DATE:
February 21, 2023
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
April Richardson, City Clerk
SUBJECT:
City Council Vacancy – Applicant Interviews And Adoption Of A Resolution Appointing The Selected Applicant To The Vacant City Council Member Seat For A Term Expiring December 2024 Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council interview the City Council applicants and make an appointment to the vacant City Council Member seat. change Background
At the December 20, 2022, City Council meeting, Council Member Ally Medina resigned her position effective January 15, 2023. On January 17, 2023, the City Council reviewed their options to fill the vacancy. The options were to call a special election on November 7, 2023, or to use an application process to fill the vacancy. Council unanimously directed staff to pursue the application process, and approved the recommended application period, use of a modified Advisory Body Committee application, and proposed timeline.
Based on the need for expediency to meet the 60-day (March 16, 2023) appointment deadline, the 15-day application period opened on January 27, 2023. Staff modified the existing Advisory Body application and posted it on the City’s website on January 27, 2023. Also, the vacancy was advertised, and the application distributed through the City’s NewsFlash and posted on social media channels. The deadline to apply was 5:00 p.m. on February 10, 2023.
Timeline for Appointment
This timeline is based on the adopted City Council meeting schedule. Regular meeting dates are in bold:
January 17, 2023 – Established application period and finalized application.
January 27, 2023 – Application period opened.
February 7, 2023 – Council discussed and decided on an interview format, time limits for applicants, and other procedures, etc.
February 10, 2023 – Application period closed (opened January 27, 2023).
February 13 - 16, 2023 – Staff redacts personal information from applications and republishes 2/21 agenda with application materials.
February 21, 2023 – Council interviews applicants and considers possible Council Member appointment.
March 7, 2023 – Continued interviews and/or appointment for Council Member vacancy if necessary.
March 8-15, 2023 – Special meeting to discuss appointment if necessary.
The timeline provides at least two meetings for applicant interviews - February 21 and March 7, 2023. If the City Council does not make an appointment by March 7, 2023, a special meeting will be necessary to meet the March 16, 2023, deadline.
Interview Process
At the February 7, 2023, Council meeting, the City Council discussed and adopted an interview process for the applicants. The Council will interview all applicants who completed the application questions. The applicant names will be randomly drawn to determine the interview order.
Each applicant will have 14 minutes for their interview, broken-down into the following segments:
Applicant self-introduction (3 minutes)
Council interview questions (3 questions - 2 minutes per answer; 6 minutes total) Follow-up questions and comments from Council Members (1 minute each; 4 minutes total) Applicant wrap-up and closing statement (1 minute)
Each applicant will be asked the following questions:
Why are you interested in serving on the Emeryville City Council? What unique experiences or strengths do you possess that you can contribute to the benefit of the City? Identify and discuss your top three policy priorities or objectives for the City.
Discussion
After the close of the application period on February 10, 2023, staff compiled, redacted personal information, published, and forwarded all the applications received by the deadline to the City Council. This staff report was updated, and applications and resumes (if applicable) were also added as attachments to the report.
Applicant Pool
The City received a total of nine applications for the City Council to consider. The applicants are listed below and their applications are attached:
Cole Albon
Brian Donahue
Brady Goodwin
Sukhdeep Kaur
Lindsey Pfeiffer
Stephanie Singer
Matthew Solomon
Eugene Tssui
John Woods
The City Council will use the interview process outlined above to interview the applicants and possibly adopt a Resolution appointing an applicant to the vacant City Council Member seat. The selected applicant will assume the vacant Council Member seat with the adoption of the appointing Resolution.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
Conflict of Interest
There is no conflict of interest related to this item.
Conclusion
Staff recommends that the City Council interview the Council applicants and adopt a Resolution appointing the selected applicant to the vacant City Council Member seat for a term expiring December 2024.
PREPARED BY: April Richardson, City Clerk
Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
Attachments:
Applications
Draft Resolution
City Council Vacancy – Council Interviews and Appointment City Council Meeting | February 21, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM