Redwood City seeks to expand commission eligibility

Among the changes would be the removal of language that limits board and commission participation to U.S. citizens who reside in Redwood City and are of legal voting age. Language prohibiting compensation for board and commission members could also be removed, opening the door for the city to provide small stipends to those who dedicate their time to city policy making.

“I think there’s so much we can do as a city and we’re just beginning to go into the layers of what government has been and what our charter has been and bring it up to today,” Aguirre said during Monday’s City Council meeting.

In discussing the recommendations, Gee noted the city is currently looking to fill about 30 open positions on boards and commissions but has received fewer than 20 applications, fueling discussions around making participation more equitable.

Vice Mayor Diana Reddy said she supported the changes after noting she has recommended students to various boards and commissions who were ineligible to serve due to their age.

Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica also shared high praise for the proposed amendments which they argued could encourage greater participation among underserved Redwood City residents. Speaking to their own experience, Espinoza-Garnica said they currently live at home with their parents. Despite having a college degree, Espinoza-Garnica’s pay as a caregiver isn’t enough to move out.

Still, Espinoza-Garnica said they care deeply about issues facing many residents and decided to run for office, a decision they said should be more feasible for residents regardless of their socioeconomic background.

“There are a lot of people like me who care, who want to participate,” Espinoza-Garnica said. “I think this encourages that path for them. … I look forward to community input so we can start having more voices in these spaces that aren’t traditionally heard.”

Similarly, Councilmember Michael Smith said asking residents to participate in city governing boards without adequate compensation is an unfair request and argued boards across the county should be considering making similar changes.

“How can we expect people who are well-intentioned, who are thoughtful, who are community-oriented, who are not well-resourced to participate in government in the way that we want them to without compensating them,” Smith asked.

Future decisions on stipends would need to be discussed by the council at a later date if voters decide to approve the changes. Some suggestions made during Monday’s meeting were around potential parking or child care compensation and some public speakers noted some may need to have a path for waiving their stipend.

Additional changes being recommended include a reduction of years a mayor serves from two to one, another equity focused move aimed at allowing more councilmembers to “leave their mark” on the city, Hale said.

The amendment would not change the council rotation for mayor, which currently has Reddy in line to become mayor followed by Smith, Gee, Espinoza-Garnica, Aguirre and Councilmember Diane Howard. After adopting an updated district map earlier this year, Reddy became ineligible to run for reelection until 2024, setting the stage for Smith to become the city’s next mayor.

The city is also looking to codify into its charter a change from at-large elections to a seven-district voting system, which Smith credited with helping him land a position on the governing board.

In an unanimous vote, the council directed staff to draft a resolution and any necessary documents for pursuing the charter changes. Staff will continue working with the Governance Sub-Committee before bringing the resolution back in June for council consideration.

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