Appointments Committee Meeting Summary (2025-10-29)

The Appointments Committee convened for a second public hearing regarding an ordinance on appointment transparency and conducted interviews for seven board and commission vacancies. The meeting experienced significant technical difficulties, including lost feeds and audio dropouts, which prevented public attendance during the first hour and interrupted the live session. Interviews covered candidates for the Board of Ethics, Zoning Board of Appeals, Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, Arts and Culture Commission, Social Services Commission, and the Stanford Golf Authority. The final vote overwhelmingly approved the appointments and the ordinance, despite substantial debate regarding the public listing of rejected applicants.

Consent Calendar

• No specific consent calendar items were read; the meeting began with candidate interviews following technical troubleshooting.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Sue Halpern: Inquired whether the missed first hour and candidate interviews were recorded due to technical failures; staff confirmed the session was recorded but the completeness of the record was uncertain. Halpern subsequently reiterated her support for the ordinance from previous hearings.
• Representative Walston: Spoke on the 30-year history of the appointments issue, describing it as a fight for transparency that the board has faced resistance on. He emphasized that the ordinance is necessary for residents to know who is applying and for boards to utilize their charter rights effectively. He argued against the unintended consequences of the list, suggesting that a lack of transparency hinders accountability.

Discussion Items

• Candidate Interviews:
  • Connie Ben Dove (Social Services Commission): Interviewed regarding her background. Representative Kazinski highlighted a significant gap in mental health support for children and teens in the city, noting the lack of facilities beyond the adult ward at the hospital, and encouraged the new board to address this as a priority.
  • Catherine Taylor (Stanford Golf Authority): Expressed deep interest in the role, citing her familiarity with Sterling Farms and her father's past service. She proposed initiatives to increase youth participation, such as equipment donations and discounted programs, and shared a personal anecdote about a high-volume charity walk to advocate for golf as a social activity.
  • Jeremiah Claringham (Zoning Board of Appeals): Discussed his experience as an alternate, emphasizing the value of site inspections for complex cases. He agreed with the Chairman's point on the importance of physical site visits, particularly when applications make misleading claims about surrounding areas, such as the example of a proposed dispensary near a school and psychiatric care.
  • Evan Gutman (Board of Ethics): Discussed as a candidate; Representative Figueroa expressed concern regarding Gutman's lack of legal background, noting that while he has HR experience, the Board of Ethics requires specific legal expertise.
  • Lauren Jacobson (Zoning Board of Appeals): Interviewed with support noted from colleagues regarding her work running the committee.
  • Nicholas Ponzo (Historic Preservation Advisory Committee): Interviewed; no significant objections raised.
  • Liz Van Calton (Arts and Culture Commission): Faced initial concern from Representative Figueroa regarding her lack of direct "innovative" arts thought process, preferring a finance background. However, other members defended her as the best candidate for grounding the commission financially and praised her honesty about her learning curve. She was supported by her background in finance and her connection to the Community Equity Arts Society.
  • Nomination Process & Ordinance Debate:
    • Representative Weinberg: Proposed an amendment to allow applicants who are not put forward by the Mayor to opt out of having their names listed on the public website. He argued that while the list is intended for transparency, listing rejected applicants without context creates a "Scarlet Letter" that could harm their future employment prospects if found via Google searches.
    • Representative Sherwood: Opposed the amendment, arguing that applying for a public position inherently makes one subject to public record and potential rejection. He stated that without names, the public cannot verify if the Mayor is rejecting a pattern of specific demographics (e.g., all women or people of color).
    • Representative Morrison & Representative Walston: Discussed the distinction between running for elected office and applying for appointed positions. Morrison argued for the applicant's right to opt-out, while Walston emphasized that the list would prevent the Mayor from hiding a pattern of discrimination and that the transparency serves the public good, regardless of unintended employment consequences.
    • Representative Kaczynski: Argued that the process is political by nature and that employers understand political appointments; therefore, listing rejected names does not impugne character. He criticized the late timing of the opposition, suggesting it is an attempt to delay transparency.
    • Administrative Absence: Representative Figueroa and others expressed strong disappointment that no representatives from the administration (Mayor's Office) or the Nutrition Committee appeared for the demographics review item (A31138) despite multiple notifications, calling it disrespectful.

Key Outcomes

• Appointments: The Board voted to nominate seven candidates:
  • Board of Ethics: Evan Gutman (
  • Zoning Board of Appeals: Lauren Jacobson (6-1-0) and Jeremiah Claringham (7-0-0).
  • Historic Preservation Advisory Committee: Nicholas Ponzo (5-2-0).
  • Arts and Culture Commission: Liz Van Calton (7-0-0).
  • Social Services Commission: Connie Ben Dove (7-0-0).
  • Stanford Golf Authority: Catherine Taylor (7-0-0).
  • Note: The vote for Evan Gutman (Board of Ethics) was recorded as passing with 7 votes in the roll call, though discussion indicated opposition.
• Ordinance A31137 (Amending Chapter 6): The ordinance amending the duties of the Appointments Commission to include a public list of applicants and nominees was approved by a vote of 6-1-0.
• Demographics Review (A31138): No action was taken due to the absence of administrative representatives. The matter was tabled for a future report.
• Meeting Adjournment: The committee adjourned with remarks of gratitude for staff support and the hard work of the members despite technical and procedural challenges.