Redwood City council members on Monday will review the applications of three residents who hope to fill the council seat left vacant earlier this summer by former member Michael Smith.
The applicants are John Marini, a marketing director at Snorkel AI, a data applications start-up in Redwood City, Planning Commissioner Elmer Martinez Saballos, a senior policy associate at ReadyNation and Eugenia Joyce Porter, a retired compliance officer.
The applicants will give a presentation during an open session at Monday’s city council meeting. The public will speak before the applicants give their presentations. The applicants will each have two minutes to give an opening statement, six minutes to address any questions, and two minutes for a closing statement, according to the city staff memo.
Smith, who was elected in November 2020, resigned in late July to deal with an illness in the family. If an applicant is appointed on Monday, they will serve the remainder of Smith’s term due to expire in December 2024.
If the city does not appoint a council member by Sept. 18, the council will have to hold a special election, per the city charter. An election could cost the city upwards of $100,000, depending on when the city chooses to hold the election.
Although there is a new map, the city will use the redistricting map from 2019 that was in effect when Smith was elected.
