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Santa Clara council appoints Edward Souza to Parks and Recreation Commission; Monique Cote named alternate
Summary
After interviewing four applicants, the council appointed Edward Souza to the Parks and Recreation Commission for a full term ending June 30, 2029, and placed Monique Covey Cote on the eligibility list as alternate. The final vote was unanimous.
The Santa Clara City Council unanimously appointed Edward Souza to the Parks and Recreation Commission for a full term ending June 30, 2029, and designated Monique Covey Cote as the alternate.
Council interviewed four applicants for the single Parks and Recreation seat (one applicant, Asim Vaid, did not participate). Souza, a lifelong Santa Clara resident who told the council, "I devoted my career to parks and recreation management," described 30 years of county parks experience, including park operations, fiscal oversight and volunteer programming. He proposed potential community garden space behind War Memorial Community Park and recommended sustainable funding for park maintenance.
Monique Covey Cote, who described military service and graduate work in agricultural science and communication, told the council she is "a huge user of all of the trails and the dog parks within the city limits" and suggested expanding adult education and volunteer programs to support community gardens. Other applicants included Anurag Dixit, who described broad national-park experience and process-improvement ideas, and David Curtis, a longtime youth-sports coach who emphasized field use and youth-program expansion.
Councilmembers first each listed preferred top-two candidates; the initial top-two tally produced a tie between Souza and Cote, then councilmembers cast tie-breaking votes and formally moved to appoint Souza. The motion to appoint Souza carried unanimously; council also recorded Monique Cote as the alternate (eligibility list) should a Parks and Recreation vacancy arise within the council's timeframe for alternates.
The council discussed program priorities raised in the interviews, including expansion of summer camps and after-school programs, accessibility and volunteer support for community gardens, and oversight of the International Swim Center rehabilitation. Council members praised the candidate pool as "excellent" and noted the difficulty of selecting a single appointee.
Ending: Souza's appointment takes effect immediately; his term ends June 30, 2029. Monique Cote remains on the eligibility list as the alternate for future vacancies.
