Around 60 community members were interviewed before the Redwood City Council on Monday for 20 positions across six city boards, commissions and committees. The council will make appointments for all of these open positions at its regular meeting on June 22.
“Thank you for raising your hand, wanting to serve, or wanting to continue to serve, because it is a commitment,” Council member Jeff Gee said.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission is seeking to fill two full-term seats that expire on June 30, 2030. This commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. and may hold additional meetings as needed. The Planning Commission is responsible for making recommendations to the City Council on the city’s general plan and for overseeing the city’s physical development.
Fourteen folks applied for the open positions: Michael Arruza Cruz, Christopher Cicero, Dylan Finch, Jose Rubio-Zepeda, Jack Gertidge and Laird Bennion of District 2; Allison Zaum of District 3; Eric Sahn of District 5; Chris Smith of District 6; and Cynthia Bickerstaff, Dennis Murphy, Jason Webb, Benjamin Arredondo and Bernadette Hadnagy of District 7.
Housing and Human Concerns Committee
The Housing and Human Concerns Committee has four full-term seats to fill, also expiring May 31, 2030. This committee meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. and promotes affordable housing, monitors changing social needs in the community and ensures that these needs are given consideration by the City Council and Planning Commission.
Fourteen folks applied for the Housing and Human Concerns Committee positions: Vanessa Corea and Scott Granet of District 1; Katie Goetz, Jennifer Tomasino, Joseph Wisniewski, Marlen Medina and David Kassouf of District 2; Agustin Espino-Diaz and Max Discher of District 3; Nirshila Chand of District 5; Edwin Gonzalez, Regina Mersereau and Janice Viloria of District 6; and Frida Sanchez of unincorporated San Mateo County.
Board of Building Review
Four candidates applied for the two full-term open seats on the Board of Building Review, a position that would run until May 31, 2030. The board typically meets once every three years, or as needed at the discretion of the city’s chief building official, to review updates to the city’s building regulatory codes, hear appeals of building permit decisions, and ensure compliance with applicable building laws.
The applicants for the Board of Building Review included Enzo Costantini and Joanne Kurze of District 7, Daniel Navarro of District 3 and Heman Rossbach of District 1.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission
The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission has four full-term seats to fill, expiring May 31, 2030. The commission meets every fourth Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. and advises the City Council on the acquisition and development of parks, as well as the formulation of citizen-informed recreational programming.
The 12 applicants for this commission are Zane Razzak of District 1; Elise Debuysser of District 4; Jason Simpson and Pratik Verma of District 5; Ouldouz Berenjforoosh, Mollie Naber, Siyang “Becky” Zhou and Wendy Moltrup of District 6; and Natalie Badkar, Alice Kaufman, Ben Serio and Zorie Gomez of District 7.
Senior Affairs Commission
The Senior Affairs Commission has two partial-term seats expiring May 31, 2028 and three full-term seats expiring May 31, 2030. The Senior Affairs Commission meets on the second Thursday of the month at 1 p.m. and advises the City Council on the social, economic and personal well-being of the city’s senior population.
Eleven applied for the Senior Affairs Commission: Paul Bocanegra of District 6; Shifan “Cecilia” Fei, David Hsu and Nino Lazaro of District 1; Rakshith “Rocky” Mandayam, Angelo Pissani and Ira Yenko of District 2; Carolyn Mitchell of District 3; and Nancy Keegan, Michael Lynch and Marty Yee of District 6.
Library Board
The Library Board has three open, full-term seats expiring on June 30, 2030. The board meets every fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. and serves as the community liaison for the Redwood City Public Library by advocating for literacy and soliciting committee input to inform library policies and services.
The eight applicants are Caitlin Chambers and Sauima Figueroa of District 2, Darryl Holliday of District 3, Anthony Godlewski and Ann Lane of District 4, Ciara Murphy and Lindsie Verma of District 5, and Aimee Swanson of District 7.
The city also extended the application period through May 31 for vacancies on the Arts Commission, Board of Port Commissioners and Historic Resources Advisory Committee.
Most positions are open to Redwood City residents who are at least 18 years old, eligible to vote and live in incorporated Redwood City, though eligibility requirements vary by body. Some seats may be open to younger applicants, non-U.S. citizens or residents of unincorporated Redwood City.
