HRC Meeting Date: August 26, 2026
To: Human Rights Commission
From: Claudia Garcia, Spanish Translator
Title
Election of Human Rights Commission Officer for Vice-Chair.
Body
Action Requested:
Consideration of Human Rights Commission for Vice-Chair.
Summary Report:
The Human Rights Commission will nominate and vote on a vice-chair. At a prior meeting Schuyler Vogel was appointed chair. However, the vice chair was left vacant.
Below are excerpts from City Code related to the role of Chair and Vice Chair.
Sec. 2-286. Officers.
(a) Chairperson and vice-chairperson. Each board or commission annually shall elect from its members a chairperson and vice-chairperson to serve a term of one year. Serving in such capacity shall conform to the members term on the board or commission. A chairperson elected to fill a vacancy shall be eligible to serve three full terms in addition to the remainder of the vacated term. There are no term limits for the position of vice-chairperson, except that serving in such capacity shall conform to the members term on the board or commission.
(b) The vice chairperson performs the duties of the chairperson in the chairperson's absence. If both the chairperson and the vice chairperson are absent, an acting chairperson may be assigned in advance by either officer or at the meeting by a majority vote of the members.
(Ord. No. 1061, § 5, 6-4-2024)
As members consider the selection of vice-chair, it may be helpful to briefly review the role of the Chair as the primary role for Vice-Chair is to fill in for the Chair when needed The Chair is primarily a facilitator and presiding officer for the board, rather than a position with greater authority than other members. All voting members have an equal vote and share responsibility for the work and decisions of the board.
A successful Chair helps the board function effectively as a group. This includes working collaboratively with the staff liaison on meeting agendas and the annual work plan; starting and ending meetings on time; keeping discussion focused on the agenda and the board's assigned responsibilities; ensuring applicable meeting procedures are followed; encouraging participation from all members; and helping create a respectful environment where differing viewpoints can be heard and considered.
The Chair should be comfortable facilitating discussion without dominating it. Good chairmanship often means listening more than speaking, drawing others into the conversation, keeping discussion productive, and helping the board reach a clear conclusion or action. The Chair may participate in discussion and vote like any other member, but should be attentive to the additional responsibility of managing the overall discussion fairly.
The Chair's role is not to independently set the board's priorities, speak for the board without authorization, direct City staff or staff resources, assign work to individual members, or assume responsibilities belonging to the board as a whole. The Chair works closely with the staff liaison, while respecting the respective governance and administrative roles of the board and City staff.
The Vice Chair should generally be prepared to perform these responsibilities when the Chair is absent and is encouraged to view the position as an opportunity to become familiar with the responsibilities of presiding over the board.
In considering the vice-chair role (and chair as already set), members may therefore wish to consider individuals who are prepared, dependable, collaborative, respectful of differing perspectives, comfortable facilitating a public meeting, and able to help the group stay focused on its collective responsibilities.
Staff will give a summary introduction to the topic as outlined in the memo. Staff recommends a nomination process which is a formal proposal to the voting body in an election to fill an office or position, suggesting a particular person as the one who should be elected. It is recommended to use the following process of taking nominations from the floor (per Roberts Rules of Order option):
1. Presiding Chair announces that “we will take nominations for the position of Chair from members of the floor.”
a. Any member may then call out, for example “I nominate (fill in name),” without needing to be recognized by the chair. No seconds are necessary. The Presiding Chair then announces, “(Fill in name) is nominated.”
b. When it appears that everyone who wishes to make a nomination, the Presiding Chair says, “Are there any further nominations? [Pause.] If not, [pause] nominations are closed.”
c. Individuals who were nominated could choose to remove themselves from consideration of appointment. They should state “I respectfully decline my nomination.”
d. If only one candidate has been nominated for an office, the Presiding Chair simply declares the nominee elected.
e. If there is more than one candidate a written ballot process will be conducted with the one receiving majority approval. Staff will have paper and pencils available at the meeting for the ballot vote. The election becomes final when the Presiding Chair announces the result of the candidate is present and does not decline or is absent but has previously consented to serve. Otherwise, it becomes final when an absent candidate is notified and does not immediately decline.
2. Repeat process above with new Chair to lead for “Vice-Chair” office.
The board does not currently have any formal process of rotation of officers. However, as noted earlier the Chair position is limited to three terms total.
The officers would take office immediately after election of all officers is completed as there are no special provisions for a later date to take office.
Alternative Options:
None recommended.
Financial Impacts:
N/A
Tentative Timelines:
N/A