§ 174 — Commissioner selection and removal

§ 174 Commissioner selection and removal.

(a) The commissioner selection process is designed to produce a commission that is independent and that reasonably reflects the diversity of the city. (b) The city clerk shall, no later than February 1, 2020, and by February 1 in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, initiate and widely publicize an application process, open to all city registered voters who meet the requirements of Section 173, in a manner that promotes a qualified commissioner applicant pool that is large and reflective of the diversity of the city. This process shall remain open until May 1, 2020 and until May 1 in each year ending in the number zero thereafter. (c) The city clerk shall create an application for prospective commissioners, and seek assistance from a broad range of community-based organizations in outreach efforts. Applicants shall attest on the application, under penalty of perjury, that the information provided is true. (d) No later than June 30 of each year ending in the number zero, the city clerk shall report to the city council on applications received up to that point and any additional outreach that is being undertaken or planned to ensure that the applicant pool has a sufficient number of qualified applicants and reasonably reflects the city's diversity. (e) By August 1, 2020, and by August 1 in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, the city clerk shall review and remove individuals who are disqualified under Section 173 from among the commission applicants. If the resulting applicant pool does not have at least 40 qualified applicants, including 3 qualified applicants from each existing city council district, the city clerk shall reopen the application period for one month and conduct additional outreach to ensure that the pool meets these requirements. (f) No later than September 15, 2020, and by September 15 in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, the city clerk shall publish and transmit to a screening panel a list with the names of all qualified applicants. For purposes of this section, "screening panel" means: (1) The city's ethics commission, if that commission is established by ordinance or under this charter; or (2) If an ethics commission matching the description in subsection (1) does not exist, a panel consisting of: one retired judge; one law, government, or public policy professor teaching at an accredited institution located in the city and who has taught, researched, or published on redistricting; and one member of a non-profit organization qualified under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) that has at least a ten-year history of advocating for good government reform in the city. The panelists shall be randomly selected by the city attorney from a pool of qualified applicants. Panelists shall meet the same qualifications required of commissioners in Section 173(b). The city attorney shall recruit, over a two-month period, a pool of applicants to serve on the screening panel; or (3) If an ethics commission matching the description in subsection (1) does not exist, and there are insufficient qualified applicants to form a panel pursuant to paragraph (2), a panel consisting of the city attorney, the city clerk, and the city auditor. (g) From the eligible applicant pool, the screening panel shall, no later than November 1, 2020, and by November 1 in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, create a subpool of the 25 to 30 applicants most qualified to perform the duties of the commission, including at least two applicants from each existing council district. The screening panel, exercising its independent judgment, shall make these assignments at a publicly noticed meeting after the public has had the opportunity to provide written and oral comment. The screening panel may ask additional questions of applicants at that meeting. The screening panel shall make each assignment to the subpool on the basis of the applicant's relevant analytical skills, familiarity with the city's neighborhoods and communities, ability to be impartial, and apparent ability to work cooperatively with other potential commissioners. The subpool should reasonably reflect the city's diversity; provided that, other than the requirement of geographic diversity in this subsection, no quotas, formulas, or ratios may be applied for this purpose. (h) Immediately after the subpool has been created, and at that same public meeting, the chair of the screening panel shall randomly select eight names - one from each existing council district - from the subpool. These eight individuals shall serve as commissioners on the commission. (i) The commissioners selected pursuant to subsection (h) shall select five commissioners and two alternates from the remaining applicants in the subpool. Each selection requires six affirmative votes from among the eight commissioners, and the selection must be made at a publicly noticed meeting after the public has had the opportunity to provide written and oral comment. The commissioners shall make each selection on the basis of the applicant's relevant analytical skills, familiarity with the city's neighborhoods and communities, ability to be impartial, and apparent ability to work cooperatively with other commissioners. The commission should reasonably reflect the city's diversity; provided that no quotas, formulas, or ratios may be applied for this purpose. (j) The commission shall be fully established no later than December 1, 2020, and thereafter no later than December 1 in each year ending in the number zero. (k) The commission may remove a commissioner for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of office, but only after providing the subject commissioner written notice and an opportunity for a response at a public meeting. A commissioner may appeal removal by filing a petition for writ of mandate with the superior court within ten days of the commission's action. (l) If a commissioner resigns or is removed from the commission, the chair of the commission shall randomly select one of the alternates to fill the vacancy as a voting commissioner. If the commission is unable to act because there are fewer than nine active commissioners, the city clerk shall, within one month of making this determination, recruit a pool of qualified applicants to fill the vacancies. The remaining commissioners shall, within two weeks of the pool being constituted, appoint replacement commissioners from this pool by a two-thirds vote. (m) For purposes of this section, "diversity" includes, but is not limited to, racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation diversity. (Added by Res. 2016-0258, 7/26/16)