With more than 1,800 seats and rules tailored to each of the nearly 200 bodies that tend to require specific skills or expertise, officials say filling vacancies takes time
Nearly 7 percent of political appointments across the San Diego County government are vacant, either because the terms expired, they were abandoned by seat holders or they are languishing while elected officials ponder fresh nominations.
It was not the first time the civilian oversight board was unable legally to convene in recent months. Multiple vacancies that have persisted since last year have repeatedly forced the board to call off or push back its work. San Diego city and county officials say they are doing their best to find qualified people to serve as political appointees. But with more than 1,800 seats and rules tailored to each of the nearly 200 bodies that tend to require specific skills or expertise, filling vacancies takes time, they say.
According to officials, San Diego County has 154 active boards, commissions and committees as of June 7 — public bodies that examine everything from fire service and traffic to building permits and design review. University of California San Diego political science professor Thad Kousser said volunteer boards and commissions historically have performed an important role in American democracy.
Such problems may have played a role in the difficulty other city and county commissions have faced in recent months. “Our biggest challenge right now is just keeping the youth commissioners that we have on board motivated to attend the meetings and to get the work done,” said Avery Brooks, another intern who has been working with the volunteers. “They are not seeing anything being worked towards.”
Appointees have long argued the city doesn’t do enough to support its volunteer commissions — a concern Warren-Darby acknowledged, noting that her office has too few staff to successfully support every panel and often struggles to find city departments to help them.
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