REPORT
SUBJECT
Title
City Clerk Administration of Charter Review Committee Random Draw Selection
Report
BACKGROUND
On July 15, 2025, the City Council directed the formation of a Charter Review Committee (“CRC”) to assist with a comprehensive review and update of the City Charter (referred to here as the “Charter Project”). The goal of the Charter Project will be to identify provisions in the Charter that should be corrected, clarified or modified in order for the Charter to be fully consistent with applicable state law, aligned with current best practices for City operations and, in general, easier to understand and apply.
Council action to form the CRC included direction that the CRC be comprised of thirteen (13) total members as follows:
• Seven (7) members to be appointed by the City Council comprised of one member representing each of the six (6) City Council Districts (to be nominated by the City Councilmember representing that District), and one (1) “at large” position (to be nominated by the Mayor).
• Six (6) members to be chosen by lottery, to include one resident from each of the six Council Districts.
• To be qualified, both appointed and lottery selected applicants must be registered voters and residents of the voting Districts they hope to represent or, in the case of the Mayor’s selection, the City at large.
• Simultaneous membership on another City Board, Commission or Committee would be allowed.
Consistent with Council direction, staff proceeded to develop information for the City’s website to notify the public of the available positions on the Charter Project CRC. Information developed included a description of the Charter itself, the intended purpose of the Charter Project, the composition and necessary qualifications for the CRC, and the application period for interested parties of August 1, 2025 through August 29, 2025. The City also advertised the availability of CRC positions through August 29, 2025 and with notifications sent out to the City-wide distribution lists on August 1, 2025, August 13, 2025 and August 21, 2025. During the application period, a total of 71 applications were received. Of these applications, after screening by the Assistant City Clerk to confirm residency and voter registration, 60 applications were determined to be qualified. Of the 60 qualified applicants, 50 indicated that they wanted to be considered for selection by lottery.
This report describes the “lottery” process for the selection of the six (6) members of the CRC to be chosen at random in accordance with Council direction.
DISCUSSION
The following individuals, listed by City Council District, and then by alphabetical order, submitted qualified applications to be considered for appointment to the Charter Project CRC through the “lottery” process:
City Council District 1
1. Rick Andrews
2. Fang (Alice) Huang
3. Holly Rhea Roberts
4. Kathy Watanabe
City Council District 2
1. Brian Brennan
2. John Brooks
3. Martin Gamez
4. Yvonne Inciarte
5. Laurence McColloch
6. Mohammad Naveed
7. Vincent G. Pena
8. Mohammed Taki
City Council District 3
1. Charles Atherton
2. David Baldwin
3. Adonis Bill
4. Janine Cate
5. Michael Judge
6. Fred Lopez
7. Sandeep Sagar
8. Joseph W. Sosinski
City Council District 4
1. Surak Dasika
2. Manav Deshmukh
3. Saskia Feain
4. Burt Field
5. Steve Kelly
6. Majid Milani
City Council District 5
1. Emma Brunner
2. Lauren Diamond
3. Michelle Eglesia
4. Paul Esber
5. Etenesh Gebretsadik
6. Jorge Haro
7. Lucy Haro
8. Robyn Heinrich
9. Ram Iyengar
10. Eric Jensen
11. David Kertes
12. Jonathan Marinaro
13. Samuel Pumarejo
14. Christine Ying Teng-Henson
15. Graciela Villalobos-Martinez
City Council District 6
1. Mark Boeckman
2. Dana Caldwell
3. Anurag Dixit
4. Subramanyam Dronamraju
5. Ron Enos
6. David Lewis
7. Timothy Tsai
8. Jared Peters
9. Susan Peters
At the meeting on September 11, 2025, City Clerk Bob O’Keefe will administer the random draw selection process to select, from among this list, the six individuals that will serve as the “lottery pick” representatives on the Charter Project CRC. With some modifications, the process used for the random drawing will be similar to that used for selection of the Measure I Citizen’s Oversight Committee. Prior to the drawing, City staff will assign each District its own color of balls. Then, within each District, staff will assign names to the lottery balls with a corresponding number. At the drawing, for each District, the City Clerk will read the names and assigned numbers aloud and place them in a clear tumbler. The tumbler will then be spun, the City Clerk will randomly draw a ball for each seat, and the name of the corresponding applicant will be stated aloud. Additional details will be provided, and questions answered, at the drawing itself.
Once this random draw process is completed, the names of the individuals selected, along with the seven (7) individuals nominated by City Councilmembers and the Mayor will be submitted to the Council for appointment to the CRC at the Council’s September 16, 2025 regular meeting. Those appointed will then be contacted and convened by City staff to start the Charter review process.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is an administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact for the random draw selection meeting for the Measure I Bond Compliance Oversight Committee other than staff time.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the City Clerk.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the meeting agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
Staff
Approved by: Glen R. Googins, City Attorney