Serving on a commission in Menlo Park isn't everyone's idea of a good time, judging by the dearth of applicants for each vacancy. But the Planning Commission may be an exception – 15 residents will sit down for interviews on Tuesday, Jan. 18, in hopes of filling the seat left empty by former Commissioner Kirsten Keith's election to City Council.
Several familiar names popped up on the list, such as Transportation Commissioner Charlie Bourne, community activist Don Brawner, and JoAnne Goldberg, wife of Planning Commission Vice Chair Vincent Bressler – which could make for lively discussions around their dinner table.
According to City Attorney Bill McClure, there's no law against spouses serving on the same commission. He pointed out that since the Planning Commission consists of seven members, there's less potential for an inadvertent Brown Act violation than on the smaller City Council, should spouses confer outside meetings and then privately talk to a majority of their colleagues.
The city clerk's office provided a complete list of applicants:
Baker, Kenneth
Baum, Richard
Blackburn, Shawn
Bourne, Charlie
Brawner, Don
Bryant, S. Kelley
Goldberg, JoAnne
Lee, Lawrence
Lee, Waibun
Molick, Christian
Neal, Raymond
Pederson, Kathleen
Stoner, Michael
Vort, Doug
Yu, Peipei Carol
The final selection will hopefully be made on Jan. 25, according to City Clerk Margaret Roberts.
