Torrance City Council fills dozens of commission seats in unanimous votes

The Torrance City Council on reconvening approved appointments and reappointments to multiple city commissions and a citizen oversight committee, with council members voting unanimously to confirm nominees and then adopting a single omnibus motion to ratify the night’s appointments.

Council members said the appointments would fill vacancies across planning, civil service, environmental quality and energy conservation, historic preservation, airport, commission on aging, cultural arts, library, parks and recreation, social services, traffic, and other advisory bodies. City Clerk Rebecca Poirier outlined the process, noting applicants were verified registered Torrance voters and had completed required commission training; she cited council rules of order governing majority appointment votes.

The appointments matter because the city relies on volunteer commissioners to advise council on planning, environmental policy, social services and other technical issues. Several seats were reappointments; others were new appointees drawn from a large applicant pool. Council members handled nominations by commission, followed by either individual votes or unanimous ballots when the number of nominees matched open seats. After considering each commission, the council moved to approve all appointments in one omnibus motion, which carried unanimously.

Among the specific outcomes the council recorded: Planning Commission seats went to Dominic Borgiali and David Karczonis after council nominations and a unanimous ballot. The Civil Service Commission reappointments were Mary Anne Hamada and Hannah Sasaki. The Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission appointments were Dr. Nairi Berry, Dr. Lori Love and Camilla Safarian; Berry, Love and Safarian received the necessary majorities and the council assigned term lengths where votes were tied. The Airport Commission selected Dylan Wakayama, Kathy Cohen and Francisco (Frank) Olmos; Wakayama received the highest vote total and was assigned a longer-term seat. The Traffic Commission appointed Michael Gibson to the open seat.

The council repeatedly used unanimous ballots when the number of nominees matched vacancies. Where multiple candidates competed for a limited number of seats, council members voted by name; the city clerk read vote counts aloud and the mayor confirmed appointments and, in several cases, clarified which appointees would receive the longer or shorter term when terms varied.

City staff said appointees should meet the city clerk at the podium after the meeting to take the oath of office, pick up their packets and sign the oath. Assistant city manager Danny Santana reported there were no reportable closed-session actions to disclose after the council’s earlier closed session.

Votes at a glance (selected appointments and outcomes): - Planning Commission — Dominic Borgiali and David Karczonis appointed (unanimous ballot; motion carried unanimously). - Civil Service Commission — Mary Anne Hamada and Hannah Sasaki reappointed (motion carried; reappointments announced by the city clerk). - Environmental Quality & Energy Conservation Commission — Dr. Nairi Berry, Dr. Lori Love and Camilla Safarian appointed (majority vote; council assigned term lengths where votes tied). - Airport Commission — Dylan Wakayama, Kathy Cohen and Francisco Olmos appointed (Wakayama received highest vote total and assigned longer term). - Traffic Commission — Michael Gibson appointed to term ending 2029 (plurality of council votes reported). - Library Commission — Julie Daugieri and Dennis Pietrowski (longer terms), Joy Sun (shorter term), Andrea Riley (shorter-term appointment after a tiebreaker revote) — votes recorded by the clerk. - Parks & Recreation Commission — three nominees appointed by unanimous ballot; terms assigned per clerk’s announcement. - Social Services Commission — nominees appointed; the council designated one appointee to the shorter term by separate vote. - SST Citizen Oversight Committee — Barbara Ono appointed (unanimous motion).

Council members noted occasional administrative clarifications during the process (for example, updated term grids and which nominees were willing to accept a shorter term), and the mayor asked appointees to meet the city clerk immediately after the meeting to complete oath and paperwork. A single member of the public spoke during the commission-appointment public-comment period but was interrupted for disruptive language; no substantive testimony about appointments was recorded in the public-comments portion that was taken for this item.

The meeting’s appointments complete the council’s slate of volunteer advisory commissioners for the near term; the city clerk will maintain the official records noting term end dates and eligibility for reappointment.