Special Meeting for Interviews of Board of Port Commissioners and Arts Commission Applicants - July 13, 2026
This special meeting was held on July 13, 2026, to interview applicants for the Board of Port Commissioners and the Arts Commission. The city council conducted the interviews in a hybrid format. No public comments were made. The city council will make appointments at the regular city council meeting on Monday, July 27, 2026, at 6:00 PM.
Board of Port Commissioners Interviews
- Stan Moppen (incumbent): Emphasized the port's role in economic development, transportation, and community benefits. Highlighted achievements such as record-breaking revenue, the first regional nature-based living shoreline, and partnerships with SF Bay Ferry and the U.S. Coast Guard. Goals include continuing annual revenue growth, drone deployment for marine mammal tracking, and expanding community benefits.
- Noah Gaspar: Expressed interest in learning from experienced commissioners and bringing oversight skills from his work as a product manager at Meta. Goals include increasing community involvement and leveraging the port's regional and multimodal strengths for funding.
- Joseph Muscat: Stressed his background in accounting and consulting, and his experience building climate change programs. Focused on making the port better understood among stakeholders and engaging private sector partners.
- Nancy Radcliffe: Absent; submitted written responses for council consideration.
Arts Commission Interviews
- Oceana Anderson: Advocated for grassroots outreach to high school students and community hubs to surface public art ideas. Emphasized including input from the Ramay Tush Olone descendants and working with local galleries.
- Kelly Boyett: Proposed collaborating with libraries, commissions, community centers, and nonprofits to represent diverse communities. Highlighted the importance of involving youth and creating programs for them.
- Anthony DeQuattro (Tony): Advocated for accessible arts, reducing reliance on cover bands, promoting original artists, and banning AI in city-sponsored events. Wants to honor current local artists.
- Jeffrey Goodkind: Focused on helping Redwood City develop its own artistic identity through collaboration with local businesses and providing consistent venues for expression.
- Megan La Sara: Emphasized authentic representation and literacy through arts. Proposed a book and arts festival to bring together authors, illustrators, and local businesses.
- Anthony Lazarus: Presented a vision for public art installations in key spaces like Courthouse Square. Suggested leveraging the city's climate and demographics to become a cultural destination. Showed slides of public art examples.
- Roberta Newhousler: Advocated for continued outreach, multilingual information, and partnerships with community organizations. Vision includes strengthening the grant ecosystem and co-creating a vibrant arts scene as an economic asset.
- Aravic Roy: A high school student, proposed investing in community-driven public art murals and deepening partnerships with schools. Suggested a youth artist council and interactive art installations in public spaces.
- Natalie Wills: Shared personal story of overcoming adversity and using art to tell stories of underdogs. Wants to help create art that inspires emotional connection. Mentioned working on a mural project with Caltrans.
- Several applicants were absent and provided written responses: Sophia Constantini, Mark Facet, Gregory Harrington, Jose Maciel, Leah Nonis, and Georgina Corbett (did not appear in person or online).
Key Outcomes
- All applicants for the Board of Port Commissioners (four) and Arts Commission (15 applicants; 10 interviewed in person, 5 absent) presented their qualifications and visions.
- The city council will make selections for both commissions at the regular city council meeting on July 27, 2026, at 6:00 PM. Applicants do not need to be present to be selected.
Meeting Transcript
Interviews of applicants for the Arts Commission and the Board of Court Commissioners. We hold meetings in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual participation available. And the city welcomes public comment on topics within the city's subject matter jurisdiction and members of the public may provide comments as follows. In-person speakers will be called first. Speaker cards are located at the back table in the council chambers and must be turned into the city clerk here at the Dais. Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number you wish to speak on. Attendees who have joined us by Zoom will be called to speak after the in-person comments have been given. Detailed instructions for public comment will be provided on the screen when the time for public comment begins. And with that, I'll now turn it over to our city clerk to call the roll. Good evening. Councilmember Chu. Here. Councilmember G. Present. Council Member Howard. Here. Councilmember Padilla. Present. Councilmember Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Aiken. Here. Mayor Martinez Avayos. Here. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. With that, we'll go to the Vice Mayor for the Pledge of Allegiance. Please join me in saluting our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it says one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Vice Mayor. We have all council members participating in person, so we'll skip over item number four and move to item number five, which is public comment. We'll now take public comment on items both on and off the agenda. We welcome speakers providing public comment, but please be advised that this is a limited public forum. And as such, speakers must address matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city. And if speakers do not, they'll be warned. And if they continue to disregard city rules, their opportunity to speak will be limited. If you're attending in person, please fill out a speaker card and submit it to the city clerk here at the Dais. And if you're attending virtually, feel free to raise your hand on Zoom at this time or press star nine if you've joined by phone. Once we've gathered all speaker cards and raised hands and have begun public comment, no additional speakers will be allowed to queue up to speak. I will now turn it over to our city clerk to facilitate public comment. Thank you, Mayor. I don't have any speaker cards at this time. So last call to the audience if anyone would like to give public comment this evening, or if you've joined us on Zoom, go ahead and raise your hand to be recognized. Seeing none, Mayor, that concludes public comment. Great, thank you, City Clerk. With that, we'll move to item six and now begin the interviews for Board of Port Commissioners and Arts Commission. The city clerk has provided all applicants with the same interview questions in advance, and the questions will also be shown on the screen for your reference. The process for tonight's interviews will be as follows. We'll begin with the interviews for the board of port commissioners, followed by the art commission. Each of you will be called to the podium one at a time based on the order published on the agenda.
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