Thank you Pam and Jen for your tireless efforts to ensure that this process is as transparent and representative as possible.

Applicants whose employers have a business interest in Menlo Park should be excluded from the commission. While we would appreciate volunteers from Facebook, Stanford, and SRI on this commission, there's an unavoidable conflict of interest. Each of these employers have major Menlo Park construction projects.

The City of Menlo Park just posted the application for the Advisory Districting Committee that was created at the urging of Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance. While the committee isn't fully independent, at our urging, the City Council added language to the resolution creating the committee stating that City Council intends to adopt a map approved by the committee (thank you, City Council). Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance will work to hold the City Council accountable to this statement so that gerrymandering of any kind, for any reason, does not occur.

Now the City needs to find people to apply to the committee that are fair, unbiased, and well-suited to serve. There are few challenges with this application process:

*Application process during the Holidays: The application period opened today (December 13th) and closes on January 8th. That means that the entire recruitment period is during the Holidays, a time when many are not paying attention to city business.
*5 Meetings in One Month: Because of the threatened lawsuit that kicked-off this process, and the expedited transition to By District elections that the situation demands, the meeting schedule for the committee is extremely compressed. Per the City's schedule, there will be at least 5 meetings for the Advisory Districting Committee members between January 20th and February 22nd, and, depending on whether City Council initially accepts one of the proposed committee maps, there may be more meetings in March.
*Extensive Qualifying Criteria: To ensure that the committee members are not bringing a political or financial agenda to the districting process, an extensive list of qualifying criteria has been prepared. Those wishing to serve must have not been involved in Menlo Park politics in the recent past, and must agree to stay out of local politics for the near future. This includes serving on commissions, volunteering for or donating more than $500 to campaigns and other conditions.

What does this mean? Menlo Park needs your help! Please consider applying for the Advisory Districting Commission yourself (if you qualify). In addition, please ask your friends and neighbors to apply. If each person reading this gets 3 people to apply, our City will be in great shape. If enough people fail to apply, the City Council will have no choice but to get involved in the map drawing. This matters.

The application packet which includes the forms to fill out, the qualifying criteria, and a tentative meetings schedule, is here: Web Link

Ok, Menlo Park, it's time to serve!