Politics & Government

Council Hears From Commission Candidates

Santa Cruz City Council to vote next week on dozens of open positions on advisory boards.

Dozens of people showed up for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to apply for spots on more than a dozen advisory boards. There are 33 appointments and reappointments up for grabs.

Nearly 80 residents of Santa Cruz County—not all positions require one live within city limits—applied for spots on 13 committees. Some people are applying for more than one commission.

Councilwoman Lynn Robinson said she was impressed by the field of candidates.

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“To me it’s an incredible embarrassment of talent that we would like to harness, if possible,” she said. “It makes us realize we are so fortunate. This is a passion an enthusiasm that is going to move Santa Cruz forward.”

Vice Mayor Don Lane, who oversaw Tuesday’s meeting with Mayor Ryan Coonerty out of town, gave each resident 3 minutes to talk about their candidacy.

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He said it’s a good opportunity for the council to put faces on candidates.

“There’s so many applications,” he said, “it’s hard to zero in on each individual.”

Many of the applicants for the positions are people seeking reappointments to their respective committees.

Pat Christie, who currently serves on the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, told the Council she wants to continue serving.

“Being a sexual assault nurse for Santa Cruz opened my eyes to a whole world that I had not grown up in and that I knew nothing about,” said Christie. “I really want to get back to the community.”

The commission has three possible reappointments, but other community members are seeking spots—including one of the founders of the commission itself, Gillian Greensite.

She said the city needs to address alarming rape trends in the city.

“Rape needs to be much more seriously addressed,” she said. “Nationally, 15 percent of rapes are committed by strangers. In Santa Cruz, this is 60 percent. This needs serious attention.”

The Arts Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission drew the most applicants. Twenty-two folks are vying for a single reappointment and two open seats on the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Jillian Ritter, a long-time resident of Santa Cruz who works in Parks and Recreation in Sunnyvale wants to bring the skills she uses in her professional life home.

“I want to be able to represent the community that I love and that I reside in,” she said.

Debra Feldstein, in contrast, is seeking a spot on the Parks and Recreation for personal reasons.

“I am mother of 2-year-old and a 5-year-old,” she said. “In the last week, we have visited 3 parks, the fungus fair and my husband has hiked in Pogonip.”

Other commissions drew less interest, or the same level of interest. As has happened many times in the past, the Board of Building Appeals’ applicants are the same six people who have served on the board for many years. Nobody applied for a position on the Latino Affairs Commission.

And although the Measure K Oversight Committee had three vacancies, only two people applied for positions. The group has not met in more than a year due to a lack of a quorum.

Rosemary Balsley who coordinated recruitment for the advisory committees said that generally people who seek reappointments receive them.

She said that happens “about 99 percent of the time.”

Vice Mayor Lane reiterated the point.

“The Council does tent to reappoint people who have served well,” he said.

The City Council will meet next week at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. A vote on the appointments is likely to occur in the afternoon session.


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