Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting – March 14, 2024: Interim District 2 Councilmember Interviews and Recommendation
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Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting – March 14, 2024
This special meeting of the Sacramento Personnel and Public Employees Committee was held on Thursday, March 14, 2024, at 5:40 p.m. at the Joe Mimms Jr. Hagginwood Community Center. The sole agenda item was to interview six applicants for the interim District 2 City Council vacancy, discuss their eligibility, and recommend candidates to the full Mayor and Council. The meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m. after a unanimous vote to forward three names for final consideration.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sylvia Crockett expressed strong support for Dale Bernie, citing his 60+ years of residence in District 2, his community leadership as a pastor and coach, and his firsthand knowledge of issues such as homelessness, lack of businesses, and infrastructural decay.
- Gloria Thau (Gloria Tao) and Gare Yang spoke in support of Shoun Thao, highlighting his long-term residency, experience as a former staff member for Councilmember Allen Warren, leadership of Hmong Youth and Parents United, and commitment to youth and community service.
- Dua G Chen (Doji) supported Shoun Thao, noting his inspiration from Thao’s work and the importance of resources for the community.
- Yuali (Yuali) voiced support for Shoun Thao, praising his dedication to the Del Paso Heights community.
- Gordon Liu criticized the appointment process, arguing that the Mayor should serve as interim councilmember to avoid further division, and expressed concern about the short nine-month term.
- Delbert Acevedo asked candidates to demonstrate long-term residency and genuine commitment to District 2.
Discussion Items
- Review of Applicants for Interim District 2 City Councilmember (File ID: 2024-00543)
- Chair Kaplan outlined the process: public comments first, then six candidate interviews (5 minutes each), followed by committee discussion and recommendation to the full Council. She noted that if any candidate who is currently running in the March primary receives over 50% of the vote, the committee intends to appoint that person, but the process would still proceed.
- Candidate interviews (in order):
- Dale Bernie: A lifelong District 2 resident (60+ years), pastor, and youth coach. He emphasized his deep roots, commitment to addressing homelessness, lack of jobs, and blight, and stated he is not a politician but a servant leader. He is a staunch supporter of Stephen Walton for the permanent seat.
- William Farrell: A 39-year resident with experience on the American River Flood Control Board, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), and as economic development coordinator for Del Paso Boulevard. He helped reduce vacancy rates and organized community events.
- Gary McGlynn: Retired semiconductor industry manager, resident since 1992. He spoke about restoring pride and community expectations in District 2, and emphasized listening and collaboration.
- Raquel Shipp: Resident since 2009, co-founder of Sacramento Youth Center (serving 300+ youth annually). She focused on mental health, youth development, and building a community resilience center. She disclosed contracts with the city and stated she would resign from her role if appointed and cleared by the city attorney.
- Timothy Smith: Retired, with a master’s in public policy and 35+ years in government and policy work. He serves on the Active Transportation Commission and other boards. He prioritized restoring community connections and addressing the $66–122 million budget deficit.
- Shoun Thao (Sean Tao): Resident since 1996, former council staff (intern to de facto chief of staff), current executive director of Hmong Youth and Parents United. He emphasized experience, community service, and the need to advocate for District 2 during the budget deficit. He has 10 city contracts and stated he would resign from his nonprofit if appointed.
- Committee questions covered work style, balancing responsibilities, building public trust, being the community’s voice, team-building, favorite parks and restaurants, budget priorities, conflict of interest (for Shipp and Thao regarding city contracts), and handling disruptive council meetings.
Key Outcomes
- The committee voted unanimously (4–0) to recommend three candidates to the Mayor and Council: Raquel Shipp (or Raquelship), Timothy Smith, and Shoun Thao (or Sean Tao).
- The motion was made by Chair Kaplan and seconded by Vice Chair Maple.*
- Candidates Shipp and Thao both confirmed they would resign from their nonprofit positions if the city attorney determined a conflict of interest existed.
- The full Council is scheduled to consider the appointments on March 26, 2024, with a goal of swearing in the interim councilmember the first week of April.
- The committee encouraged all applicants to remain engaged in District 2 and support whomever is selected.
Note: Minutes state the motion was moved by Member Kaplan and seconded by Member Talamantes, consistent with the transcript.
Meeting Transcript
I'm gonna announce it again. Oh, you're you're indifferent. Oh, you know. All right, good evening, everyone. Welcome to the personnel and public employees committee meeting tonight. The meeting is now called to order. Can the clerk please establish the roll call? Thank you. Councilmember Talamantes here. Councilmember Valenzuela. Here. Councilmember Maple. Here and Chair Kaplan. Here, we do have a quorum for members of the public. If you've just shown up and you want to speak on this item, please fill out a speaker slip, which is right there in back. We're gonna call up public speakers on these items first. But we're now gonna proceed with today's uh special agenda item. So I'd I'd like to every have everybody please stand if they can. I'm going to do the land acknowledgement and then pledge of allegiance. So please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands to the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, the Putwin Windomb people, peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather today an active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' history, contributions, and lives. Please remain standing. We apologize. Our flag is virtual tonight. Hand over your heart. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. The one nation undergone, indivisible with liberty and justice for all again. Thank you everyone for coming out here tonight in the community. Um I want to describe the process a little bit tonight and then see if there's any any questions for my colleagues before we proceed. So tonight, the only agenda item because it is a special meeting, is are the interviews for uh the D2 candidate to fill the temporary vacancy. So public comments can only be on this item. There will be no public comments on items not on the agenda. We will take those public comments first, then we will proceed to interview of the six candidates, and they will have five minutes to basically say why uh you are qualified and why we should consider recommending you to the full council for consideration to fill the vacancy. And then finally, uh after the interviews, there will be council discussion or PPE discussion of who we should recommend for uh the full council to consider, which I anticipate there will be at least two or three candidates that that we will move forward. Um, and it is our hope to bring this to the March 26th council meeting, a council make a decision, and then that individual will be sworn in the first week of April. I do want to make very clear because we do know that voting is not fully complete yet. This council and body does reserve the right. Um, if an individual who is currently running for the the seat in D2 gets over 50 percent um in the March primary, uh it has been said by the mayor uh and I that is our intent if individual win the vote is there or somebody gets over 50 percent that we appoint that person, even though we may go through this process. Um, do you want to make it very clear that we as a body do reserve that that right? And that's why we had everybody who was running in the March uh 5th primary fill out an application, but also why they're not here tonight uh for interviews. So I hope that clears up if there were any questions uh what we're going to do. So, colleagues, any questions? All right, well, I'm excited to get started in the process. Do we have public comments? Um yes, madam chair. Looks like I have seven uh public comments, and you will each have two minutes. Your clock is up here, so uh we just ask that you respect the time so we can all go and have a have a nice late late dinner and get back home. Thank you. I'll call the first three Sylvia Crockett, Gloria Thau, Gare Yang. And again, your timer's here, and it will count down.
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