HRC vacancies draw a crowd HRC vacancies draw a crowd (July 22, 2005)

Nine residents eye seats on newly minted police review board

by Bill D'Agostino

Drawn by the ability to make an impact on a controversial topic, nine residents have applied to serve on the Palo Alto Human Relations Commission.

The unusually large number of applicants, which includes two former police officers, is due to the fact that the council recently named the commission as the city's official police review board, in light of numerous high-profile controversies. (The council and the commission are still trying to determine how it will best fill that role.) The City Council will pick two new members Monday night. The open spots were unexpectedly created last month by the sudden resignation of two commissioners, who left in part due to the high workload related to the newly assigned role. The large pool leaves the council members with interesting questions to ponder: If someone is a former police officer can they be unbiased in their examination of police issues, or is that useful experience for the future commissioner to call upon? If an applicant is only interested in police issues then can he or she adequately fulfill the commission's numerous other duties, such as aiding nonprofits and responding to allegations of discrimination? Why did so few people of color apply? Despite having a broad group of professional backgrounds, from journalism to the law, the candidates lacked any racial diversity -- all appeared to be white. While interviewing the candidates, Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell pointed out that regardless whom the council chooses there would be no Latino or African American commissioners. The police department has been criticized for its handling of suspects of such racial backgrounds. Internally collected data indicates that officers search such suspects more often than those who are white or Asian American. On Tuesday night, when the council held a special meeting to interview the applicants, Cordell asked applicant Brian Wax, a consultant and former police officer who has defended the police at past commission meetings, about his background with people of color. He responded that he met many minorities as a police officer in East Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. In her written application, Daryl Savage, a Weekly columnist, wrote that she hoped the commission would "take action on the issues -- not just pleasantly discuss them." "Now that the Police Advisory role has come about, for the first time in a long time, the HRC has the ability to make a difference," Savage added. "It can make sure that all people are treated fairly and with respect." Councilwoman Dena Mossar asked applicant John Klinestiver, the vice president of human relations for Kinetics who is a former military police officer, why he would "want to get in the middle of this mess?" "If it was easy," he responded, "it wouldn't be interesting." Applicant Mark Heyer, a technology expert, only appeared interested in police issues -- he called it the "800 pound change agent." Applicant Ted Glasser, a journalism professor at Stanford University, said he attended an anarchist rally last month where 300 heavily armed police officers barricaded downtown during the event in an attempt to keep it peaceful. Glasser said he was frightened by the large show of force. "It just seemed unnecessarily confrontational," he told the council. However, not all the applicants mentioned the police issue as a reason they were interested in the volunteer post. Winifred Lew, a retired manager at Lockheed Martin who's active in the AAUW, made no mention of police issues on her application. She wrote she's interested in advocating for "equality of representation regardless of economic, racial and sexual differences." Two applicants, Ann Ozer and Andy Freedman, have applied for the commission in the past, without success. The ninth applicant, Corey Levens, also applied for the Planning and Transportation Commission and said that post was his first choice.

Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.

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