OCEANSIDE COUNCIL WON’T INTERVIEW ALL APPLICANTS

City officials setting aside policy after record number apply for District 1 seat

Facing the possibility of a six-hour or longer meeting to interview a record number of applicants, the Oceanside City Council decided last week to change a policy it adopted a year ago to bring “transparency” to the political appointment process.

Thirty-six people initially applied to be appointed to the two years remaining in the District 1 council seat left vacant by the election of Mayor Esther Sanchez. One person has since withdrawn. The interviews and a possible selection are set for Jan. 27.

Instead of all 35 applicants, the council voted 3-1 last week to interview only the top five picks of each council member. Their choices will be announced to the city clerk at the Jan. 27 meeting, which would mean a maximum of 20 interviews and probably fewer if some choices overlap. Also, they will shorten each interview to five minutes instead of 10.

One of the applicants, Lane Stewart, said Friday the changes could still be fair for everyone.

“If you’re on the short list, at least you know right then,” said Steward, a chef who’s lived in South Oceanside for 23 years. He’s become interested in local politics and volunteered with

neighborhood and community planning groups in that time.

“I’m thrilled that there are so many people that think enough of the city to throw their hat in the ring,” Stewart said. “It’s going to be interesting.”

Another applicant, Oceanside Planning Commission Chairman Kyle Krahel, expressed similar feelings.

“We’re lucky to have such a great crop of talent,” Krahel said. “It shows civic engagement.”

The new policy was created “to be sure that things are not done behind the scenes,” he said, and he hopes that the shortened version will be based on the merits of the applicants and “not any preconceived notions” of the council members.

The applicants include a number of familiar names in Oceanside politics. Among them are former Oceanside City Clerk Zack Beck, former Councilman and Mayor Terry Johnson, and recent council candidate Michael Odegaard. A list of all the applicants and their applications are available on the city website, www.co.oceanside.ca.us.

A death, an illness, a new job and elections have led to multiple appointments to Oceanside’s elected offices in the last decade. Residents’ complaints about the process used in some of those choices led to a detailed written policy adopted by the council in December 2019.

Under the new policy, the city advertised the vacancy on its website. Each applicant would make a one-minute presentation, then get a 10-minute interview with the full City Council followed by public comments, all at a special council meeting.

The large number of applicants took city officials by surprise. Previously, the most inquiries was 25 for an open council seat in 2019, but at the time the process was less formal and the council didn’t interview each applicant. Oceanside, like other cities, previously considered only a handful of candidates suggested by council members.

Because of the time that would be needed to interview the unexpectedly large number of applicants under the new process, City Clerk Zeb Navarro suggested to the council at its meeting Wednesday that the interviews be shortened to five minutes, or the interviews be scheduled over two days, or both.

However, Councilman Christopher Rodriguez said Wednesday it would be “a waste of time” to interview all the candidates and suggested the new limit.

“It’s not in the best interest of this council’s time to do 10-minute interviews of each applicant,” Rodriguez said.

Mayor Esther Sanchez voiced the only objection.

“I have difficulty with that,” Sanchez said. “It would be highly unfair to interview just a handful of people.”

The meeting and all the interviews will be done online and available for viewing live to the public because of COVID-19 health guidelines.

The City Council has until Feb. 10 to appoint somebody to the open seat or designate a special citywide election, though an election appears unlikely. The earliest the vacancy could go on a ballot is November, at an estimated cost of $250,000 to taxpayers, and the winner would have less than a year in office.

Still, despite the cost and time limits, some residents have argued that the city should hold a special election. Only residents of council District 1 would be eligible to vote.

District 1 is the city’s northwest quadrant and includes the downtown business core, the newest and largest hotels, and some of the oldest residential areas. It’s a politically active area and includes the promotional Mainstreet Association and some neighborhood organizations.