have a day job, but I did catch the Planning Commission (PC) interviews. There were 5 candidates, and they were all asked more or less the same questions from Council. Given how this has historically been a path to Council, it’s likely the most politically charged of the commissions.
Kelly Sullivan scored the highest on the interview score and, as our East Bay Insider Steven Tavares noted on Monday, seemed like the most likely candidate. Unfortunately, her answers to the interview questions seemed to lack some necessary prior knowledge and specificity. She just didn’t seem as comfortable answering the questions as others.
Then came Shanta “Shay” Franco-Clausen. This was her second time interviewing for the PC. She was on the alternate list last year and, in a rare controversial vote, was denied the open spot after Ray Bonilla Jr. was appointed to Council from the PC. Her answers were competent with an emphasis on both diversity and policing (she’s the wife of a police officer). She emphasized helping underserved communities, increasing business, and addressing traffic. Nothing really radical in her vision, but the combination of equity and pro-business and pro-police comments peg her as a very Establishment Democrat-ish candidate.
Ron Meyers was next. Self-proclaimed Mayor of his block, Hayward Concerned Citizens member, former union electrician and current landlord/realtor, Meyers also comes from a public transit background. He put a lot of emphasis on bike lanes, protection of varying beliefs (not sure why), and a had slight tinge of NIMBYism. His closing remarks said the quiet part out loud when he explained his jump directly into the PC with how involved he has been politically as a private resident.
When Tyler Zamudio came in next, it was a tough act to follow and he, unfortunately, did not impress. A construction worker, he was apparently encouraged to jump into this by the owner of the company he works for. He clearly has knowledge of the construction industry, but his policy chops were severely lacking. Mayor Mark Salinas tried to buoy his spirits, but the Council was unimpressed, to say the least.
Unfortunately, George Carillo had to call in. It was explained that his mother had collapsed and was in the hospital, but he called in anyway. Between his lack of policy knowledge and the technical difficulties, he had a poor showing. It’s totally not his fault, but Mr. Carillo, your momma is more important than the Planning Commission. I hope she recovers soon.
The Results
Deliberations went on for about an hour. There were some disagreements here and there, but it all came together in the end.
The Library Commission
Dominique Dozier and Crystal Porter were chosen for the two vacancies with Marhya Kelsch chosen as an alternate. Dozier was the clear front-runner and Porter’s hands-on experience and volunteerism pushed her slightly ahead of Kelsch.
The Personnel Commission
Megan Sadiqui was the clear favorite. Her HR experience impressed Councilmembers, especially Mayor Salinas. Maximillian Orlando was chosen as an alternate because of the breadth of experience he could bring to the commission.
The Community Services Commission
With 10 candidates and 8 openings, here’s how it all shook out. A full CSC term is 4 years, but with so many drop-offs, there were many unfinished terms to fill. Nominally, if you get a longer term, Council probably feels more confident about you, but the hardest part is getting your foot in the door.
Mariana Triviso - 4 year term
Yoshiko Kimura - 4 year term
Guadalupe Angulo - 3 year term
Jesse Gunn - 3 year term
Daisy Maxion - 2 year term
Calvin Wong - 2 year term
Amardeep Brar - 2 year term
Tyne Johnson - 1 year term
For alternate, only one person was selected: Hoang Dao, but it was a split vote. Mayor Salinas and Councilmember George Syrop both voted against his appointment. The other councilmembers were apparently won over by his energy, with Councilmember Julie Roche overheard to say “I adore him!”.
The Planning Commission
Mayor Salinas opened the deliberations with apparent concern about how political this commission has become, explaining that he didn’t want it to come down to a letter writing campaign. But when you get 4 recent councilmembers elected directly from the PC, it’s going to get political.
The council eventually settled on Shanta “Shay” Franco-Clausen as their choice with Ron Meyers as the alternate.
Franco-Clausen’s appointment won’t come into effect in time for this Thursday’s PC meeting, but, like all the candidates, she should start sometime in September. Their official notification from the City should happen in the next few days.