The Stockton City Council rejected a proposed amendment to the council policy manual that would have given the full council the power to appoint citizens to commissions if a councilmember missed the deadline.
The city clerk’s office recruits to fill vacancies and accepts applications for service on boards and commissions year-round. Councilmembers appoint members to various commissions and committees, typically to represent their districts.
Citizen commissioners play a key role in Stockton by providing community input, advising the council on policies, and helping ensure transparency and accountability in local government.
The amendment to the council policy manual would have given the full council the power to appoint citizens deemed qualified to commissions if a councilmember did not make a selection within 90 days.
The amendment came after multiple councilmembers and commissioners voiced frustration over commission meetings being canceled due to a lack of quorum because some councilmembers had not made appointments.
At the Tuesday Nov. 4 council meeting, City Clerk Katherine Roland said District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla had two citizen commission vacancies to fill, while District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce had five unfilled.
According to Roland, Padilla’s vacancies were in the Charter Review Advisory Commission and Measure W Oversight Committee. Ponce’s vacancies were in the Charter Review Advisory Commission, Community Development Committee, Measure W Oversight Committee, Strong Communities Advisory Committee and Water Advisory Group.
Padilla opposed the amendment, saying she felt councilmembers should have the authority to make appointments to represent their districts.
“I feel that allowing another party — which may be the city clerk, staff and council action — to override makes these selections fundamentally diluted and dilutes the voice of the voters to whom they have elected in their district,” Padilla said. “Each elected official is accountable for securing their own volunteers for their committees.”
Padilla did not address the vacancies in her district during the discussion but said finding citizens to appoint “is not always an easy process.” She also expressed the need for appointees to align with councilmembers on issues.
It is unclear why Ponce, who also opposed the amendment, has not appointed citizens to represent District 2 on several commissions. She was the only councilmember who did not speak during the discussion.
District 3 Councilmember Michael Blower said he received feedback from citizens he appointed to committees. They expressed frustration that they were appointed to positions where they wanted to serve but have not been able to participate because of canceled meetings.
“They show up and there’s not enough people there, and it’s a waste of their time,” Blower said. “It is important that we as councilmembers do make our appointments, and we’re told well in advance what positions we need to fill. Giving 90 days is a long time. That’s three months. That’s plenty of time.”
District 4 Councilmember Mario Enríquez agreed with Blower that the amendment was important because he saw meetings “left and right being canceled due to a lack of quorum.”
“It’s a disservice to the people that we’re serving,” Enríquez said. “People come to city hall to sit down on this dais, to do business for the city, and then for them to come all the way downtown and for the clerk to say, ‘Not everybody’s here. We haven’t appointed everybody. This is why we’re now canceling,’ is a waste of their time. It’s a slap in the face.”
Enríquez said that since July, he had sent numerous emails to councilmembers who had several appointments to make, but months later, those positions are still vacant.
Vice Mayor Jason Lee said he meets weekly or biweekly with his commissioners to discuss city business and explore ways to strengthen District 6 and provide resources. He added that finding the right people to serve takes effort, but it is essential to advancing the city’s work.
“There are people who do not have commissions filled in their districts,” Lee said. “To me, that is completely irresponsible. It is a bad reflection of our collective leadership because we can’t get the work of the city done by ourselves.”
District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua said he understood that finding the right people to appoint to commissions could take time.
“Sometimes no one signs up,” Villapudua said. “I wish things could go smoother, but sometimes it just doesn’t.”
Mayor Christina Fugazi said she had concerns with the amendment because she believed one right afforded to councilmembers was the ability to make appointments to commissions.
“If we could get more people to apply, that would be fantastic,” Fugazi said.
The motion to approve the amendment failed 4-3, with Lee, Enríquez and Blower voting to approve the amendment and Fugazi, Padilla, Ponce and Villapudua voting against it.
After the vote, Lee asked Fugazi if he could make a motion to send the amendment back to the Council Legislation and Environmental Committee, where it was drafted, for reworking.
“Without accountability of councilmembers, if we’re not putting forth people and the work of the city can’t get done, there has to be some accountability somewhere,” Lee said.
Fugazi did not respond to Lee’s question.
“A vote was taken,” Fugazi said. “We’re moving forward.”
Since the vote, Padilla has appointed Margarita Reyes to represent District 1 on the Measure W Oversight Committee. No appointments submitted by Ponce have gone to the council for approval.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton City Council split leaves several citizen commission seats empty
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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