Dear Mayor Mueller and City Councilmembers,
I see that you have an item on the consent agenda at the Tuesday Jan 29th meeting regarding updates to the city's commissions and committees policies and procedures.
I'm writing to urge you to direct staff to remove the registered voter requirement from the qualifications for serving on commissions and committees. This change will allow residents with important knowledge and a desire to be engaged to share their perspectives and contribute even if they are not able to register to vote for whatever reason.
Such a change would be consistent with our stated city values. As stated in the findings of the Menlo Park Safe City Ordinance, "The City of Menlo Park has long embraced and welcomed individuals of all racial, ethnic, religious and national backgrounds." And per the Resolution of the City Council proclaiming Menlo Park a Welcoming City and a member of the Welcoming Cities and Counties Initiative, "the City of Menlo Park seeks to help people, families and institutions thrive and to value the contributions of all members of the community, including newcomers and immigrants."
This is an easy change to implement and will expand and enrich the pool of candidates that we invite to contribute to the running of our city, and I hope you will request the change on Tuesday, Jan 29th.
Thank you,
Karen Grove
Resident of Menlo Park
P.S. The quoted language is from the staff report 17-090-CC for the 4/18/17 city council meeting.
