Appointments Committee Meeting - January 28, 2026: Interviews and Votes for Boards and Commissions
Board of Representatives Appointments Committee Meeting
Date: January 28, 2026 (starting at approximately 7:25 PM) Purpose: Interview and vote on appointments to the Stanford Golf Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Police Commission.
Discussion Items
Stanford Golf Authority Appointment
- Angelo Rapegno was interviewed for a term expiring December 1, 2028. He shared insights on golf course operations and expressed support for the city's golf programs. No questions from the board raised concerns; the tone was supportive.
Zoning Board of Appeals Appointments
- Alan Ben Zakin (regular member) and Ernest Maharasso (alternate) were interviewed. Both candidates discussed their backgrounds and commitment to fair zoning decisions. No substantive questions or objections were raised.
Police Commission Appointments (Five Candidates)
All candidates interviewed for terms expiring December 1, 2029:
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Mary Fidely (new appointment) – Former Board of Representatives member (30 years). Expressed strong support for increasing police staffing, community policing, and the Behavioral Health Unit. She emphasized fairness, transparency, and following proper processes when handling citizen complaints. Her father was a Stamford police officer. She stated she would advocate for additional funding if needed.
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Carlo Leon (reappointment) – Served one year on the commission. Praised the professionalism of the police department and the use of technology (drones, cameras). Supported expanding the Behavioral Health Unit and increasing officer numbers. Addressed privacy concerns about drones, stating the commission oversees proper use.
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Roberto Aviero (reappointment) – Served four years. Highlighted community engagement, including his involvement after a fatal accident on Washington Boulevard in 2022, which helped cancel a planned protest. He emphasized following policies and procedures for drone and surveillance use. Expressed support for technology but would review costs.
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Rodney Bass (reappointment) – Former school principal and PAL executive director. Emphasized homegrown officers, the importance of school resource officers, and community policing with physical substations. He advised redirecting citizen complaints to proper channels. He supported expanding the police force and the academy.
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Michael Fidel (reappointment) – Current commission chair (4 years). Discussed drone program (launched from dispatch, three drones), heat sensing, and real-time response. Addressed facial recognition and AI – the department does not currently use them beyond common tools. He stressed that new units (drones, behavioral health) pull officers from patrol, necessitating more hires. He noted the police force is under 300 officers, down from over 300 years ago, despite city growth.
Board of Representatives Discussion (Post-Interviews)
- Representative Weathers proposed a board tour of the police department to see all units (drones, K9, bomb, etc.) after her personal visit with her son. She also raised concerns about lack of enforcement of city ordinances (e.g., trucks on lawns) and suggested patrol officers could issue citations. Representative Morrison supported the tour and suggested the Public Safety Committee take up enforcement issues. Representative Pavia praised all candidates and expressed support for the nominations.
Key Outcomes
- All appointments were approved unanimously by voice vote (8-0-0, as counted by the chair). No opposed or abstentions recorded.
- Appointments approved:
- Stanford Golf Authority: Angelo Rapegno (term to 2028)
- Zoning Board of Appeals: Alan Ben Zakin (regular), Ernest Maharasso (alternate)
- Police Commission: Mary Fidely (new), Carlo Leon (reappointment), Roberto Aviero (reappointment), Rodney Bass (reappointment), Michael Fidel (reappointment) – all terms to December 1, 2029.
- The board will hold a formal vote on these recommendations at the next full Board of Representatives meeting (Monday, date not specified).
- Discussion acknowledged the need for future tours of the police department and further review of ordinance enforcement.
Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Uh it's uh 725. Uh we uh we are returning from recess. Uh and we are now uh joined. Uh this is uh item number A32.006. Uh this is an appointment to the police commission. Uh Mary Bidelli, uh, our old colleague uh for a term that expires December 1st, 2029. Uh this is uh submitted by Mayor Simmons. Uh welcome and thank you so much, uh for uh uh volunteering to take this on can't get enough of uh city government now, can you too much time on my hands so how did you come to uh apply for this particular so yeah, happy thank you everyone for having me here tonight. I'm happy to be here. Um after the election, Mayor Simmons put in a call and asked what I would be interested in. And I said the police commission would be my first choice. Um just a little background. Um my dad was a police officer in the city of Stanford for 25 years. Um, so I grew up in a police family, have a lot of respect for the police department. Um was always uh interested in the police um department, you know, as a part of the uh the board. Um so I think I'd have some qualities that we can discuss um in my background that I think would be a good fit for the police commission. So that was my first choice. I've heard I've heard some discussion, and maybe this is slightly out of the purview of of um being uh sitting on the police commission that that uh relationship between the board and the police department. Um were occasionally bumpy during the portion of the previous board. The commission or the board of reps? The well the board reps. Um I I didn't feel that way, to be honest. Um I I think there was um from uh from a personnel perspective, I uh was chair of the personnel committee. So the union contract was passed on consent when when they came before us. Um the assistant chiefs contract and the chief contracts were passed without issue. Um fiscal um under when I ran the fiscal committee, uh we did not cut the police budget. Um board of finance, on the other hand, I think was the board that I would say had a little bit of um uh back and forth. Right. Um there was some contentious discussions um in a joint meeting with the board of finance and the board of representatives in regard to the pensions. Um there's some discussions around that and fully funded and things of that nature, but I would not say that the board of representatives, I think the board of representatives was a very positive um force for the for the police department. Oh, good, good to hear. Yeah. In my in my tenure. Yeah. Have a question for uh former representative. Come on. I'm ready. We should be able to grow up with this uh list. No questions? Okay. Yes, yes. I know the uh the police forces always asking for more police officers, and we have five just go approved representatives. Would you like to see uh more police officers hired by the city? And uh how would you go about justifying that through the various channels and uh so thank you for that question, Representative Gardner. I I do think the police department needs more police officers. I think um the numbers are basically the same as it was when the population was probably 20 or 30,000 um less. Um as a representative, you're gonna hear it from your constituents as I heard it. Quality of life issues are very important to um constituents, and I think having the extra officers to do things like community policing, boots on the ground in North Stanford and in Springdale, there's there's where I am, there's not a lot of police officers that are in there patrolling. Um so I think the additional police officers um would be very helpful. Um just for that, you know, speed enforcement.
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