City Attorney’s Office
Memorandum
Date: August 20, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers
From: Su Reuter, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Subject: Review of Applications for Civil Service Commission
Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers:
The City Attorney’s Office has been asked to review the applications for various Boards and Commissions and to advise on whether any of the applications reflect any legal issues that would affect the Council’s appointment process. Generally speaking, applications alone do not provide complete information regarding potential conflicts; however, they do occasionally disclose potential conflicts of interest or incompatible offices.
The purpose of this memorandum is to highlight areas of potential conflict, if any, that are disclosed by the applications. This review is limited solely to the information provided on the applications, and is not intended to be comprehensive investigation of potential conflicts involving the applicants. A commissioner may be precluded from participating in certain matters of Commission business if the commissioner has a personal financial interest in that matter.
While this list is not complete, these types of conflicts generally fall within one or more of the following situations:
• An application shows persons or entities that are “sources of income” to an Applicant within the 12 months preceding the start of the commission term, as defined under the Political Reform Act, which may create a conflict either with a member of the Council acting in the appointing capacity or potentially with the business of the Commission;
• An Applicant is an officer or employee of a person or entity that could be involved in a matter coming before the Commission; or
• An Applicant engages in a profession serving the local market that is likely to realize financial benefits or detriments, distinguishable from the public generally, that would result from the work performed by the Commission.
There may be facts which would not amount to a legal conflict of interest requiring a commissioner to recuse him- or herself from a commission vote or discussion, however the relationship could create an appearance of bias on the part of the commissioner.
The City’s Code of Ethics and Values requires that Commissioners “make impartial decisions, Re: Review of Civil Service Commission Applications
August 20, 2026
free of . . . financial and other personal interests that impair [one’s] independence of judgment or action.” Accordingly, a situation may arise that may require a commissioner to recuse him- or herself if the facts could reasonably lead one to conclude that the applicant would be biased for or against a person or entity.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has received four applications for two vacancies, which have been reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office. In order to analyze potential conflicts, it is necessary to consider the duties of the particular commission for which the applicant is seeking appointment. The CSC is responsible for: appointment of Salary Setting Commissioners; the establishment, acceptance and continued supervision of a well-rounded civil service program; the recruiting, examining and establishing of a list of eligibles for appointment to the City service in accordance with established merit principles; and the hearing of appeals by members of the classified service and acting upon the same.
The applicants are as follows:
Barbara Estrada: The applicant lists prior employers of Agnews Developmental Center and the State Compensation Insurance Fund. The applicant is currently employed as Chief Operations Administrator for three listed LLCs. The three LLCs do not operate within the City of Santa Clara and the City does not transact business with these entities. The employment listed on the application does not reflect a conflict. The applicant has previously served for eight years on the Senior Advisory Commission (ending in 2019) and on the Redistricting Advisory Commission (2018). The applicant is currently Treasurer and President of the Santa Clara Women’s League (a non-profit entity) which raises funds for Santa Clara Senior Center programs, and receives grant funds from the City. The Women’s League is not listed as a source of income for the Applicant. While the Women’s League does have business expected to come before the City Council, it does not have business expected to come before the CSC. As a result of the substantial work done by the Women’s League at the Senior Center, it is possible that the applicant may have developed personal friendships with employees at the Senior Center, who may at some point have an employment-related matter come before the Commission. The Council may want to take this into consideration in the appointment process. The application itself does not reflect any apparent financial conflict of interest or incompatible office.
Karl Lopes: The applicant states that he was previously employed as a software engineer by Google and is currently not working. While Google may have some office space footprint within the City’s jurisdictional boundaries, the applicant is no longer employed by Google and, in any event, it is unlikely that any action item involving Google would come before the Civil Service Commission. There is no affiliation with any other individual, organization, or entity disclosed in the application. Therefore, it is our opinion that the application does not reflect any apparent financial conflict of interest or incompatible office.
Tyrrell Nelson: The applicant was most recently (until June 1, 2026) employed as Director of Service and Support for Nautilus Bio, a company that does not appear to have any business locations within the City of Santa Clara and with whom the City does not transact business.
There is no affiliation with any other individual, organization, or entity disclosed in the Re: Review of Civil Service Commission Applications
August 20, 2026
application. Therefore, the application does not reflect any apparent financial conflict of interest or incompatible office.
Timothy Tsai: The applicant is retired, and the application does not make reference to any prior employer. There is no affiliation with any other individual, organization, or entity disclosed in the application. Therefore, the application does not reflect any apparent financial conflict of interest or incompatible office.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you!
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Sujata Reuter
Chief Assistant City Attorney